Like him or hate him, Johnson is building something. The north will go to the winner of these games. No worse than a 3 seed and a home playoff game.
Hoping Gute gets a serviceable DT in now so he has some time to absorb the Hafley D. If the bears can run the ball like they did on Philly, there won't be the down and distance to unleash Parsons.
This is the season. Fingers crossed.

I wonder if having Parsons as a linebacker on 1st and 2nd down would help against the run? He's so fast that he could do a delayed blitz, if needed, but otherwise his ability to chase down RBs could be effective. The bears running game was pretty impressive against the Eagles.

The sweetest victories are against the Bears. There’s the pleasure in the Packer victory with great big dollop of schadenfreude on top. Delicious!

The Vikings and Lions are buzzing flies. It’s a relief to swat one down, but they’re just minor annoyances.

"The vikings just have little brother syndrome while they try to do everything the Packers do and even take their players in an effort to remain just annoying enough." You hit that nail, on the head, Greg! The "Look what we've done" vikings are always looking for the notoriety the Packers-Bears rivalry has had, through out the history of the NFL. Without winning anything close to a Championship, they feel they need to be in the conversation, when it comes to being a great team. They just make me laugh!

I read what Dallas Goedert said about the Eagles loss to the Bears-'not doing their 1/11th, missing a tackle here, running a poor route there, poor linebacker support, 7 penalties, etc., AJ Brown 2 false starts...'

After watching Valentine miss tackles against Detroit, he will likely be targeted as one of the weak links.

We can look at the Eagles game as a bellwether moment for the Bears (beating a winning team on the road) but the Eagles--who used to bully teams with their trench play on both sides--are scuffling offensively. In aggregate metrics, they're now bottom third in the league offensively and defensively. I don't know what's wrong with them because their personnel is still very good, but I suspect there's more brewing internally (we all heard AJ Brown's complaints) than we know.

The Bears are winning games. That's the bottom line. They're doing it by running the ball and propping up a QB who really isn't a world-beater. They're doing it by forcing TOs and limiting opponent TDs by (we've heard this before) limiting possessions and forcing opponents to try to string together plays, be methodical and mistake free, and beat them on the ground. Like McCarthy, Williams has been best on his first couple drives (scripted plays) and late in games (playing against prevents). They're just making key plays when they need them.

I still think the Lions are probably better than the Bears.

In the end, the Packers are going to likely use about the same game plan against Chicago that they did against Detroit. They are going to need to be aggressive against the Bears' run game--especially without Wyatt. They're going to need to force Williams to make plays from the pocket. One difference is that the Bears' LBs are beat up, and so the Packers may try to exploit them underneath, but the Packers need to throw the ball downfield without ignoring their own run game.

More than anything else, the Packers need to win +/-.

Flying out Saturday for the game. Atmosphere is going to be ELECTRIC!

Most games are not won, they are lost. The Packers are playing some pretty clean football right now. The penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, etc. that dogged us the first half of the season are looking more like a distant memory.

Over this three game streak, not a single turnover. Very few penalties. Very few drops. The offense actually seems improved without Jenkins and Kraft, at least if you count on Points/Game. We're averaging 27 without them.

Rhyan has done a good job at Center replacing Jenkins. And Belton has had some encouraging moments as the RG. I think this configuration of Walker, Banks, Rhyan, Belton and Tom has been our best Oline so far.

You also have to factor in Watson's return. He's a big help in the run game, he certainly creates some space for other receivers, and he got targeted 22 times in this win streak. Three TDs.

This is what we are. Our RBs carry the load, and they're good at it. This combo of Jacobs and Wilson is one of the better 1-2 punches I can recall us having.. We have a WR by Committee where it might be Wicks, or Doubs, or Watson. Or maybe even Golden or Reed before the season is over. We throw 30 times/game, Love completes 20 of them. We don't turn it over. We aren't beating ourselves with penalties..

And we defend. Few teams get past 20. Half of them can't even get past 18. The primary feature of this defense is relentless pressure by waves of rushers, led by Parsons. We've sacrificed some run stoppers to achieve this.

"If the offense can score points and get out to an early lead, it could force the Bears to abandon the run. That's when the Packers' potent pass rush comes in handy."

Agreed!
I think for Green Bay, this game embodies, "Sometimes the best defense is a good offense."
Make the 'da bears play from a couple scores down, keep Caleb contained and force chicago to throw the ball.

With this year's Bears - I am reminded of a quote from Satchel Paige - "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you," Not only have the Bears gained on the Packers - they have headed them.

The Bears are in a prime position to act as spoilers in the NFC North - and perhaps beyond. The Eagles took them lightly - which resulted in their embarrassing loss. The same fate awaits the Packers - should their mindset be that they're playing the Eberflus Bears.

I view this Bears game as every much of a litmus test for the Packers as the Lions game. Consequently - should the Packers win - and assertively - it will confirm the Team as a legitimate SB contender. So another game of the year opportunity for the Packers.

Friday's win over the Eagles was the best the Bears have looked since they handily beat Dallas.

Chicago spent the first half of the season learning how not to lose. Now they look like a team, that believes it can win.

Caleb Williams is in his second season, and learning in real time. Love's second season he was holding a clip board. That isn't a shot, just highlighting the difference in organizational philosophy. In a year and a half, Williams will reset the QB market.

The team has bought into Johnson. People are seeing why he was as coveted as he was. This isn't Matt Nagy, who I think actually got a bad rap.

The Bears run game is legit. They dominated the LOS against an Eagles defense that had been pushing around most other teams. GB and Det combined, scored 16 points. It has been YEARS since a Fangio defense got run over the way the Eagles did on Friday.

I get the skepticism. Hell it reminds me of last summer, when Cub fans were shitting on the Brewers with much the same excuses. (Don't let my SN fool you, Bears aside, I despise all other Chicago teams).

At the start of the season, I thought they could at best contend for a WC. However, they are ahead of schedule under Johnson. With their opportunistic defense, and one of, if not the best rushing offense, they certainly can straight up win the division. Looking forward to a week from today, and the build up getting there.

Bares have better OL play vs the Packers 5, who still are not playing like a cohesive, synergistic unit.

I do believe the OL is playing better. The IOL has had few games together now and slowly improving...but Rhyan and Belton remain weak links in the chain. Banks is finally healthy. It shows.

The Packers OL seems to block consistently better on pass plays. Get off to a fast start and outscore the bares in the first half. Pass for first downs, move the chains, score.

Force the bares into passing in the 2nd half and let the Parsons and Co. pass rush go to work for three and outs and/or turnovers.

Then there are STs. Still seeking acceptance.

Are the bares on the rise or are the Eagles in decline? Bit of both?

A bit of both!

Packers OWN the Bears... Win or lose that statement lives forever.

That said, The Pack wins next week !

GPG

The loss of Wyatt (for the second time this season) does set back the packers defensive front overall, but the run defense will actually improve a decent amount.

Wyatt is not a run stopping DT, he’s a penetrating presence who is better at rushing the passer than playing the run.

If the offense has finally flipped the switch, the packers D is going to be playing from leads, and hopefully Hafley will be willing to send an extra body from time to time if the 4 man rush can’t disrupt the QB when their ears are pinned back, if need be.

It's like my Jr High PE coach used to say it's cut and dry boys keep the run game under REASONABLE control & make Caleb beat them

Bears are now officially the number 1 team in the NFC with the Rams losing. I can say one thing, I thought Caleb was done and a bad pick. Lucky for him they got a coach who could take him aside and show him the little things he wasnt doing and how to stop trying to do it all running and passing himself.
We've all seen prospects going nowhere because the HC couldnt work with the guy and the game plan was just too complicated. They just faded away.

Congrats to the Bears for putting together a decent team via early draft picks, trades, and free agengy acquisitions for key positions. If anything, they are young, talented and not going away.

I have them slightly ahead of the packers talent wise. The Vikes are done until they get that QB they need then they will be right back in the fold because of a stellar defense and receivers.
The Lions are done. Poor GM management, loss of good coaches and too many dump decisions by Dan C. When your coach is costing you games your in trouble.

I grew up in the 60's hating the Bears. In the 70's & 80's, when we had losing seasons, beating the Bears made the world a better place. Then with Favre & Rodgers in the 90's until recently, we finally surpassed the Bears in wins, and the Bears became unbearable to watch. Their franchise with its ugly stadium sunk so low, I even felt sorry for them. Now, I no longer hate them. I respect them & want to beat them by at least 4 or 5 touchdowns. I just don't want the Pack to beat themselves.