Game 17: Bears @ Packers - Sunday, Jan 7 3:25 PM

[OldHeidelberg]

Packers have won 9 in a row in the series. Packers get destroyed by running QB's. " I own you". Lots of parallels to week 18 last year. We struggle in elimination games at Lambeau seems like forever. Seahawks fans should be feeling pretty good. Bet your house on Bears straight up. :) 

[HarryDoyle]

Win lose or draw, the Bears still suck.

[OldHeidelberg]

Watson out

[nate82]

Stats wise the Packers and Bears are about even.  The Bears score 1 point less per game and allow about 1.3 more than the Packers.  The biggest difference is the Bears passing game which comes in at 26th versus the Packers coming in at 17th.  Same thing on defense where the Bears are ranked 22nd and the Packers 11th.

Sweat has helped bring some pressure but the Bears pass defense especially at safety is still really poor.  The pass rush is still not all that great even with Sweat added in.  Getsy is basically the Bears Berry.  Getsy is an absolutely horrible OC.

[HarveysWBs]

Well, here we are.  Not sure what to say about this game, or this season.  If you would have told me in August that the Packers would be right around .500 and a play-in game Week 18, I’d have been pleasantly surprised.  If you would have also told me Jordan Love had an outside shot at leading the league in TD passes and would steadily improve heading into January, I’d have been thrilled.  And if you had told me the defense had acquitted itself poorly enough to make replacing Barry a (seemingly) foregone conclusion, I’d say that is a pretty successful season.

And yet…somehow, that doesn’t quite say it.  It isn’t just where the Packers have ended up, but how they got here.  So many close losses to (probably?) inferior opponents.  So many unexpectedly good wins.  If you’re like me, you go into today’s game with the feeling that the 2023 Packers, despite how many disadvantages they were overcoming, could have had considerably more success than they had.  And things seem to be coming into place to allow a (little) January run.

And yet again…doesn’t it all just add up to a team that doesn’t do what it is supposed to do—losing when they are supposed to win, and winning when they are supposed to lose?  This team is the essence of inconsistency, and something tells me they will remain that way until they develop a defense they can count on, which isn’t going to be this year.  And if they are rightly favored to win this game, their recent history makes me pretty nervous about that.

So I guess I really just have no idea what to expect today.  I think the only result that would surprise me is a double-digit Bears win (even against our defense, I don’t think the Bears have the type of offense that can truly pull away in this one).  Beyond that, I give us a coin flip chance at best, and am most interested in seeing if Love remains as unflappable as he has been all year in the most pressure-filled game of his career.  Should be fun!

[young guns]

I'm really nervous with this game because this feels like the type of game we have lost this year.  Bears fans will be insufferable if they win.

[yourout]

Missed block in the back on the kickoff.

[yourout]

20 minutes ago, young guns said:

I'm really nervous with this game because this feels like the type of game we have lost this year.  Bears fans will be insufferable if they win.

I could see i defensive collapse.

[HarryDoyle]

Just now, yourout said:

I could see i defensive collapse.

Stevie Wonder could see a defensive collapse.

[adambr2]

Campbell has to know the down and distance there and go after Fields and not sit back and just give him the 1st. 

[endaround]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

Stats wise the Packers and Bears are about even.  The Bears score 1 point less per game and allow about 1.3 more than the Packers.  The biggest difference is the Bears passing game which comes in at 26th versus the Packers coming in at 17th.  Same thing on defense where the Bears are ranked 22nd and the Packers 11th.

Sweat has helped bring some pressure but the Bears pass defense especially at safety is still really poor.  The pass rush is still not all that great even with Sweat added in.  Getsy is basically the Bears Berry.  Getsy is an absolutely horrible OC.

They are overall about the same but how they get there is really different when looking at DVOA. The Packers overall DVOA is -1.8% ranking 17th while the Bears are at -4.6% ranking 20th. The Packers have the number 9 offense with the number 28th defense and 27th special teams.  The Bears have the 21st offense, 14th defense and 21st special teams. 

https://www.ftnfantasy.com/nfl/tools/team-total-dvoa

This is the whole season so it maybe underselling the current state of the Packer offense and the Bears defense with Sweat.

[yourout]

Terrible safety play.

[HarryDoyle]

Nuts!

[yourout]

Just now, HarryDoyle said:

Nuts!

Needed another doink.

[HarryDoyle]

So close.

[yourout]

Could see that coming after the sack.

[adambr2]

Anders sucks.

[Strike4]

Well that was a very disappointing finish to a nice looking drive

[Sixtolezcano]

Time to draft another kicker Gutey…lol!

[HarryDoyle]

This is already turning into a what if kind of game.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Replacing Carlson is sadly a top 3 off-season priority. 

[yourout]

1 minute ago, adambr2 said:

Anders sucks.

He will get one more year but if the average doesn't improve it will be time to make a change.

[HarryDoyle]

Just now, Sixtolezcano said:

Time to draft another kicker Gutey…lol!

Hopefully one that made more than 72% of his field goal attempts.

[Sixtolezcano]

I just don’t see what Gutey saw in Carlson.

[SeaBass]

Carlson did a Carlson. SSDD