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We have a new leader in the NFC North, as the Green Bay Packers escaped with a 28-21 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
With the win, the Packers improved to 9-3-1 on the season, while the loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Bears, dropping them to 9-4 and from the NFC’s No. 1 seed to No. 7. The Packers have not won the NFC North since 2021, while the Bears have not won the division title since 2018. The teams meet again in two weeks at Soldier Field.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Jordan Love creates splash plays for Packers’ offense
The Utah State product showed why he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Love finished 17-of-25 for 234 yards, with three long touchdown passes — 41 and 23-yarders to Christian Watson and a 45-yarder to Bo Melton, a cornerback who was playing receiver due to injuries.
Love averaged 9.4 yards per attempt. His only blemish was a pass over the middle intended for rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden that was intercepted by safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Entering Sunday’s contest, the Bears led the NFL with a plus-17 turnover differential. However, Green Bay’s defense managed to keep Chicago out of the end zone after the Love interception in the first half.
While Love carried the offense through the air, veteran running back Josh Jacobs helped close out the victory by bulling his way for the winning score, a 2-yard run with 3:31 left to play. Jacobs finished with 86 rushing yards on 20 carries.
2. Chicago looked to its running game in second-half comeback
The Packers did a good job early of keeping Chicago’s potent running game from breaking loose. Entering Sunday, the Bears averaged 154 rushing yards per contest, No. 2 in the league. Chicago rushed for 281 yards in a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week.
However, the Bears got going on the ground in the second half, leading their comeback as they tied the game at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter. Chicago finished with 138 rushing yards. Entering Sunday’s contest, the Packers had been holding teams to 98 rushing yards a game, good for No. 8 in the NFL.
3. Accuracy remains an issue for Caleb Williams
Williams entered Week 14 with the lowest completion percentage in the league at 58.1%. And that dipped on Sunday, as he completed just 54.3% of his passes for 186 yards, including 1-yard touchdown passes to receiver Olamide Zaccheaus and tight end Colston Loveland.
Williams also had an interception on Chicago’s final offensive play of the game, underthrowing Loveland in the end zone on a fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 14-yard line. The throw was intercepted by Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon.
Williams now has nine games with a sub-60 completion percentage, the most in the NFL, and six straight games with a completion percentage under 60%.
Give credit to Williams for making big plays late, however, and he consistently escaped pressure and created plays down the field with his feet. Still, Chicago head coach Ben Johnson would like to see Williams execute his offense more efficiently. Jared Goff completed 72.4% of his passes for the Detroit Lions in the same system last year.
The Bears dropped to 6-2 in one-score games this season after finishing 3-7 in such games last year.
4. Micah Parsons held without a sack by Chicago’s offensive line
Green Bay’s top pass rusher and league leader in pressures was held without a sack for just the fourth time this season. Parsons did have a game-high eight pressures, but he finished with just one combined tackle. The Packers managed to sack Williams only once. Chicago’s second-year quarterback finished 5-of-14 for 71 yards, with a touchdown and no interception when pressured, per Next Gen Stats.
4 ½. What’s next?
The Packers travel to the Mile High City to meet one of the top teams in the AFC in the Denver Broncos (11-2). Denver took care of the Las Vegas Raiders in the desert this weekend, 24-17.
Meanwhile, the Bears will try and get back on the winning track against Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns (3-10) at Soldier Field on Sunday. Cleveland lost at home to Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans this week, 31-29.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
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