Packer Central

Packers-Bears Matchups: Who Has Advantage?

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will wrap up the regular season on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Here is our look at the matchups.

Jacob Westendorf

The Green Bay Packers celebrate after blocking Cairo Santos' field goal in the victory over the Bears in November.
The Green Bay Packers celebrate after blocking Cairo Santos' field goal in the victory over the Bears in November. / David Banks-Imagn Images
In this story:

The oldest rivalry in the NFL will be renewing itself on Sunday afternoon when the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.

How much does the game matter to either team?

The playoff-bound Packers do not control their seeding fate. Unless the Washington Commanders lose to Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Packers will be the No. 7 seed and facing a wild-card matchup at the high-powered Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bears have changed dramatically since the last time these teams met.

On Nov. 17, Thomas Brown was the interim offensive coordinator making his debut when the Packers won 20-19 at Soldier Field.

He’s now the interim head coach, after the Bears fired Matt Eberflus following an embarrassing display of clock management on Thanksgiving.

His firing has not changed the fortunes of the Bears.

They have not won a game since before Halloween. They’ve lost 10 games in a row, most recently 6-3 at Soldier Field against the Seattle Seahawks.

Are the Bears ready for vacation? How motivated will they be on Sunday?

That remains to be seen.

Matt LaFleur said he wanted his team to finish the season the right way, so expect Jordan Love and Co. to get a full workload on Sunday with an eye on beating the Bears to get into the playoffs with some momentum.

Here are the matchups to do just that.

Pass Offense

For all the fanfare that surrounded Caleb Williams’ addition to the Bears, his rookie season has been disappointing.

Williams shows flashes of the arm talent that got him picked first overall last April.

He showed some of those flashes against Green Bay, including putting together what would have been a game-winning drive if not for Karl Brooks’ late heroics. However, he’s 22nd in passer rating and 25th in completion percentage.

Receiver D.J. Moore joked before Thursday’s loss to the Seahawks that he was looking forward to being on vacation.

He’s their leading receiver with 89 receptions for 880 yards. It’s been his most disappointing season as a professional.

Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze have had nice moments, with Allen leading the team with seven touchdown catches and Odunze setting the pace with 13.8 yards per catch. But they have not been nearly as impactful as the Bears would have hoped when they signed Allen in free agency and used a top-10 draft pick on Odunze.

Solid tight end Cole Kmet has 45 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bears’ biggest issue has been in protection.

Between a poor offensive line and Williams’ tendency to hold onto the ball, Williams has been sacked 67 times.

Maybe Green Bay’s pass rush can build some momentum before going into the postseason with a big game against Chicago.

Their passing offense has been downright dreadful, which should give the Packers the edge even if Jaire Alexander and Evan Williams do not return from injuries this week.

Advantage: Packers

Rush Offense

D’Andre Swift was supposed to be one of the players to help lead the way in making things easier for Caleb Williams.

Swift’s talent certainly flashed while he was in Detroit, but he has not been the difference-maker the Bears had hoped. He needs 106 yards to reach 1,000, but he’s averaging only 3.8 yards per carry.

He’s struggled at running within the structure of the play, but did have a 39-yard touchdown run against the Packers in the last meeting between the teams.

Green Bay’s run defense is the most surprising part of the season.

The Packers have emerged as a top-10 team in the NFL against the run. They shut down Aaron Jones and Minnesota’s run game on Sunday.

They did, however, struggle against Swift and Caleb Williams when he broke the pocket. Swift rushed for 71 yards on 14 tries. Williams added for 70 yards on nine carries.

The Packers were surprised by Williams’ ability to make plays with his legs but should not be caught off-guard this time.

Advantage: Packers

Pass Defense

For all the jokes that can be made about Chicago’s passing offense, the defense was no laughing matter in Week 11.

Chicago was at the top of the NFL before that game but has plummeted to the middle of the pack.

Green Bay’s offense struggled against Brian Flores and the Minnesota defense without Christian Watson.

Watson had a huge game the last time these teams met, going over 100 receiving yards and making the biggest reception of the game with a 60-yard catch and run to set up the game-winning touchdown.

Montez Sweat is the Bears’ best pass rusher with 5.5 sacks on the year.

When the ball goes in the air, Jaylon Johnson is one of the premier cornerbacks in football.

Two weeks ago, he was given the primary assignment of Vikings star Justin Jefferson and held him in check. Johnson and fellow cornerback Tyrique Stevenson lead the team with two interceptions. Kevin Byard and former Packers defender Jonathan Owens provide experience at safety.

For all the fanfare that Green Bay’s offense received this offseason, it’s struggled to get out of its own way.

Pre-snap penalties and turnovers have plagued it through the year, and that reared its ugly head again in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota.

Love, however, has done much better with avoiding turnovers. He has not thrown an interception since the last time these teams met.

Chicago’s defense has done a fair job at taking the ball away this year with 11 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries. The Bears are 14th in opponent passer rating and 15th in sack percentage.

The difference in this matchup could be whether or not Watson plays.

If he does, he changes so much of Green Bay’s offense without even touching the ball. If he doesn’t play, the field condenses, which plays to Chicago’s favor.

Advantage: Push

Rush Defense

Josh Jacobs and Co. had a relatively quiet game against Minnesota. He was not nearly as impactful as he had been in previous weeks and started the game with a fumble.

Chicago’s rush defense has been poor most of the year. The Bears are 26th with 4.72 yards allowed per carry and 27th with 133.4 rushing yards allowed per game, though they did slow down Seattle’s Zach Charbonnet last week.

With a gametime temperature of about 20, how motivated are the Bears going to be to tackle Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks?

Even if they are motivated enough, they haven’t been good enough in this department.

Advantage: Packers

Special Teams

Chicago’s special teams may not be as scary as they were in the days of Devin Hester controlling their kick return units, but they were having a solid year before injuries took their toll.

DeAndre Carter was having a strong season as the kickoff and punt returner but was placed on injured reserve, leading to a committee approach in the return game.

Tyler Scott was the kickoff returner last week against Seattle. There could be some opportunities because of the cold.

That’s an advantage for Green Bay, who boasts All-Pro Keisean Nixon. He hasn’t had many chances but is averaging 30.3 yards per return. He can strike at a moment’s notice.

Cairo Santos has had a solid year for the Bears. He is 20-of-24 on field goals, including 7-of-8 from 50-plus yards. One of those misses, of course, was by Karl Brooks to save Green Bay in the last matchup. Before that game, Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia told the team he’d be disappointed if they didn’t come away with a blocked kick.

Iowa sensation Tory Taylor has averaged nearly 48 yards per punt, though the Bears have allowed 10.2 yards per punt return. He has a big leg and ranks fourth with 32 inside-the-20 punts.

Chicago has been solid but injuries have taken a toll. Green Bay has been better, especially since the addition of kicker Brandon McManus.

Advantage: Packers

Latest Green Bay Packers News 

Our Consensus NFL Power Rankings | 2025 Packers schedule | The sky is falling Overreactions | Packers-Vikings: Snaps, stud, dud, defining play | Phantom offside call? | The Packers need help from Mike McCarthy | It’s the same old story for the Packers | Packers-Vikings report card | What happened and what it means | Packers-Vikings stock report | Another big game, another big loss | Packers-Vikings: Live Updates

Published |Modified
Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF