The Packers‘ showdown against the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field could become a de facto NFC North championship game.
Two weeks after Green Bay survived at Lambeau Field, when cornerback Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams in the end zone inside the final 30 seconds of the game to seal a victory, the Packers once again find themselves staring up at the Bears both in the division and as the current No. 7 seed in the NFC Playoffs.
Green Bay will also need to hold serve without Micah Parsons, lost for the season after tearing his ACL in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Broncos.
Chicago Bears give the Packers some bulletin board material
The Bears’ defense has developed into one of the most opportunistic in the sport, creating a league-high 20 takeaways.
After Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson pulled down a pivotal interception in Chicago’s win over the Cleveland Browns, he immediately after the game threw down the gauntlet on Green Bay.
“I’m proud of how we came out here and executed, but I ain’t going to lie to you, still got a bad taste in my mouth from last week, bruh,” Jackson told his teammates after getting the game ball in the locker room. “We got to get or get back versus these boys coming up next week.”
Protecting the football could prove pivotal for quarterback Jordan Love and Green Bay’s offense, especially for a team looking to weather the storm from losing one of the defense’s most valuable players and strongest leadership voices and looking to bounce back from a loss in one of the most consequential games of the entire season.
