3 areas Bears must improve to beat Packers in rematch Saturday night

If the Chicago Bears can avoid giving up chunk-play touchdowns, they will beat the Green Bay Packers Saturday night at Soldier Field.

Christian Watson | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears lost the game to the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago. But they won themselves a blueprint.

In their 28-21 defeat at Lambeau Field the Bears had more plays (68-52), more first downs (21-17), more time of possession (34-26), more rushing yards (138-117) fewer penalties (6-4) and created a takeaway. The game was played at their pace, in their style.

Almost.

MORE: Packers injury update reveals Bears-killer WR could miss Week 16 showdown

No with Packers' stars Micah Parsons out and Christian Watson less than 100%, the Bears should use the same formula in Saturday night's rematch at Soldier Field. With a few tweaks, obviously.

3 keys to the Bears beating the Packers:

1. Get Off The Field on Third Down

The Bears' defense did a good job of getting Green Bay to third down, but then allowed the Packers to convert 8 of 12. Two of Jordan Love's touchdown passes came on third down.

2. Convert in the Red Zone

In the second, all four of the Bears' drives penetrated inside Green Bay's 20-yard line. But only two resulted in touchdowns. The other two produced a field goal and Caleb Williams' game-ending interception in the end zone.

3. Minimize the Explosives

While the Bears put together methodical drives of 14, 10 and 17 plays, the Packers struck quickly. Chicago had only two plays over 20 yards; the Packers had three touchdown passes of 23, 41 and 45 yards.

MORE: Bears playoff chances and NFC seeding dramatically improve after blowout of Browns

Some weird things happened to help Chicago lose the first meeting. Packers' receiver Bo Melton, who has only three catches this season, caught a long touchdown. Packers' cornerback Keisean Nixon, who was beaten in the end zone by tight end Cole Kmet, caught his only interception of the season. And Williams, who has only six picks in 459 throws, wildly underthrew Kmet for the game-deciding interception.

For most of the game at Lambeau, the Bears were in control. Clean up the blueprint here and there, and by Sunday morning they will be in first place.

Caleb Williams | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

More Chicago Bears News:

• Bears' offensive line on pace for historic honors at 2025 Pro Bowl

• Don't expect Bears' Caleb Williams to have a big game against Browns

• Bears' rookies hoard game balls from thrilling Week 14 loss to Packers

• Insane stat shows just how much Bears' rival respects Caleb Williams

• Ben Johnson reveals where blame for game-ending INT against Packers lies

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter