Bear Digest

Where matching up against Packers causes Bears the most problems

The toughest Bears matchup issue might be stopping Jordan Love, who has had four strong games against them, and there are other Packers who can cause problems.
Gene Chamberlain|
Christian Watson celebrates a catch against the Bears at Soldier Field.
Christian Watson celebrates a catch against the Bears at Soldier Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Any brash talk of the past about the Green Bay Packers or their coach has faded as the Bears approach this showdown Sunday for the NFC North lead.

The Packers' defense, in particular, has been accorded its just due by both quarterback Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson.

"Personnel-wise, they're pretty loaded across the board," Johnson said. "You’ve got multiple guys up front that you have to be aware of."

He obviously went on to talk about Micah Parsons, with a team-high 12 1/2 sacks, but Rashan Gary has 7 1/2 sacks this season and has had four sacks and seven tackles for loss against the Bears. The safety duo of Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams also has the attention of both Johnson and Williams.

"The safeties, like coach said, are extremely talented," Williams added. "And so, it's a great challenge for us. We have to be focused on the details and from there, we have to go out there and execute the plays that are called and have a certain mentality about us when we step on that field.”

The Packers did take a big hit when their best defensive tackle, Devonte Wyatt, went out for the season on Thanksgiving against Detroit with an ankle injury. He had four sacks and six tackles for loss.

All of this fails to take into account how Jordan Love has had better statistics against the Bears for his four starts against them than even Aaron Rodgers had most of the time when he "owned" them. He has a 121.0 passer rating against them.

Love has had passer ratings of 101.3 or higher in four of his last five games this season as he has come on strong after an inconsistent start.

The Bears are facing a challenge more difficult in many ways than in their Black Friday win over the world champions Eagles, although the Packers did lose at home to Philadelphia 10-7 Nov. 10 for their last defeat.

The Packers were still the league's youngest team coming out of training camp and many of their players have now been around long enough to have sufficient seasoning an experience for a deep playoff run.

Here are the matchups where the Bears figure to have the most problems.

LT Ozzy Trapilo vs. OLB Micah Parsons

The biggest problem for Trapilo besides Parsons' speed around the edge is how Green Bay moves him around extensively. Trapilo won't be sure when to expect Parsons on that side, although it's sure to be a healthy dose. Parsons is third in sacks in the NFL and second in the NFL's pass rush win rate at 24%, trailing only Pittsburgh's Nick Herbig. Trapilo has made two starts at left tackle, one a strong effort against Herbig and last week against the Eagles. He is graded 63rd among 80 tackles in pass blocking with seven pressures allowed on 120 pass-blocking attempts. He's going up against the player the Packers sought to get over the hump and become a Super Bowl team. The Bears haven't had much experience against Parsons overall, as they saw him once and he returned a fumble 36 yards for a touchdown in Matt Eberflus' first year as head coach.

CB Nahshon Wright vs. WR Christian Watson

Watson isn't among Packers receptions leaders but only because he missed half the games due to injury. He has been getting stronger and stronger and Love probably has more confidence in throwing the deep ball to him than anyone else. On Thanksgiving, he beat the Lions for a TD bomb. Going against Wright can take away some of his good 50-50 ball ability since both are 6-foot-4, and Wright does lead the NFL in takeaways, but could soon lose his job or go into a rotation if Tyrique Stevenson returns from a hip injury. While Wright has made quarterbacks pay for looking his way with five intereceptions, he also has six touchdown catches allowed according to Pro Football Reference/Stathead. That's an inviting target.

TE Colston Loveland vs. LB Edgerrin Cooper

Cooper made a big statement last year about his game as a rookie and this year is one of the best pass coverage linebackers in the league, rating seventh league-wide in Pro Football Focus' coverage grade. He has been tailing off a bit in recent games in coverage but had been dominant in coverage earlier. He also leads the Packers in tackles. Loveland has three catches or more in seven straight games and helped get Caleb Williams out of trouble several times last week, including the game's key first down catch.

DE Austin Booker vs. T Rasheed Walker

Walker hasn't been pass blocking at the level he displayed last year or as a rookie in 2023 and has allowed four sacks and 22 hurries, according to PFF. However he as graded out solid overall and has a much less severe task going against the second-year Bears edge than starting right tackle Zach Tom has facing Montez Sweat. In five games since coming off IR, Booker has one sack and five pressures.

LB Noah Sewell vs. TE Luke Musgrave

Sewell could return this week from an elbow injury. Normally he or any other linebacker playing the middle, like D'Marco Jackson, would be severely challenged by Tucker Kraft. But the Packers starter is out for the season. Musgrave would be an effective starter for many teams anyway. He has 15 catches in 18 targets. Sewell's 128.3 passer rating against should be enough to give the Bears pause to think about playing Jackson in the middle, anyway, until Tremaine Edmunds can return from IR. Jackson has allowed five catches in six targets but only for 27 yards, and seems to have a good grasp of Dennis Allen's defense from when they were both in New Orleans.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.