Unleash Jordan Love, stifle the run, and protect the ball. These three critical moves will pave the Green Bay Packers' path to playoff victory against the Chicago Bears.
The Green Bay Packers know they can beat the Chicago Bears. They did so earlier this year at Lambeau Field in a thrilling 28-21 victory. Heck, even in their loss a few weeks later at Solider Field, the Packers were the better team for 58 of the game's 60 regulation minutes.
If it weren't for a botched onside kick recovery by Romeo Doubs, the Packers very well could be 2-0 against the Bears this season, and perhaps they wouldn't have finished the season on a four-game losing streak. They may even be ranked higher than the seventh seed in the NFC.
You know the old saying about "ifs and buts being candies and nuts", though, so all we can do is work with the reality that we have in front of us.
And that reality is absolutely one where the Packers can beat the Bears in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs, but there are three things they must do in order to move on to the divisional round.
1. Matt LaFleur must let Jordan Love sling the football
Quarterback Jordan Love was knocked out of the game against Chicago at Soldier Field with a concussion, so you know he's going to be excited to play in this one and perhaps get a little bit of revenge.
He cleared concussion protocol early in Week 18 but the Packers decided to sit him so that he'd be fresh for this playoff run. He hasn't thrown a real pass since December 20th, so he may be a bit rusty. Head coach Matt LaFleur should give him every chance to knock that rust off, tough, because the Packers need to let Love sling the ball in this game.
The Bears' defense is porous and prone to giving up big yardage. They were ranked near the bottom of the NFL this season, giving up 361.8 yards per game.
Love should have his full complement of wide receivers at his disposal and after his conservative play-calling against the Minnesota Vikings to end the season, LaFleur should have plenty of creative plays dialed up and ready to go.
2. The Packers must make Caleb Williams beat them
The Bears are going to get theirs via the run game. That's a major part of Ben Johnson's offense, and you know he's going to try to pound the rock on a Packers defense that has been beaten up over the second half of the season. Chicago rushed for 144.6 yards per game this season, which was third best in the NFL.
With that said, the Packers must focus on stopping the run game defensively. Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams is much improved in his second NFL season, but he's still not the type of quarterback who can win a game for the Bears if he's asked to shoulder the entire load.
The Packers must load the box, set the edge and make Williams beat them. Yes, he can make explosive plays, but he also still struggles with inaccuracy. His completion percentage was just 58.1% this season, which put him near the bottom of the league with quarterbacks like J.J. McCarthy, Dillon Gabriel, Russell Wilson, Cam Ward and Tyrod Taylor.
3. Packers must protect the football
We already know the Bears defense isn't great when it comes to giving up yards. Where they have been great this season is in causing turnovers, though. In fact, you can make a case that the reason they won the NFC North was because of their ability to take away the football.
Chicago led the league with a +22 turnover differential. They forced 33 turnovers total, and they led the league in team interceptions with 23.
Simply put, if the Packers can play a clean game and protect the football, they'll win this game.
If they get sloppy or lose focus of the details, though, we already know what can happen.