The Chicago Bears have one more game to try to end their losing streak.
When the Bears travel to Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the season finale, they are trying to avoid setting the single-season franchise record for consecutive losses with 11. Their current skid is tied with the 2022 streak, in which the Bears lost 10 straight to end the season.
The Packers already clinched a playoff berth and are playing for a better seed. With a win over the Bears and a Washington Commanders loss in Week 18, they could move up from the No. 7 seed — in which they would play the Philadelphia Eagles — to the No. 6 seed, with the opponent to be determined.
As kickoff approaches, here’s our snapshot look at the game.
Player in the spotlight
Caleb Williams
The Bears quarterback had one of his worst outings of the season in the Thursday night loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17. He completed 16 of 28 passes for 122 yards, an interception and a 53 passer rating. He also took seven sacks — for which he accepted some of the blame this week.
Now Williams will try to finish on a high note in his first trip to Lambeau Field. Williams and the Bears still haven’t recorded a road win, except for their trip to London, where they were the home team.
The last outing against the Packers at Soldier Field was the first with now-interim coach Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator, and Williams had a solid showing. He threw for 231 yards, ran for 70 and had the Bears in position to win before the Packers blocked a last-second Cairo Santos field goal.
The Caleb Williams File: What the Chicago Bears QB should focus on heading into a critical offseason
Can Williams build on that to help the Bears win their first game since Oct. 13?
“We got poor with his rush lanes, and he was running right up the middle,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after the game. “ I thought he did a nice job today when we played man coverage going to the right areas, getting to the right guys. … So yeah we have to get better in a lot of areas, but I thought mostly his ability to use his legs, that definitely hurt us today.”
Pressing question
Do the Bears have it in them to halt the losing streak?
There’s more than one double-digit losing streak at play here. Yes, the Bears have lost 10 in a row. But they’ve also lost 11 in a row to the Packers dating to the 2018 season.
No Bears player on the active roster has beaten the Packers while in Chicago, and for longer-tenured players such as tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson that’s maddening.
“F— ’em. That’s how I’m feeling,” Johnson said when asked about his mindset for Sunday. “I’m going to try to go out with a bang. It’s the last opponent on the schedule, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The defense, at least, had a better showing against the Seahawks last week, holding them to two first-half field goals. Defensive coordinator Eric Washington said he wants to see “the same thing we saw last week” from his unit, though the Bears are making a step up in competition against the 11-5 Packers, who have scored 30 points or more in five of their last six games.
“I want them to play with passion, with intensity,” Washington said. “I want them to be situationally smart. I want us to limit their rushing attack and just play with the kind of execution we saw the other night with Seattle.”
Keep an eye on …
The Bears field-goal unit
The Packers boasted after their 20-19 win over the Bears on Nov. 17 that they knew they had the potential to block a Santos field goal given what they had seen on tape from the unit. And Karl Brooks came through, getting a hand on Santos’ 46-yard field goal that would have won the game in the final seconds.
The Minnesota Vikings blocked a 48-yard Santos attempt the next week. Santos made two field goals after that block, including one to send the game into overtime, and has made all four of his field-goal attempts in the five games since.
But it’s worth watching to see if the Packers again can find a weakness to exploit to get to Santos.
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said he has tried to keep his units focused on the importance of trying to win the rivalry game despite the end of the season being so near.
“Nothing else should be talked about, in my personal opinion, not next season,” Hightower said. “(Nothing) should be talked about other than the focus of beating the Packers because that’s important to this organization and it’s important to the city. … This is an entirely new game, and it means a lot to beat them, and I want these guys to feel that and experience that.”
Watson ‘up in the air’
Packers wide receiver Christian Watson burned the Bears with four catches for 150 yards in the teams’ first meeting.
But Watson missed the Packers’ Week 17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a knee injury, sat out practices Wednesday and Thursday and was back in a limited fashion Friday. LaFleur said his status is “up in the air.”
The Packers have plenty of other receiving options, including Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed, but it will be worth watching to see if Watson is ready to go.
In his last two outings, Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for a subdued 182 and 185 yards against the New Orleans Saints and Vikings, with one touchdown pass in each.
But the Packers also rushed for 188 yards against the Saints in a 34-0 win. And Washington pointed to Love’s six-game streak without an interception as one of their strengths.
“The accuracy is really there, “Washington said. “He’s not missing a lot of targets. He knows where he wants to go with the football. He’s diagnosing the coverages, he’s going to his secondary targets and he’s really taking care of the football. They have not turned the ball over a lot in the last two or three weeks.”
Injury report
The Bears again will be without left guard Teven Jenkins, who missed all week of practice with a calf injury. Jenkins now will have missed 2½ games with the injury, and it means he could have played his last game in a Bears uniform.
Jenkins is finishing up his fourth season, and the Bears have not signed him to a contract extension. He has had various injury issues over all four seasons, but he did start 14 games this season.
Safety Elijah Hicks (ankle/foot) and running back Travis Homer (hamstring) also will be out for the Bears.
For the Packers, Watson and defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. (foot) are listed as questionable. Linebacker Quay Walker (ankle), tackle Andre Dillard (concussion), safeties Evan Williams (quad) and Zayne Anderson (concussion) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) are out.
Predictions
Brad Biggs (11-5)
There’s not a lot of intrigue in this one. The Bears are headed toward a coaching search and the Packers appear destined for the seventh seed in the NFC playoffs — unless former Packers coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys can spring an upset of the Washington Commanders. The Packers might pull out some key players such as running back Josh Jacobs, especially if they get out to an early lead. Packers coach Matt LaFleur is 11-0 against the Bears and with a victory would tie Hall of Fame Washington coach Joe Gibbs (12-0 vs. the Detroit Lions, including the playoffs) for the best record against one opponent. One thing to watch for? How about a fake punt by the Bears. They’ve had 295 punts since the last time they ran a fake in the middle of the 2020 season. There’s nothing to lose in this one, right?
Packers 28, Bears 13
Colleen Kane (12-4)
Bears interim coach Thomas Brown took exception this week with a reporter saying that there was nothing to play for in this game. Brown’s response is that the players need to play for pride and continued development, including the growth of quarterback Caleb Williams. And I’m sure plenty of people at Halas Hall desperately want to see an end to the Bears’ 10-game losing streak — and 11-game skid to the Packers. But I also might understand if some Bears players’ main concern is getting out of Lambeau Field and into their offseason healthy. The Packers have something substantial and immediate to play for — a better playoff seeding. This doesn’t seem like the time that the Bears suddenly put it together and win in Green Bay.
Packers 30, Bears 17
Dan Wiederer (11-5)
My advice: Save your energy for the high-stakes Sunday night game between the Lions and Vikings. The Take the North Bowl, if you will. That should be some compelling theater with the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line. Save your energy also for the roller-coaster ride of the next month when the Bears embark on the search for a new coach. (And maybe a new GM too?) The results of that will tell us a lot about the organization’s competence in establishing new direction. As for Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field? The Bears will reach a new low with their 11th consecutive loss.
Packers 27, Bears 16
