Love and Packers look to keep pace in tight NFC North race when they visit struggling Bears
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Jordan Love remembers soaking it all in during the national anthem when Green Bay visited Chicago last year.
The season opener was the dawn of a new era for the Packers. Love showed he might be ready to follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as he led Green Bay to yet another win over the Bears.
This time, the storylines are different.
The Packers (6-3) hope to keep pace in the tight NFC North and maintain their dominance in this storied rivalry, while the Bears (4-5) look to put the brakes on a skid that just cost their offensive coordinator his job.
“With this rivalry we know what this game’s all about and we take pride in that,” Love said.
The Packers have dominated the Bears, winning 10 in a row and 25 of the past 28 meetings, including the NFC championship game at the end of the 2010 season. The current streak matches the longest by either team in the rivalry, matching a run by Green Bay from 1994-98.
While the Packers would surely love to extend the streak, there's also that other matter of trying to catch division rivals Detroit (8-1) and Minnesota (7-2). Green Bay had a bye last week following a loss to the Lions that stopped a four-game win streak.
The last-place Bears have dropped three straight after winning three in a row prior to their bye. Their offense has gone back-to-back games without a touchdown for the first time since 2004.
Chicago fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in 10 months when it let Shane Waldron go after just nine games on Tuesday in the wake of a 19-3 loss to New England. The Bears replaced him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, and his most important task is to get No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams on track.
The schedule, meanwhile, is taking a tougher turn. Six of Chicago's final eight games are against division foes.
“It's frustrating, especially when we know what we can be,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I think this week with Thomas at the head of the offense here maybe provides a little bit of a reset and a fresh perspective.”
Struggling offense
The Bears have gone 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown since driving for one in the final minute to take the lead against Washington in Week 8. They lost on a Hail Mary by Jayden Daniels. In the three games since the bye, Chicago's offense has just two touchdowns in 34 drives.
Williams is 48 of 95 without a TD in the past three games. He was sacked nine times against New England. During the win streak, Williams completed 74% of his passes for 687 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception.
Turnover talk
Both teams have done a good job at forcing turnovers.
Green Bay is tied for second in the NFL with 19 takeaways, one behind Minnesota. Chicago has 16.
The Bears have done a better job taking care of the ball. They have eight giveaways while the Packers have 13. Chicago is tied for fourth with a plus-8 turnover differential, while Green Bay is tied for seventh at plus-6.
Missing Smith
This will be the Packers’ first game since they sent veteran pass rusher Preston Smith to Pittsburgh last week for a 2025 seventh-round pick. Smith had 2 1/2 sacks this year and had totaled 44 since joining the Packers in 2019.
“You’re losing a friend, somebody you’ve been around for a year-and-a-half,” said defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness, the Packers’ 2023 first-round draft pick. “But I think it’s an opportunity for myself and the rest of the guys in the room to just take advantage of it and go out and show what we can do.”
McKinney on Moore
There could be some interesting conversations between Bears receiver DJ Moore and Packers safety Xavier McKinney.
That's because McKinney said something to reporters this week about Moore heading to the sideline as Williams was running from pressure during Chicago's loss at Arizona on Nov. 3.
“You’re supposed to be the guy and you’re just walking off the field,” McKinney said. “You’re walking off the field on a rookie quarterback that you’ve been praising.”
Moore has said he left the field because he rolled his ankle and not out of frustration.
Familiar territory
Brown was in a similar spot last year as Carolina's offensive coordinator.
He had a rookie quarterback drafted with the No. 1 pick in Bryce Young and assumed play-calling duties during the season from coach Frank Reich, who eventually took over calling plays again before getting fired after a 1-10 start.
Brown called plays against Green Bay in Week 16 last season when the Packers squeezed out a 33-30 win. Young threw for a career-high 312 yards and two touchdowns.
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AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Green Bay, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
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