🏈Opening Kickoff
The Packers took down the Bears 28-21, improving to 9-3-1 and reclaiming the division lead at Lambeau. The intensity and freezing conditions made this one feel like a playoff game, and to the surprise of no one, it delivered a thrilling rivalry finish.
🗞️The Headline Recap
This one swung in seemingly every direction possible. Jordan Love threw an early interception but settled in quickly, and the offense found its rhythm for pretty much the entire day after that. Even as Chicago tightened things up in the second half, Love and his receivers kept moving the ball and answering when the Packers needed it, aside from one three-and-out.
The "problem" was the defense, which was solid, but far from perfect. After a strong first half, they began to bend as the Bears clawed their way back into the game with a couple of long, slow and painful drives. However, it was by no means an inexcusable performance. There were no brutal mistakes made on either side of the ball for Green Bay, which is unfortunately just a testament to Chicago finally being a worthy opponent, given that the game still remained in range for a Bears win throughout.
It all came down to Chicago's final drive, where the Bears marched down the field with a real chance to tie the game and even take the lead with a two-point conversion as time was expiring. And that's when Keisean Nixon, who had been flagged early and beaten a couple times in coverage, stepped into the hero role. He read Caleb Williams perfectly and came down with the game-saving interception in the end zone, flipping the narrative on his entire afternoon and delivering the Packers a crucial win.
The Packers now sit atop the NFC North and currently possess the #2 seed in a very tight NFC seeding race.
🤓By The Numbers
Jordan Love now has 36 touchdowns and 2 interceptions during Toyotathon throughout his career. Don’t ask why, just enjoy it.
Despite being on the road against the #1 seed in the AFC, the Packers are favored by 2.5 points against the Broncos on Sunday.
Just 11 months after tearing his ACL, Christian Watson reached a scorching speed of 21.6 MPH on one of his two touchdowns against Chicago. He also now ranks 8th in the NFL with 2.34 yard per route run. Safe to say he is back and better.
📈Stock Report 📉
Stock Up
Christian Watson - See above. But also, anyone who has watched him since his return this season can just see that this guy is too fast and too big for any CB to guard one-on-one. It's beautiful to watch Watson come into his own and be the true WR1 playmaker the Packers need, especially with Tucker Kraft out.
Bo Melton - It is just wild that a guy who primarily practices at CB all season long can step in and contribute like he does. I'm still not sure how good of a defender he is, but it is clear why the Packers wanted a guy like him to remain on the roster at all costs.
Jordan Love - After his interception to start the game, he was pretty much flawless. I will not stop pushing the pro-Jordan Love agenda until he gets the national recognition he deserves.
Stock Down
Matthew Golden - I’m not going to complain about Matthew Golden not being on the field if the offense is clicking. However, his stock is admittedly down if he can’t get snaps over someone who’s primary position has been cornerback all year. Bad look for a 1st round pick. But I still believe in the kid.
Rashan Gary - Kingsley Enagbare makes $23m less per year and is currently doing more for the front seven.
Credibility of NFL Officiating - Yes, I get it. “There is holding on every play in the NFL.” I don’t care. Nobody gets held as badly or as often as Micah Parsons and he hasn’t gotten a holding call all year long. Good thing teams can’t stop him anyway.
🔥 Quick Hits
Packers DC Jeff Hafley is the “heavy favorite” to be the next Head Coach of the New York Giants, per Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated.
Josh Jacobs did not practice Thursday. Jacobs said he underwent another MRI on Monday just to make sure he didn’t make his existing knee injury worse, and it came back clean. He’s not making any declarations for Sunday yet as he continues to deal with swelling after the Bears game. (h/t Rob Demovsky, ESPN)
The Packers’ next matchup vs. the Bears was flexed to Saturday, December 20th at 7:20 CT, and it’s now confirmed the Packers will also face the Ravens the following Saturday, December 27th, at 7:00 CT as a Peacock streaming exclusive.
🏆 The Big Take from Brian
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same, huh?
Boy, was Sunday's win refreshing. Just because I felt good about the Packers' chances to beat the Bears doesn't mean I didn't recognize the potential for the game to be some kind of inflection point in the larger scope of the rivalry. It has been literal decades since the Bears won a high-stakes game against the Packers, and yet I still wasn't ready for that to change.
Because surely at some point the Bears have to flip the script on the Packers, right? Well, maybe not.
It was a hard-fought win against a good team. But my guard remains up. Maybe I would be feeling more euphoria still if we didn't have to do this again in two weeks at Soldier Field with likely the exact same stakes. If the Bears win that one, this last win will feel like ancient history pretty quickly, so it's time for the warranted celebration to come to a close and gear up for a crucial stretch of games before this regular season comes to a close.
But man, it sure is nice to remind Bears fans who owns the NFC North after all of the trash talk. I don't think I'd ever seen a fanbase get as loud as them leading up to the game (nor as silent as they were afterwards). For now, at minimum, things remain exactly as they are supposed to be.
👀Looking Ahead
Given that it is sandwiched between two high-stakes rivalry matchups against the Bears, I feel like this Packers vs. Broncos matchup is the least hyped late-season battle of goliaths that I can remember. This will be the 12th game since seeding began in 1975 between a top-2 seed from the AFC and a top-2 seed from the NFC in Week 15 or later, and yet nobody is talking about it.
For both teams, it feels like the type of game where a win means you can start seriously and reasonably talking about Super Bowl aspirations.
The Broncos defense is undeniably one of the best in the NFL, and I expect them to apply pressure to Jordan Love early and often. Luckily for the Packers, Jordan Love has been accurate under pressure for most of this season.
This is likely to be a defensive showdown with two of the best units in the league going head-to-head. I anticipate the Packers pass rush making things difficult for Bo Nix, and I don't trust him to have the same poise as Jordan Love under pressure. If you're a betting man or woman, take the under. Packers win this one 20-17.
👇Final Thoughts
I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.
Look around. We might be in them right now.
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Brian Pedretti