Snaps, Studs and Duds From Packers’ Victory Over Bears

Here’s our weekly analysis of the snap counts and some of the standout performances from the Packers’ victory over the Bears, which moved them into first place in the NFC North.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) celebrates a touchdown during their win over the Bears. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers moved into first place in the NFC North by outlasting the Chicago Bears 28-21 on Sunday.

Highlighted by Jordan Love’s three touchdown passes and Keisean Nixon’s saving interception, here’s our weekly analysis of the snap counts along with two studs and two duds from the team’s fourth consecutive victory.

Packers Snap Counts on Offense

The Packers played 53 snaps on offense.

Quarterbacks: Jordan Love played every snap and Malik Willis did not play. During Green Bay’s four-game winning streak, Love has nine touchdown passes and one interception.

Running backs: It was a typical day with Josh Jacobs playing 72 percent of the snaps – 38 in this case. Jacobs had 86 rushing yards, with 68 coming after contact, by our count.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) runs against Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard III. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Emanuel Wilson played only eight snaps – same as Chris Brooks. Brooks also played 16 snaps on special teams, the most for any player on offense. After breaking 100 rushing yards against the Vikings, Wilson has played 20 snaps the last two games.

Receivers: With Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) and Matthew Golden (wrist) active but injured, Christian Watson played 44 snaps and Romeo Doubs played 43. Watson had a big game with two long touchdowns. Doubs was held without a catch for the first time since Week 18 of the 2023 season against the Bears.

After a 10-game absence, Jayden Reed made his mark during his 25 snaps. He caught all four targets for 31 yards, including an 18-yarder on the winning drive, and had runs of 15 and 7.

Bo Melton (nine) played more than Wicks (six; five in the first quarter and one in the second) and Golden (five) and had a 45-yard touchdown. 

Tight ends: Luke Musgrave, the former second-round pick, played a unit-low 21 snaps. This time, it was John FitzPatrick playing the leading role with 30 snaps – double the number from last week. Josh Whyle played 22. Offensive lineman Darian Kinnard played six as an extra tight end.

Offensive line: The No. 1 unit of left tackle Rasheed Walker, left guard Aaron Banks, center Sean Rhyan, right guard Anthony Belton and right tackle Zach Tom went the distance. They played a key role in the Packers rushing for 117 yards and Love facing only six pressures (one sack), according to Next Gen Stats.

Packers Snap Counts on Defense

The Packers played 70 snaps on defense.

Defensive ends: Micah Parsons played 61 snaps, which matched his season high. He just goes and goes and goes. He hasn’t played less than 84 percent of the snaps since Arizona in Week 7. Parsons had eight of the 18 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) and linebacker Quay Walker (7) pressure Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rashan Gary was next with 40 snaps, with Kingsley Enagbare right behind with 39. Enagbare had the only sack. With Lukas Van Ness inactive again and Brenton Cox still on injured reserve, rookie Barryn Sorrell played 11.

Arron Mosby didn’t play on defense but tied for the team high with 21 snaps on special teams. He’s been an impact player.

Defensive tackles: Life without Devonte Wyatt started with Karl Brooks playing 47 snaps after being inactive two of the previous three games with an ankle injury. Colby Wooden played 43. Rookie sixth-round pick Warren Brinson played 27 and Jordon Riley, who was signed off the Giants’ practice squad on Wednesday and was active ahead of Nazir Stackhouse, played 14 in his debut.

Linebackers: In his return to the lineup after missing two games with a stinger, Quay Walker played every snap. So did Edgerrin Cooper, though he was shaken up once. Cooper led the team with 11 tackles and Walker had nine.

Isaiah McDuffie played 36 snaps on defense and a team-high 21 on special teams. Ty’Ron Hopper played one snap on defense, when he gave up the tying touchdown, and 18 on special teams, where he continues to show up every week. Kristian Welch played seven snaps on special teams before his day ended with a concussion.

Cornerbacks: Carrington Valentine led the unit with 69 snaps. Keisean Nixon played 67; he was benched for two after being flagged for unnecessary roughness. Nixon gave up a touchdown but had the clinching interception. According to Next Gen, Nixon was targeted six times and gave up two catches for 11 yards.

Nate Hobbs was back from a four-game absence due to a knee injury and eased some of Javon Bullard’s burden in the slot by playing 10 snaps.

Safeties: Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams went the distance. Bullard, who was questionable with an ankle injury and only practiced on Wednesday, played 26 snaps. He had one of the team’s two quarterback hits.

On special teams, Zayne Anderson played 18 snaps and Kitan Oladapo played 14.

Packers Studs vs. Bears

One: Where would the Packers be without Christian Watson?

Probably not in first place in the NFC North.

Watson caught all four targets for 89 yards and two touchdowns. The 41-yard touchdown is something we hit on a few weeks ago. While Watson is a premier deep threat, he’s not just a deep threat. Hit him on the move and let him go to work, and that’s exactly what he did.

“Oh, man, that man’s different. Everybody know that in this locker room. He’s the gazelle, man,” Bo Melton said.

Watson beat defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson immediately at the snap and outran everyone to the pylon.

“As soon as I seen Jordan make the check, honestly, I like to say that I knew it was going to be a touchdown,” Watson said. “Anytime you get man coverage that’s the mentality that we should have. It worked out.”

Two: It was vintage Josh Jacobs throughout the game, but especially on a pivotal third-and-2 on the game-winning drive. Jacobs was doomed for a negative-yardage play that would have set up a field goal of about 46 yards. Instead, he turned disaster into a 21-yard run and, ultimately, the decisive touchdown.

What an absurd run against one of the best-tackling teams in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/cs226jUNqJ

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 8, 2025

“We honestly didn’t have the look for it on that play, so I knew I wasn’t going to get outside,” Jacobs said. “It was one of those where I was, OK, press it as long as you can and then just try to get the first. When I stuck my foot up, I’d seen the guys flowing and I’d seen them kind of hesitate, I knew we were going to have a big play.”

Honorable mentions: It’d be impossible to not mention Keisean Nixon, who was the savior with his game-saving interception.

Here's the end-zone view of Keisean Nixon's game-saving interception. pic.twitter.com/0rqlrnO3Ir

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 8, 2025

“Jesus himself, 25 comes out of the blue and makes a play,” is how safety Evan Williams described Nixon’s play.

The interception was set up by Kingsley Enagbare’s third-and-1 stuffing of Kyle Monangai.

Packers Duds vs. Bears: Linebackers

You could argue the Packers didn’t beat the Bears; Bears coach Ben Johnson beat the Bears.

On paper, Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper combined to make 20 tackles. The reality is neither made any impact tackles, especially in the second half, when the Bears completely controlled the game.

In the first half, the Bears ran 28 plays and gained 71 yards. In the second half, they ran 40 plays and gained 244 yards. On the ground, the damage was 19 carries for 90 yards, including 10 for 48 in the fourth quarter. Chicago’s second-half success rate on the ground was 68.4 percent, according to Next Gen Stats.

On Chicago’s game-tying touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter, the first five handoffs to running backs Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift gained 9, 7, 7, 8 and 8 yards.

Taking the ball out of the hands of Monangai and Swift was a mistake. Sure, Kingsley Enagbare made the play on third-and-1, but there was little reason to believe the Packers could stop back-to-back rushing plays. The Bears’ backs either had big running lanes or pushed piles. Surely, one of them could have gained the required 2 feet.

If the Packers are going to finish off this regular season and make some noise in the playoffs, the run defense must play better. That’s got to start with the linebackers given the state of the defensive line.

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