Three Critical Players for Both Packers, Bears for Sunday’s Rivalry Clash

The Green Bay Packers will play one of their most important games of the season on Sunday when they host the Chicago Bears. The winner of this game will hold the top spot in the NFC North with four games to play, including one more matchup between these two teams.

Here are three key players for both teams as the Packers push to remain undefeated in division play.

Packers-Bears: Three Key Players for Chicago

1. RBs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai

With the emergence of rookie running back Kyle Monangai and the consistency of sixth-year veteran D’Andre Swift, the Bears have become one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL this season.

Chicago ranks second in rushing yards per game with 153.8, fifth in yards per carry at 4.94 and fifth in rushing touchdowns with 15.

Paired with their dominant offensive line, which features the retooled interior of guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, who were acquired in trades, and center Drew Dalman, who was signed in free agency, the backs have had great seasons.

Swift, who is their leading rusher, has been consistent all year, posting 70.4 rushing yards per game with three explosive 100-plus yard performances. He ranks eighth among qualified running backs in yards per carry (4.84).

Rookie Kyle Monangai, who the Bears selected in the seventh round, started the season off slow before bursting onto the scene in the second half. In his last five games, he is averaging 81 yards per game on nearly 16 carries per game. He has added two 100-plus-yard games, including a 176 yard performance against the Bengals in Week 9, which is the sixth-highest single-game total this season. He is seventh among running backs with 4.88 yards per carry.

2. WR D.J. Moore

With the Bears’ leading receiver, second year player Rome Odunze, officially ruled out for Sunday’s game, veteran D.J. Moore will be sliding back into the WR1 spot and will likely see an increase in target share.

Moore, who caught 96 passes in his debut season with the Bears in 2023 and 98 in 2024, has caught 38 of his 63 targets for 502 yards, averaging 13.2 yards per catch. He has added three touchdowns on 41.8 yards per game with seven receptions of 20-plus yards. He is second on the Bears to Odunze in all of those categories.

Bears receiver DJ Moore (2) tip-toes the sideline as he breaks a tackle by Packers safety Javon Bullard for a touchdown. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What makes Moore dangerous isn’t just his receiving ability, but also the fact that Ben Johnson and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle like to use him in different ways, scheming him into the offense just to get the ball in his hands and let him make plays himself.

On top of his receiving stats, Moore has run the ball 14 times for 67 yards and a touchdown. He has also thrown a pass this season, a 2-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Caleb Williams. With his ability to make his way into the offense in many ways and his increased target share this week, he can be a dangerous player.

3. S Kevin Byard III

Even on the Bears’ 27th-ranked defense, they have been incredible at forcing turnovers, and that effort has been led by safety Kevin Byard III. The Bears are leading the NFL with 17 interceptions, and Byard has a league-leading six.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur was the Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2018 when Byard was a third-year pro.

“Very, very intelligent football player. Obviously, very talented, too,” LaFleur said. “You’re not going to fool him at all.”

Byard will be one of the most dangerous defenders on the Bears on Sunday, and could become an X-factor. Jordan Love will need to know where he is at all times in the passing game, and the Packers’ blockers will have to move up to his level to prevent him from making an impact in the run game.

Packers-Bears: Three Key Players for Green Bay

1. LB Edgerrin Cooper

Against the Bears’ highly touted rushing attack, the Packers’ linebacker corps will have to be at their very best, and that starts with second-year player Edgerrin Cooper.

With Quay Walker returning from an injury that kept him sidelined for the last two weeks, Cooper will need to step up alongside Isaiah McDuffie once again in order to stop the Bears’ explosive backfield.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) takes down Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams last season. | Wm. Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Walker missing the last two games allowed Cooper to jump into the team lead in tackles with 86. He has added two tackles for losses and has forced a team-leading two fumbles, which all adds up to make him one of the Packers’ top run defenders.

After losing Devonte Wyatt for the rest of the season, the Packers’ linebackers will need to step up with possible vulnerabilities in the middle of the defensive line, otherwise D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai could flip this rivalry upside down.

2. RB Josh Jacobs

After missing the Packers’ Week 12 game against the Vikings, Josh Jacobs returned to the lineup on Thanksgiving and made an immediate impact in the win at the Lions.

Jacobs ran the ball 17 times for 83 yards, though he was held scoreless for just the third time all season and for his second game in a row. Nonetheless, he had a pair of explosive 10-plus-yard runs, including a 29-yard run that took the Packers into Detroit territory on their first touchdown drive.

Jacobs will have a great opportunity to snap his scoreless streak while subsequently hunting for his first 100-yard rushing game of the season against the Bears, who sport the fifth-worst rushing defense in the NFL. He could return to his role as the center point of the Packers’ offense if the Bears can’t figure out how to stop him.

3. QB Jordan Love

Jordan Love is coming off another one of his best games of the season and his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week award.

Against the Lions, Love completed 18-of-30 passes for 234 yards and a season-high four touchdowns, throwing no interceptions and finishing with a passer rating of 124.2. The Lions are the 21st-ranked passing defense in the NFL.

The Bears rank 22nd in pass defense, though some of that is due to the extended absences of cornerback Jaylon Johnson and nickel Kyler Gordon. They’re back in the lineup, and will line up with cornerback Nahshon Wright, who is tied for second in the NFL with five interceptions.

Love has only thrown three interceptions this season, the second-fewest in the NFL among starting quarterbacks. He has also gone four weeks without throwing an interception, but he could face difficulty making it five in a row against a Bears secondary that has had a nose for the ball all year. If Love can keep the ball in the hands of the offense, he can pick apart their defense.

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