Three Keys to Packers Beating Bears, Including Stopping This Game-Wrecker

The Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) will face the Chicago Bears (10-4) in a game that could decide the winner of the NFC North. Here are three keys as well as a Bears player that could cause problems for the Packers.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) against Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at Lambeau two weeks ago. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just two weeks after taking down the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers will play them again on Saturday night at Soldier Field in a game that could be the deciding factor in the race for the top spot in the NFC North. The winner of Saturday’s game will hold the top spot in the division with two weeks to go. 

Following the Bears, the Packers will host the Baltimore Ravens (7-7) before ending the season at the Minnesota Vikings (6-8). The Bears will have a tough end to the regular season at the San Francisco 49ers (10-4) and at home against the Detroit Lions (8-6). 

Here are three keys for the Packers taking down the Bears this week, as well as a look at one Bears player that can wreak havoc on the Packers’ defense. 

Packers-Bears: Three Keys to Victory 

1. Neutralize Caleb Williams on the Ground 

While Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been far from perfect this season, one of his greatest strengths that he has put on display all year is his ability to extend plays with his legs and play off-schedule, making tough throws and fitting the ball into tight windows on the run. 

As a pure passer, Williams has struggled. He has only completed 58 percent of his passing attempts, which puts him near the bottom of the league among starting quarterbacks. He is 12th in passing yards, 15th in passing touchdowns and 20th in passer rating, but even as a quarterback, his arm is not always his biggest strength. 

Williams is in the company of quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts, who are at their best when they aren’t trying to stand in the pocket and make throws. Despite having the benefit of playing behind the third-best offensive line in the NFL, according to PFF, Williams is at his best when he gets out of the pocket and makes plays with his legs. 

“You’ve got to plaster. You’ve got to find a body and you’ve got to stay on him until the whistle blows,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “It could be challenging at times because then it’s off-schedule stuff, so you don’t know where they’re running, you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you’ve got to find a guy, you’ve got to plaster and just got to survive whatever down or try to make a play.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) passes the ball against the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 7. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“So, that could be tough but it’s a part of the game when you’re playing a quarterback that can use his legs, that’s mobile, that can extend plays. You’ve got to be able to do that as a DB and really as a defense. You’ve got to be able to master that, and I think we’re going to be challenged again with that, with playing Caleb, because we know it’s going to happen throughout the game. We don’t know when but we know it’s going to happen so we’ve got to be prepared when it shows up.”

Williams is second in the NFL in average time to throw, according to PFF, and that is not just because of his great offensive line. Part of it is his ability to extend the play with his legs. He is averaging nearly ten yards every time he scrambles, making it one of his biggest strengths. 

“(There are) 32 quarterbacks in the league; probably 15 real starters. He’s definitely one of them,” Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon said.

If the Packers want to take over the top spot in the NFC North on Saturday, it will start with keeping Williams in the pocket. 

2. Stop the Run, Again 

Even though it was a pregame key to victory the last time these two teams faced each other, it may be even more important this week with injuries to the Bears’ receiving corps. 

Two weeks ago, the Bears sported one of the top rushing attacks in the NFL. Between Williams’ scrambling ability and the top duo of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monongai in the backfield, the Bears are one of the toughest teams to stop on the ground. 

With a strong rushing attack, the Bears have a chance to be one of the most versatile and dangerous offenses in the NFL, but with their receiving room so depleted due to injury, they could be forced to lean heavily on their run game. 

The Bears will be without their top receiver in Rome Odunze, who is missing his third consecutive game, and rookie Luther Burden III, who is fourth in receiving yards and led the team in that category last week. While he is healthy this week, veteran receiver D.J. Moore was a nonfactor in their last matchup with the Packers, bringing in only one catch for a loss of 4 yards. He did score two touchdowns last week against Cleveland, though.

If the Packers’ defense can take Moore out of the game once again and the passing offense struggles without Odunze and Burden III, the Bears could be forced to lean too heavily on their running backs. For most teams, that would be a death sentence, but with the Bears having such a strong rushing attack, it is something the Packers will have to worry about to steal a win in Soldier Field. 

3. The Battle of the Quarterbacks 

While these are two very versatile offenses and very tough defenses, this game could very easily boil down to which quarterback can have the better individual performance, especially with both teams being a bit beaten up late in the season. 

Jordan Love played two weeks of near-perfect football before struggling during the second half in the loss to the Broncos last week. Between the Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Lions and the first game against the Bears, Love completed 64 percent of his passes for 468 yards on 8.6 yards per completion and seven touchdowns, throwing just one interception and taking one sack. That includes three big-play touchdowns in the first matchup.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws the ball in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Love had a tougher time against the Broncos’ fourth-ranked defense. His completion percentage dropped to 60.0, his yards per completion dropped to 6.9, he was sacked three times, and he threw multiple interceptions for the first time since the Packers’ loss to the Eagles in the wild-card round last year. 

Love will need to be the X-factor if the Packers hope to clinch the top spot in the division, and that starts with taking care of the ball against the Bears on Saturday. He threw one interception in their last meeting, which ended up yielding no points for the Bears. 

One Player the Packers Need to Stop 

“He’s hard to tackle... He’s done a really nice job this year of getting out of the pocket and making a ton of plays.” 

Caleb Williams received high praise from defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, especially when it comes to his escape ability and ability to make off-schedule plays. Williams has been one of the top rushing quarterbacks in the NFL this season, ranking fifth in scramble yards and averaging almost 10 yards for every undesigned run. 

“He going to run around. He going to do Houdini stuff,” Keisean Nixon said about Williams. “That’s why he was the first pick. That’s why he won the Heisman. Made hell of a throws on the run. So, we just got to play ball.” 

It isn’t just with his legs that Williams can hurt you. While he has been far from perfect throwing the ball this season, completing just 58 percent of his passes, he has made 22 big-time throws, according to PFF. A big-time throw is a pass with excellent timing and ball placement, usually thrown downfield into tight windows. His total of 22 puts him at ninth this season. 

Williams has also done a great job at protecting the ball, throwing just six interceptions. Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff are the only qualified starting quarterbacks who have thrown fewer. With his scrambling ability, he is also smart with the ball and knows when to just get rid of it, throwing the ball away 31 times compared to making just 15 turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF. 

A Packers win on Saturday will start with slowing down Williams, especially on the ground. If they can keep him contained in the pocket and force him to make plays with just his arm, they will have a much better chance at coming home with a win, and Nixon is adamant that the defense is ready for him. 

Nixon said Williams has the “it factor.”

“It takes a lot of guts and courage and honor to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk, especially at quarterback,” Nixon said. “I can only imagine what them guys go through. At DB, you give up a play, you’ve just got to bounce back. At quarterback, the wins and losses always reflect on how they played the game. I think it’s hard but he’s a hell of a competitor but we’re not stunting none of that. We ready to play ball.”

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