Game Preview: Healthy Packers at Slumping Bears

The Green Bay Packers are back from their bye and will play at the Chicago Bears, who have lost three consecutive games, on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws a pass last year at the Chicago Bears. / Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Green Bay Packers are heading south to face the Chicago Bears in what promises to be another classic showdown in one of the NFL’s longest-standing rivalries.

After a well-timed bye, the Packers are rested and ready to get back on track, especially with a roster that had been battling the injury bug. With an extra week to regroup following their loss to the Detroit Lions, they’ll be focused on making adjustments and coming into Soldier Field at full strength – or at least close to it.

Meanwhile, the Bears are licking their wounds after a rough game against the Patriots. New England came into Chicago and delivered a stinging 19-3 defeat, exposing Chicago’s issues on offense.

The Bears converted only 1-of-14 third downs, allowed nine sacks and punted eight times in their first home loss of the season. Two days later, they replaced their offensive coordinator.

Interestingly, this Week 11 matchup will be the Bears' first taste of divisional play, meaning they’ll have a tough road ahead with six NFC North games in just eight weeks. The Packers, who lost NFC North home games against the Vikings and Lions, will be looking for their first division win of the season while extending their winning streak in the rivalry to 11 games.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s health has been a concern recently, but the bye week gave him valuable time for rest and recovery. He was full participation at Wednesday’s practice after barely practicing before losing to Detroit.

“Everybody's dealing with something, I would say,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “But, certainly, when you're limited in your lower half as a quarterback, that can have a big effect on your ability to move around in the pocket or throw accurately. So, it’ll be good to get him some practice under his belt where he's fully healthy.”

Love will face a strong Chicago defense that ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (190.4) and second in opponent passer rating (77.4).

Critically, the Bears rank seventh on third down (33.3 percent conversions) and first in the red zone (37.0 percent). The Packers’ offense is 19th on third down (37.4 percent) and 29th in the red zone (47.1 percent).

LaFleur had high praise for the Bears' defensive approach and their coach, Matt Eberflus.

“I think this is a really solid, sound defense,” LaFleur said. “It's been tough to go against over the couple of years of Matt's career going against him. I've always had a lot of respect for how he coaches and how his players play.

“You can tell that they're an effort-based unit. I mean, it shows up all over the tape. Their style of play is exactly what you want, and when you combine that with really good players, you usually get a really good defense, and that's exactly who they are.”

On the offensive side, the Bears are led by quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of this year’s draft.

Williams has thrown for 1,785 yards, has a completion rate of 60.5 percent, and has nine touchdowns vs. five interceptions. Of 36 qualifying quarterbacks, he is 32nd in completion percentage, 31st in yards per attempt and 28th in passer rating.

“He does well in the pocket,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “He can extend plays. He’s actually pretty strong in the pocket. He has a good feel and awareness of when he’s getting pressured, and he’s able to get out and extend plays down the field.

“He’s a young quarterback. He’s growing, he’s learning as he’s doing along, but he’s going to be a really good quarterback in this league.”

The Bears’ offense has struggled for most of this season and hit bottom the last two weeks with no touchdowns scored in losses to Arizona and New England.

They are averaging only 19.4 points (24th) and 277 yards (30th). Their passing game ranks near the bottom of the league with 169.6 yards per game (30th), and they have difficulty sustaining drives, converting on third down just 28.7 percent of the time (31st).

Their ground game has been great at times – 202 yards in the loss at Washington, for instance – but had a total of 142 yards the last two weeks.

Left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright, who were inactive for the nine-sack debacle against the Patriots, practiced on Wednesday but left guard Teven Jenkins did not.

Defensively, the Packers are 11th with 21.6 points allowed per game. While they are second with 19 takeaways, they didn’t force any against the Lions.

Green Bay’s ability to create turnovers could be a key factor against a Bears offense that has struggled with consistency, particularly in sustaining drives. If Green Bay’s defense can continue to capitalize on mistakes and pressure Williams, it may limit Chicago’s ability to put points on the board.

Some contrasting strengths and weaknesses set up an interesting dynamic that could determine the outcome.

While the Packers’ offense may find success against Chicago’s struggling rushing defense, which ranks 28th with 4.85 yards allowed per carry, the Bears’ stout red-zone defense could limit scoring opportunities once Green Bay is in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the Packers' ability to create turnovers might put added pressure on the Bears’ inconsistent offense, but Chicago has the eighth-fewest giveaways and Williams hasn’t thrown an interception during the Bears’ three-game losing streak.

“We don’t take any team for granted, regardless of who it is, regardless of record and whatever they’re going through,” McKinney said. “We always try to keep that same laser, locked-in mentality and mindset and try to have those same winning results on Sundays.”

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