Keys to the Game
Packers
- Play Their Game
The Packers grade out better than the Bears in nearly every important statistic. They rank 5th in yards per play on offense, Chicago ranks 31st. They give up the 10th-least yards per play on defense, Chicago gives up the 4th-most. They have more takeaways, more sacks, and (far) more total points. All of this is to say: Green Bay can win however it wants. The Bears are bad everywhere. As long as Matt LaFleur hasn’t been sitting on his thumbs all week, whatever he has in store for the Bears defense will almost certainly be overwhelming.
Bears
- Win Turnover Battle
As the inferior football team, Chicago doesn’t have many avenues to victory on Sunday. The Bears are 0-7 on the road this season and have lost 10 straight games. They’ve lost 11 straight games against Green Bay dating back several seasons. To win this specific iteration of the storied rivalry would almost be catching lightning in a battle. Although the Bears kept it close in the teams’ first meeting of the season (missing a 41-yard field goal for the win), they field a different team now. The defense is now bad, and the offense has no direction. To come out victorious, many things need to go right. To home in on one aspect: the easiest way for a bad team to beat a good team is to dominate the turnover battle.
If the defense can pick off Jordan Love a couple times while the offense manages to protect the ball as it actually has all season long, it would be a good first step to victory. Unfortunately for Chicago, Green Bay has committed the 12th-least turnovers this season and its defense is 4th in takeaways. Still, Bears QB Caleb Williams takes very good care of the football. In fact, he broke the rookie NFL record with 353 consecutive passes without an interception. This was also good for the 4th longest streak of all time.