The 9-3 Chicago Bears sit atop the NFC North, but a closer look at their schedule reveals their record might be built on sand, and the Green Bay Packers are ready to be the first storm to test that foundation.
While Chicago has lived on a razor’s edge this season, with quarterback Caleb Williams guiding a franchise record five comeback victories, so far, the Packers have been playing some of their most dominant football, especially on defense, over the past three weeks.
NFL analyst skeptical Bears can withstand Packers’ talent
Ahead of Sunday, CBS Sports analyst Tyler Sullivan is skeptical that the Bears are for real, or are built to take down a roster that’s loaded with as much talent on both sides of the ball as the Packers are, within striking distance of the division lead.
“Even though the Bears are 9-3, it’s still tough to tell how good they are,” Sullivan writes for CBS Sports. “There are seven defenses in the NFL that have given up fewer than 20 points per game this season, and the Bears have faced exactly none of them. There are six teams in the NFL that have given up fewer than 300 yards per game this year, and the Bears have faced exactly zero of them. Basically, Chicago’s offense hasn’t really been tested, but that will change this week.”
Given that the Bears’ offense has never faced a front-seven of this caliber, led by an MVP-level force playing with a massive chip on his shoulder, as Micah Parsons is, Chicago’s “untested” status is could become a full-fledged crisis.
The Packers are built to deliver the true test that Chicago has avoided all season.
Green Bay has played up and down to its competition all year, the Bears have survived the tests they’ve faced, but few teams are built to exploit them in ways the Packers are entering a game that could decide the momentum in the division race.
Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
