The Green Bay Packers acknowledge the Chicago Bears' shocking turnaround, particularly their dominant, bruising rushing attack that's now a league-leading force.
The 8-3-1 Green Bay Packers have a massive test coming up against a familiar foe, but an unlikely contender. That test comes in the form of the 9-3 Chicago Bears, who are not just the top team in the NFC North at the moment, but the No. 1 overall seed in the NFL.
It's been a massive turnaround for the Bears, and it's one that the Packers have to begrudgingly respect. From 15-36 over the past three seasons, largely under a failure of a head coach in Matt Eberflus, to the talk of the NFL under the new head coach Ben Johnson.
The Bears poached Johnson from the Detroit Lions, where he had become the top offensive mind in the NFL over the past few seasons.
There was an idea that Johnson would need some time to get acclimated to things as a first-year head coach, but he's hit the ground running.
Sure, some of Chicago's wins haven't necessarily been impressive, but they have won five in a row now and they did just beat the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday.
The Bears are legit, and specifically, Johnson has been able to quickly build up their rushing attack. Running the football down opponents' throats had become a staple of Johnson's offense in Detroit, and he's replicating that success now that he's in charge in Chicago.
The Bears are second in the NFL in rushing with 153.8 yards per game on the ground. They're also putting up 374.3 yards per game as an offense, which is sixth-best amongst all NFL teams.
"It's gotten a lot of people's attention," rookie defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse recently said of the Bears' rushing attack, according to Mike Spofford of the team website.
The rushing attack is led by veteran running back D'Andre Swift (774 yards and five touchdowns), and he's backed up by rookie Kyle Monangai (591 yards and five touchdowns). The Bears also have a dual-threat quarterback in former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, who has rushed for 306 yards and three touchdowns this season, averaging a healthy 5.0 yards per rush.
Throw in a revamped offensive line that can really get after it at the line of scrimmage and a focus on running the football spearheaded by Johnson, and the Bears will absolutely test the Packers this weekend.
The good news for Green Bay is that its rushing defense is ranked eight in the NFL, giving up just 98.3 rush yards per game. The bad news is that the Packers just lost star defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt for the season with a broken ankle, and he's been a big part of the run defense.
As LaFleur sees it, his team will also be challenged by a Chicago offense that is focused on blocking. From the offensive line to the tight ends to the wide receivers, the Bears will put a hat on a hat and move the line of scrimmage.
"Their offensive line, they've certainly added some pieces up front. Those tight ends, they block their (butt) off, and the receivers get involved in the run game as well," LaFleur said. "It's a collection of all those guys. It's going to be a great challenge because they're the best in the league right now in doing it."