The Regular-Season Finale is upon us. Today, your Green Bay Packers will take on the Chicago Bears at noon CST at Lambeau Field in the final game of the 2024 regular season. Last week I mentioned how the last two games of the season this year are an exact duplicate of last year with the Packers visiting Minnesota in Week 17 and then home against the Bears in Week 18. Last year the game meant a little more as the winner would walk away with a playoff berth and the loser would pack up for the season. This year it's a bit different as the 11-5 Packers coming off their 27-25 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings have already stamped their ticket to the playoffs. The Bears, however, in a year they believed would launch a franchise turnaround are just playing for pride as they sit at a miserable 4-12 coming off their 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. 

The last time these two teams met was November 17th of 2024 at Soldier Field when the Packers defeated Chicago 20-19 on a last-second field goal block by Karl Brooks. Jordan Love went 13/17 for 261 yards, one touchdown, and one interception and also ran in a touchdown in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Josh Jacobs had a decent day on the ground with 76 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown and Christian Watson had a huge day catching four passes for 150 yards including a big 60-yarder that set up the go-ahead touchdown. The Packers dealt with a thin cornerback room in this game much like they will today. Still, that game started with Jaire Alexander available before he exited with his PCL injury and Jeff Hafley had to adjust accordingly. Today, we're aware of our injuries, and hopefully, no more will occur that will need to be addressed. 

Last week was a miserable showing for the Packers on both sides of the football. The Packers weren't able to get anything going on offense early through the run or pass, and it resulted in them only scoring three points in the first half and the only time they got anything going was when the Vikings stopped being physical with the receivers and essentially began playing more Prevent defense. The defense themselves got off to a good start holding Minnesota scoreless in the first quarter but after the injury to Zayne Anderson on top of all the other injuries to the Packers' secondary, adjustments had to be made to the overall gameplan, and the Packers just didn't recover from it. The middle of the field was left wide open and that's the last thing you can afford with guys like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and TJ Hockenson up against you. 

Today against the Bears is a chance for the team to close out the season on a high note and perhaps get some momentum heading into the playoffs. It won't be easy as the Bears will surely be looking to end a miserable season positively and the Packers may be sitting a few banged-up players that may otherwise start, but I still believe they could pull off a win to finish 12-5. 

What to see on Offense

Some expected the Packers to rest some starters heading into this game given that they couldn't really improve from either the 6th or 7th seed in the playoffs with a win. So far, the only two starters in question for today's game on offense are Christian Watson, who is listed as questionable due to a knee injury, and Romeo Doubs due to illness. Watson was limited in practice Friday but limited was better than nothing last week after his injury against New Orleans. If you ask me, his presence was missed against Minnesota last Sunday. There's a way that Christian Watson draws attention regardless of his production and that's due to his ability to make the big play. Watson may not make a ton of catches in a game but he is a threat for a 50-60-yard catch in the blink of an eye. So, he commands attention and that attention takes away from the attention on the rest of the offensive weapons helping them get open. Hopefully, Watson plays today if anything just to have a few game reps before the playoffs, but honestly, he doesn't need to, I'd be just fine with them playing it safe and keeping him in bubble wrap until next week. Doubs of course we'd prefer to play, but sickness is sickness. We don't need one of our guys out there not feeling well and risking his well-being right before the playoffs. I hope to see him, but only if he's feeling healthy today. 

Last week was miserable for the Bears. And don't worry, it was miserable for the rest of the nation to watch a 6-3 snore-fest on Thursday Night Football against the Seahawks. I turned the game off a few times and back on only to find the score hadn't changed two quarters later. Nobody scored in the second half. As boring as that is, I'll hand it to both defenses that they didn't allow a single touchdown. Even though their competition wasn't exactly stellar, the Bears' defense only allowed six points. This might be a surprise as their defense ranks 27th against the run and 18th against the run, 25th in total defense. But despite these rough rankings, they're 12th in the league in scoring defense. So, as much as people may think the Packers should steamroll them today, it may not add up to that entirely.

The Bears are 19th in the league in sacks with 19. They're led by DE Montez Sweat with 5.5 sacks and closely followed by DT Gervon Dexter Sr. with five. They're not the best team at getting to the QB and it's time for my favorite statement of the week and that is that I'm not worried about the pass rush. The Packers' offensive line has been stellar all season long at keeping the QB upright. So, the pass rush is of no concern to me today despite the Vikings getting to Jordan Love three times last week. 

When we look at the Bears' secondary, we find Jaylon Johnson, who has certainly become one of the top CBs in the league. He and fellow CB Tyrique Stevenson are tied with two INT's each, Stevenson has 11 passes defended to Johnson's 7. After them though, there's a bit of a drop off. Kevin Byard and Jonathan Owens sit at safety with relatively average seasons but the Bears have ranked at 14th in opponent passer rating, so they do make it happen, but they can also be taken advantage of at times. If Christian Watson plays, he provides the dynamic mentioned before, if he doesn't it gets a little hairy. The Bears have given up a few big games to tight ends this season but in Chicago this past November, Tucker Kraft was held without a catch. Nothing would please me more than to see a big game from Kraft as well as Luke Musgrave before the playoffs. Hopefully, that can come true today. 

Now to the running game, as stated before, Chicago ranks 27th against the run. Jacobs was held to 76 yards on 18 carries in Chicago in November, but today could be a bit different. When it's cold outside, the last thing a defender wants to do is get after a bruising running back. The question though is how often Jacobs will carry the ball. I don't doubt we'll want to have him in there a few drives but it may not be as much as we are used to. The fun luxury of the Packers' running backs lately though is that they all sort of play that same bully-ball game. They don't earn yards as much by finesse as they do power. So, that bruising back concept may work to the Packers' advantage in the running game today given the cold temperatures. Letting out a bit of personal philosophy, it's about time we see that type of running game in Green Bay, the team that's known for playing in the cold. 

What to See on Defense

Well, this marks the first time in eight games that I'm not talking about whether or not Jaire Alexander should be playing as he's officially done for the season. Unfortunately, though, the injuries don't stop there. Zayne Anderson is out, Evan Williams is out, Quay Walker is out, and Brenton Cox Jr. is questionable. It's nice to get Javon Bullard back, but being down so many defensive backs is never ideal. 

This season hasn't gone the way the Bears expected, but they still have some good players to make a difference. QB Caleb Williams has struggled but he's also shown some flashes of talent on occasion. Williams in my opinion has looked like your average rookie Quarterback. Shows he has talent, but he lacks experience and adequate decision-making. His offensive line hasn't really helped either as he's been sacked 67 times this season. That is good for the most-sacked QB in the league, and that average is good for about 4.2 sacks per game. The Packers pass rush has improved a bit in the last few weeks but still could use a good pop entering the playoffs. Preying on a Bears team struggling to protect their hopeful future Franchise QB could be a good exercise to wrap up the regular season. 

Catching the ball from Caleb Williams has been DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze. Their stat lines aren't terrible at 880 yards in 89 catches for Moore, 719 on 67 for Allen, and 716 on 52 for Odunze, but it's not exactly what they expected. Considering Moore had 1364 yards receiving last year, they were definitely expecting more of the same for him, but it hasn't panned out. Moore also was quoted after the game in Seattle saying he was looking forward to being on vacation. Not exactly what you want to hear from one of your star players the week before facing your arch-rival. 

With as depleted as the Packers' secondary is, however, I'm not calling game. Moore, Allen, and Odunze are still decent receivers, and with the Packers missing a few pieces back there, it will be a difficult shakeout.  Cole Kmet then follows the receiving trio who could get his own from time to time. Given the difficulty Chicago has still had moving the ball through the air despite this talent though, is the only reason I still have a bit of confidence. Hopefully, the Packers can get the pressure on Williams, make him uncomfortable, force him into mistakes, and also take him down behind the line. 

On to the running game. On the first day of free agency the Packers and Bears both made big signings at the running back position. The Packers with Josh Jacobs and the Bears with D'Andre Swift. I heard all over that the Bears made the better signing. Well, this year at least, that isn't true. Jacobs has been a godsend for the Packers while Swift has been a bit disappointing. He's only averaged 3.8 yards per carry which is the lowest of his career so far. 

The Packers run defense has been stellar this season. They rank sixth in the league in rush yards allowed per game which is a light-year's cry from last year's 28th place rank. Hopefully, this will continue today and we will see no surprises. The emergence of Edgerrin Cooper has been great for the pass defense and run defense and I would expect Cooper to make a difference today against the Bears running game. 

Getting the pass rush going and stopping the run will put the Bears in a hole today on offense. They saw how Seattle was able to limit them to three points last week and hopefully, they can duplicate it. 

Extra Notes

Temperatures are expected to be in the upper teens to lower 20s at noon on Sunday in Green Bay, which isn't a surprise for January in the upper midwest. This could affect the kicking game. 

We all know how the last game ended with Karl Brooks blocking a Cairo Santos field goal attempt in the final seconds of the game to give the Packers the win. Brooks was confident he could get a block with how low Santos' kicks started. Given the cold weather, this could have an impact again with there not being as much bounce from a harder ball. I don't doubt the Packers are well aware of having this opportunity again. 

This could also have an impact on kickoffs. Lower shorter distanced kicks could result in more return opportunities for Keisean Nixon. The last time these two teams met, Nixon was able to return the ball twice but only averaged about 25 yards per return. I've been saying all season long that it seems like Nixon is so close to taking one to the house, maybe today will be that day. 

In the End

In the grand scheme of things, this game doesn't matter. Yes, I know playoff seeding could change, with a win we face one team, and with a loss we may face another, but that doesn't matter to this team, they're going to go wherever they need to go next weekend. But one thing rings true, we all want to beat the Bears. This game matters to the fans of both teams. No matter the stakes, they would love nothing more than to beat each other to finish the regular season. 

The Bears are going to bring it today. That much is certain. Hopefully, the Packers can put up a good fight, get the victory, and get out of this game healthy to start a playoff run.