The NFL’s oldest rivalry takes stage at the noon kickoff time later today. The Green Bay Packers will be hosting the Chicago Bears, facing off for the 214th time. The Packers lead the overall series with 109 wins, 98 losses, and 6 ties. For much of the series, the Bears dominated, but for over the past three decades and then some, the Packers reversed the roles and have taken over as the more dominant team in the rivalry.
Since the year 2000, the Packers have won 38 times while having only lost 15 games. This includes playoffs. Since 2020, the Packers lead the series with ten wins to just three losses. The problem is those three losses have occured in the past four games. Has this rivalry finally flipped?
I hope not.
The question is, how can the Packers return to their winning ways against the Bears?
Well, once again, it’ll start with the offense.
Packers Offensive Woes
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock, you already know about the Packers offensive line problems. Well, in the game against the Buccaneers, the O-line began to look better. Not good. Definitely not great. But better. Love was having to get the ball out quickly, but one could tell that he was beginning to reclaim some lost confidence while behind his offensive line.
For the Packers to win this game against the Bears, they’ll need to win up front. The offensive line is starting to solidify itself and it looks like Kevin Zeitler will play in this one.
The Packers will need to try and get back to their bread-and-butter and run the ball. Not necessarily completely explosive, but enough to allow the play action game to be set up. Running the ball is so essential and a decent offensive line can allow that to happen. This Bears defense can be beat with this style of play. The Packers just need to set it up!
Additionally
The Packers need to correct some fixable issues on the offensive side of the ball. The Packers lead the NFL with the most penalties. This needs to be corrected. The Packers have also had a ton of drops. Tucker Kraft, who is usually very reliable in his pass catching abilities, has had a ton of drops to start this season. When asked about it earier this week, Kraft said that he is working on it with a lot of time on the jugs machines. But ulimately Kraft says it’s not that hard, “just catch the *dang* ball.”
We all know he can catch the ball; let’s just hope he does.
Kraft isn’t the only one with drop issues as of late. It is something that has plagued much of the team.
The good news? This is a fixable problem. The line is getting better and penalties, drops, and fumbles can all be fixed. Fixing this against the Bears, well, that’s just the perfect time do it. Especially at home in Lambeau.
Packers Defense and Special Teams
Of course, it all doesn’t come down to the offense to win the games. Defense and special teams play a crucial role as well. However, their issues aren’t as obvious as the offense’s problems have been. The defense lost a great one last week when Edgerrin Cooper went down with an achilles injury last week. He’s now out for the season. So what does this mean for the linebacker corps? That remains to be seen.
The pass rush has looked pretty good through the first four weeks even without Micah Parsons. LVN is on his way to a breakout season! The defensive backs have looked great led by what looks like an All-Pro type season out of safety Evan Williams.
Special teams has looked much better this season. Trey Smack just needs to keep kicking the ball over the goal posts. Kick coverage has looked good overall but has had some leaks and penalties the past couple of weeks. My one big concern for the special teams is coming from a place I didn’t expect. Daniel Whelan has been the one bright spot on our special teams units over the past several years but basically, once per game this season, he has absolutely shanked it. Not good. Just something to be aware of.
Bears Side of Things
The Bears are still without their starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Tyson Bagent will get the start at quarterback for Chicago, but don’t expect this to be easy. Bagent is a really good backup quarterback and honestly could be starting on several teams in the NFL.
Chicago will also be without their running back Kyle Monangai. So, look for a lot of D’Andre Swift in this one. The Bears have what is probably the best running attack in the NFL led by their head coach Ben Johnson. The Packers defense needs to be able to stop the run! If they can’t, then it will be a long game.
But regardless of what happens,
And as always,
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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