The Chicago Bears (3-1) are gearing up for a Week 5 divisional matchup against the Green Bay Packers (2-2) on Sunday, where Chicago is looking to win its third straight game and third straight matchup against Green Bay.
The Bears are coming off a dominant 23-12 win over the New York Jets, where the offense controlled time of possession for roughly 45 minutes that included 89 total plays. In fact, Chicago had more first downs (34) than the Jets had total offensive plays (32). The Bears run game had an impressive showing with 232 yards on the ground, including 146 yards and two touchdowns from Kyle Monangai. Meanwhile, Chicago's defense continued its dominant showing for the third straight game holding New York to just 12 points.
Now, the focus
shifts to a crucial NFC North showdown against the hated Packers, where there's a lot more than division seeding on the line. Following the passing of legend Mike Ditka, all eyes are on the Bears to get him a win in the rivalry that he brought intensity to. Can Chicago win their third straight over Green Bay? Our Bears Wire staff certainly thinks so. Here's a look at their game predictions for Bears-Packers in Week 5:
Alyssa Barbieri (2-2): Bears 24, Packers 17
Bold prediction: Rookies Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad both get interceptions
There's nothing like a Bears-Packers rivalry when it's competitive -- especially when you're on the side that's aiming to win a third straight game. The arrival of Ben Johnson has reignited this rivalry, and it's everything the NFL has been missing. Chicago has yet to win in Green Bay since Johnson took over -- granted it was just one game last year and they fell just one Caleb Williams interception short of a potential win -- and this is the perfect opportunity for Johnson to make a statement in this rivalry amid extenuating circumstances.
The passing of Mike Ditka has made this a must-win game for the Bears, especially as the Hall of Famer helped bring the intensity to this rivalry that Ben Johnson is now carrying on. Interestingly enough, just days after Walter Payton's passing in Nov. 1999, the Bears played the Packers at Lambeau Field, and they blocked a last-second field goal to preserve a 14-13 win. We'll see if any heroics are needed -- another blocked field goal, perhaps -- or if Chicago can take control early and never relinquish it.
As for the game itself, it presents as a favorable matchup for the Bears, who have an explosive offense (even without Caleb Williams), the league's best run game and a defense that's finding its identity. Then there are the Packers, who have had a rough start to the year despite being 2-2, and they could've just as easily been 0-4. Green Bay has the league's worst run game and one of the worst run defenses, so there will be opportunities for this defense to make this Packers offense one-dimensional and for D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson (even with Kyle Monangai sidelined).
In the end, I think the Bears are able to find a way to win in Green Bay and get the win for Ditka.
Brendan Sugrue (3-1): Bears 27, Packers 19
Bold prediction: Bears force two fumbles
For the better part of a decade, going into Bears-Packers week always came with a ton of anxiety with a mix of hope that this could finally be the turning point of the oldest rivalry in the NFL. But now that the Bears are 3-1 in their last four games, that feeling has changed to confidence and excitement. The shift in the rivalry is happening, and with each organization seemingly headed in opposite directions, there is a new expectation that the Bears should beat the Packers.
Despite Chicago starting backup quarterback Tyson Bagent and a few injury questions on offense, this unit is poised to control the clock and exhaust Green Bay’s defense. The Bears are No. 1 in time of possession, averaging 36:35 minutes with the ball—nearly four minutes longer than the next team. The Packers are in second-to-last place with 26:14 minutes. If the Bears can replicate their success they had against the New York Jets, this could be a long day for Green Bay.
As for the Bears defense, they should be able to make the Packers one-dimensional on offense. Green Bay can’t run the ball (averaging 58 rushing yards per game), and the Bears’ pass defense is third in the league, allowing just 179.8 yards per game. With how the defense is getting pressure as of late and going against a patchwork offensive line, Jordan Love could have a long day trying to win the game with his arm.
Despite the Bears having many advantages, these games tend to be close. It’s been over three years since a Bears-Packers game was decided by more than one score. I expect another close one, but the Bears finish with a win by playing turnover-free football and once again leaning on their ground attack.
Mike Pendleton (3-1): Bears 38, Packers 13
Bold prediction: Bears sack Jordan Love 4 times
If they're able to make them a one-dimensional football team, the Chicago Bears should have plenty of success on both sides of the football against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. To say that the Packers have any resemblance of a run game would be insulting to most NFL offenses, and if Chicago can completely shut down the run and put the ball in Jordan Love’s hands for the entirety of the game, this should be a one-sided affair.
Given the bitterness of this rivalry and head coach Ben Johnson’s desire to stick it to Green Bay, this one should get out of hand fairly quickly if Johnson has his way. This game lines up to be the blowout that many expected against the New York Jets last week, the significance of a bitter rivalry should lead to better execution, especially in the red zone.
Jordan Love has been sacked on average twice a game so far this season, this is a great opportunity for Dennis Allen to ramp up the pressure and make it a rough day at the office for the Packers quarterback. Here’s hoping that Kyle Monangai is good to go for this contest, but if not, the ground game should be just fine against a very weak Packers run defense.
Vinnie Parise (3-1): Bears 31, Packers 24
Bold prediction: Jordan Love throws 3 interceptions
The Chicago Bears are not as dominant without Caleb Williams as they are with him. If they were, they would have scored 50+ again against the New York Jets last week. If the time of possession favors them like that again, there would be a lot more than 23 points.
Still, Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent have both been more than good enough to keep the Bears afloat without their star QB. That should be able to continue on Sunday when they visit Lambeau Field.
This Green Bay Packers outfit is also as injured and lousy as they’ve been in a long time. At 2-2, they could easily be 0-4, and nothing has gone particularly well for them on either side of the ball. It’s a matchup that Ben Johnson can exploit in more ways than one.
With all of that in mind, however, it must be remembered that these rivalry games always have extra juice that make them unpredictable. Just because the Bears are significantly better than them in every way, doesn’t mean that the result can’t turn bad for a variety of reasons. Both teams are going to bring their best as if it were the last game of the season.
Ariana Pensy (3-1): Bears 27, Packers 20
Bold prediction: The Bears have over 200 rushing yards for the third time this season
The biggest thing standing in Chicago’s way going into Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers is the injury report. Kyle Monangai, who is coming off the best game of his career, is dealing with turf toe meaning the Bears’ healthy top healthy running backs are D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson, who got a few runs in against the Jets last week. Given how bad Green Bay’s run defense has been this season and how dominant Chicago has been on the ground, the Bears are going to lean into their run game even if the backs are not 100 percent and neither is the offensive line for that matter. However, Green Bay just lost Edgerrin Cooper for the season. Cooper had the second-most tackles and the most tackles for loss through the first four games, so this is a significant loss. Especially with this injury, the Packers may know Chicago is going to attack them on the ground, but they are not going to be able to stop them.
On the other side of the ball, the Packers may have some success through the air with quarterback Jordan Love. In his six games against the Bears, Love has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes, has nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions. He tends not to make as many mistakes against Chicago which should keep things competitive. But the Bears defense has been pretty good this season, so they will be able to prevent Green Bay from getting a lot of points especially since the Packers cannot run the ball and have a running back on their injury report. This probably will go down to the wire because of the history between these rivals, but Chicago will beat the Packers for the third time in a row which would be their longest winning streak against Green Bay since 2005-2006.
Randy Holt (2-2): Bears 23, Packers 14
Bold prediction: One of the Odunze/Burden/Loveland contingent reaches 100 yards receiving.
There is an immense discomfort that comes along with actually picking the Bears to beat the Packers, but perhaps it’s the nature of living in a world where Ben Johnson is the head coach that has me doing so all the same. In any case, the offense has been too efficient to ignore. The run game has been bananas good, and Johnson has made it a point to get Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and Luther Burden involved earlier. I think that continued focus should help them to compensate for a potential absence of Kyle Monangai, with the pass game showing us a little more with Tyson Bagent at the helm than it did last week (where it was fine, if not a bit unspectacular).
The defense continues to instill confidence, both on the stat sheet and by the eye test. The Packers are in the bottom half of the league in total yards and only slightly higher in yards per play. I think we’ll see some aggression on the part of the defense early. If they’re able to stifle Jordan Love and co. in the first half, they’re going to do that thing where they progressively gain confidence and force a few mistakes on Green Bay’s end of things later in the game. I don’t think this will be as comfortable a win as last week was, but I tend not to think that Johnson, his staff, and his players are going to let an opportunity to make an early statement against their rival pass them by.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Will Bears beat the Packers? Our game picks and bold predictions
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