The Chicago Bears (1-0) will battle the Green Bay Packers (0-1) on Sunday Night Football, where they’ll be looking to turn the tide in what’s been a one-sided rivalry over the last couple of decades.
The Bears are coming a comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers (0-1) while the Packers are coming off a brutal loss to the Minnesota Vikings (1-0). But there’s still the fact that this is another Bears-Packers matchup, where Chicago has lost 20 of the last 23 regular-season meetings, and they haven’t won since 2018.
Is this the game the Bears finally get back in the win column against the Packers? Our Bears Wire staff shares their game picks for Sunday’s prime-time matchup.
Alyssa Barbieri (0-1): Packers 24, Bears 20
Make no mistake, the Bears have a good chance to go into Lambeau Field and pull off the upset against the Packers. In last week’s win against the 49ers, we caught a glimpse of exactly why they can pull it off. This is a team that’s going to be competitive and keep things close, even against better competition. They played the kind of smart, disciplined football that we expect to define the Matt Eberflus era. It’s not always going to translate into wins, but they’re going to be in games, including this contest against the Packers.
This game is going to come down the battle at the line of scrimmage, and there’s a good chance we’re in for a low-scoring, hard-fought defensive battle. The defense is the strength for both teams, and it’s going to come down to which offense is able to capitalize on their opportunities and score more points. While Chicago’s offense looked overall unimpressive last week, it’s hard to know exactly what this unit is given the weather conditions in the season opener. But it certainly looks like the Bears might’ve found their franchise quarterback in Justin Fields, who showed he’s capable of making the kind of plays that lead to wins.
With that said, I promised myself I wouldn’t pick Chicago to beat Green Bay until they actually prove they can. I’ve been burned far too many times. While I’m not picking the Bears to win, this is the most confident I’ve felt about them pulling off the upset. Please prove me wrong, Bears.
Brendan Sugrue (0-1): Bears 17, Packers 14
Spare me all of the numbers that say Aaron Rodgers is unbeatable against the Bears on Sunday Night Football, or the fact the Packers never lose when favored by more than 10 against them. I’ve seen the data and I don’t care. It’s a new era of Bears football and they’re entering Green Bay with the best chance for an upset in years.
For starters, this Packers team doesn’t have the fire power they’re accustomed to seeing. Green Bay failed to score double-digit points for just the third time since the beginning of the 2021 season. Rodgers looks lost without Davante Adams and their woes on the offensive line aren’t going away. Things will get better for them, but will they turn around just one week later? I have my doubts. If the Bears can neutralize the backfield duo of AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones, that should be the difference maker.
Speaking of the Bears, they’re proving their preseason discipline wasn’t a fluke. They’re playing smart football and it was a major difference in their win last week against the 49ers. You need all of that and then some to stand up to what Green Bay has to offer and head coach Matt Eberflus might just be the right man for the job. It also helps that he has longtime former Packers coach Luke Getsy on his side to spill their secrets.
I’m normally the last person to ever predict a win over Green Bay. It feels foolish to do such a thing and the numbers back that up. But given Bears coaches in their first season are 4-1 when facing the Packers in Green Bay and Eberflus has instilled a type of mentality in this team that isn’t easily shaken, I’m calling for the early upset in a low-scoring affair. Sometimes, you just have a feeling.
Ryan Fedrau (1-0): Packers 27, Bears 20
After an impressive second half showing against the 49ers, the Bears have momentum going into Sunday Night Football. The only issue is it’s against the Packers. If history tells us anything, it doesn’t matter how good Chicago’s defense is, Aaron Rodgers always finds a way.
You have to go all the way back to the 2018 season to find the last win against Green Bay. Since then, it’s been all Packers.
Until I’m shown anything different, no matter how beat up or thin the Packers offense is, when Rodgers is throwing the ball, anything is possible. It’ll be a competitive game, but I don’t see Chicago winning this game.
Jarrett Bailey (0-1): Packers 27, Bears 14
The Bears had one of the upsets of Week 1 by defeating the 49ers in a monsoon at Soldier Field. The good news is they are 1-0. The bad news is they are playing an angry, and motivated, Aaron Rodgers in the Packers’ home opener. The Bears are 3-16 against the Packers since 2013, and Green Bay will be looking to prove a point. Rodgers claims he owns the Chicago Bears, and history supports that statement. Green Bay by two scores.
