Well, here we go again. Less than two weeks after facing each other for the first time this season, it's the Green Bay Packers taking on the Chicago Bears, this time from Soldier Field in Chicago, at 7:20 PM tonight. The 9-4-1 Packers are coming off a 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos last week where the score board and the tick in the loss column ended up being less important than the many key injuries sustained during the game. The 10-4 Bears are coming off a 31-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns in a game where I like to say, "I wish we got to face them at this point in the season rather than when we did," because I'd say it's likely the Packers would've knocked off a Shedeur Sanders-led Browns team at home in December as well, but alas, it was a different situation at Cleveland in week 3. Nonetheless, we have a Deja vu game tonight with the Packers hoping to regain the division lead with a win. 

The last time these two teams met was, okay, let's be honest, if you don't remember the last time these teams met, you might want to work with your doctor on a diagnosis for short-term memory loss, but I'll remind you anyways.  The Packers walked away with a 28-21 victory over the Bears on December 7th. Jordan Love threw for 234 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while Caleb Williams threw for 186 yards, two touchdowns and one interception as well. Christian Watson had a bit of a redemption game facing the Bears again, catching four passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns when the last time the two teams met, he tore his ACL. Keisean Nixon had a rough start to the game, but he got the last laugh in the end when he intercepted Caleb Williams in the endzone to seal the game. 

Last week, early in the game in looked as if the Packers were going stride for stride with Denver. Any doubts that the Packers couldn't hang with the best team in the league were put to rest quickly. But that's when injuries set in. The Packers lost Micah Parsons, Christian Watson, and Evan Williams, but perhaps the injury that in my opinion affected the game against Denver the most, was Zach Tom. Before Tom went down, Jordan Love seemed comfortable in the pocket. The Packers' offensive line seemed to be handling Denver's pass rushing onslaught fairly well. But, when Zach Tom went down, that came to a crashing halt. Jordan Love looked uncomfortable in the pocket, he seemed to be forcing more passes, and it all just essentially came crashing down. 

Today, the Packers need to overcome injury and a Bears team looking for revenge to reclaim their spot on top of the NFC North. 

What to See on Offense

This week, my "What to See" on offense, defense, and extra notes is going to be a little less statistical as far as what the teams have done already this season, and more of a comparison between the game two weeks ago, and what we may see today.

After an interception early in the game, Jordan Love torched the Bears' secondary with three touchdowns. He was only sacked once and Christian Watson was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns and 89 yards receiving which included a 41-yard grab where he was off to the races and gone after cutting across the field in front of Chicago defenders. 

The difference in that today, is Christian Watson and right tackle Zach Tom are both questionable. As stated before, after Tom went down on Sunday against Denver, Love wasn't quite as comfortable in the pocket. Denver's pass rush was able to tee-off and exploit Darian Kinnard a bit who allowed two pressures and a sack. Chicago isn't nearly as effective in getting to the quarterback as Denver is, but if Zach Tom is unable to play, look for Chicago to test Kinnard again and his side of the offensive line in an effort to make Jordan Love uncomfortable. 

Being without Christian Watson once again would be a big loss considering how effective he's been since returning from his ACL injury. But the Packers are going to have to find ways to scheme other receivers open. Matthew Golden tied with Jayden Reed for the most receiving yards against Denver, reeling in 3/4 targets for 55 yards, with a long of 27. Golden is still listed on the report with a wrist injury, but has been a full participant in practice and may have put that injury behind him for the most part. Regardless of Watson's availability, I would expect Matthew Golden to have an increased role today. Another pass catcher to keep eyes on today is Luke Musgrave. Musgrave has been an afterthought after everyone hoped he'd step up after Tucker Kraft's season ended. However, Musgrave had a four catch, 52-yard performance in Denver, and while the stat sheet says he only had two catches for 22 yards against Chicago the previous week, we all know that 35-yard grab was a catch and he should be looking at over 100 yards receiving combined in the last two games. A Luke Musgrave re-emergence would be huge for the Packers' offense. 

Josh Jacobs was back to form against the Bears two weeks ago, putting up a 20 carry, 86-yard and one touchdown performance in a way only Josh Jacobs can, the hard way. He followed it up with a 12 carry, 73-yard and one touchdown performance against Denver with a long of 40 yards, and likely would've done better had the Packers not needed to switch to the pass for the majority of the second half. Tremaine Edmunds may be back at middle linebacker for the Bears today, and that will certainly help them in the running game, but Jacobs should still be able to have a good game today and help out the Packers' offense. 

Like I said two weeks ago, complementary football is the name of the game today. Love and company should still have a chance to put up points against Chicago's defense like they did two weeks ago. They'll need to keep that rolling and put together a few long methodical drives to help out a defense that has a big adjustment ahead of them today. 

What to See on Defense

Let's state the obvious right off the bat. Micah Parsons was a problem for Chicago early and chased Caleb Williams all over the field. This led to the Bears' passing game not getting anything going in the first half only scoring three points. Micah Parsons is now out for the season, so he won't be a problem for Chicago today. While the Bears eventually found their way in the passing game by moving Williams out of the pocket and away from Parsons in the second half, unless the Packers' remaining pass rushers find a way to wreak havoc in the absence of Parsons, Chicago may be able to keep Williams comfortable. It's going to be on Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, and others to step up their game. Gary has already said to watch how the Packers' defensive front plays the rest of the season in the absence of Parsons, well, it's time to make sure it's not all talk. 

Keisean Nixon had some early struggles against the Bears, but ended up having the last laugh when he picked off Caleb Williams to seal the game. But it was followed up by a poor performance against Denver which had the mutterings of the Packers needing to replace Nixon ramping up again this past week. Many have felt the pass rush has covered up for the Packers having a lackluster cornerback unit. Today will be the first test. In their first match-up the Packers were lucky not to have to face WR Rome Odunze. This time around both Odunze and WR Luther Burden III are out. The rest of Chicago's pass-catchers, WR DJ Moore, TE Colston Loveland, and TE Cole Kmet, who is questionable, aren't exactly a walk in the park, but having those two receiving threats out may help the Packers' secondary find their footing if the pass rush isn't as effective. 

On to the running game. Leading up to the December 7th game, Packers faithful were grieving the loss of Devonte Wyatt for the season. How on earth were the Packers going to stop Chicago's explosive running game without him? Well, I wouldn't say they "stopped" the running game, as they still got theirs running for 138 yards on the ground, but the threat was still much less effective than it could have been. The Packers have done a good job of limiting explosive runs, which the Bears have thrived on, most of that can be attributed to the play of Quay Walker, Edgerrin Cooper, and Evan Williams insuring running backs don't make it much further after the line of scrimmage. Evan Williams is questionable today following a knee injury sustained on Sunday, so the Packers may be without one of their top run-stopping safeties.

One surprise I had against Chicago the first time around was the absence of Nazir Stackhouse from the Active lineup as he sat for the first time this season. Initially, I thought for sure he would get his shot after Devonte Wyatt was placed on IR. This is attributed to the addition of Jordan Riley whom the Packers claimed off of waivers from the Giants. Riley is a larger presence in the middle of the defensive line and has a bit more experience than Stackhouse. While Riley hasn't come up on the stat sheet yet in a Packers' uniform, he is a behemoth of a DT and can definitely help today and moving in to the future with stopping the run. 

Extra Notes

The biggest concern I had heading in to the Bears game two weeks ago on special teams was stopping Devin Duvernay from impacting the game. I'm old enough to remember Devin Hester constantly providing the Bears with electric returns against the Packers around a decade and a half ago, the last thing I want is another big time return threat in a Bears' uniform. Luckily, the Packers limited Duvernay the first time around as he averaged 23 yards per return on three kickoffs and only had one punt return for six yards. More of the same is needed today. 

Both punters did a good job two weeks ago in limiting return opportunities and both kickers were perfect in their attempts. Last year, both games were determined by a last-second field goal block and a last second field goal conversion. Today may be a close game, but hopefully kickers don't have a significant impact. 

In the End

Both teams are hurting going in to this game. The Packers may be reeling from a more impactful long-term injury, but this is Packers/Bears. No one cares who's healthy and who's not. Sure certain injuries can impact the game, but both teams will be battling hard tonight, it's still anyone's contest regardless. 

Next week, the Packers have another Saturday night game in Green Bay against the Baltimore Ravens. Hopefully, they are entering that game with the beginning of a new winning streak. Go Pack Go.