Week 14 Know the Foe: Packers vs Chicago Bears 2.0 -

Week 14 Know the Foe: Packers vs Chicago Bears 2.0

The Green Bay Packers sat idle in Week 13 with a much needed late-season bye. The players and coaches got some R&R along with accomplishing some self-scouting. Now heading into Week 14, the Packers are ready to fire the unit up and hit peak performance for a late-season run to the number 1 seed in the NFC.

Standing in their way will be the second meeting with the division rival Chicago Bears. The Bears come limping into Lambeau Field after a 33-22 loss to the Cardinals. The season hasn’t been good to the 4-8 Bears but they would like nothing more than to throw a wrench into the Packers playoff plans.

Wheels All But Off On Offense

Back in October, Green Bay got a 24-14 victory over the Bears. Then at 3-3, Chicago still had hopes of playoff football. Those dreams have crashed down since then. Decimated by injury and a coach that might not make it through December, the Bears are now playing for pride.

Rookie QB Justin Fields has been out with a rib injury since Week 11. Veteran Andy Dalton has been playing but not very well. Last week, Dalton threw 4 interceptions that turned into 23 points. With head coach Matt Nagy stating they will not put Fields in harm’s way, look for Dalton to start again Sunday night.

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With star WR Allen Robinson out last week, running back David Montgomery was the offense’s lone bright spot. As bad as Chicago has been, Montgomery has worked his tail off. He had a season-high of 141 yards from scrimmage to go along with a touchdown. The Bears will again lean on Montgomery against the Packers defense.

Chicago will also try to get wide receiver Darnell Mooney going this week. Mooney is on pace to go over 1,000 yards receiving with over 14 yards per reception with 3 endzone trips.

The Bears did get OT Teven Jenkins back last week. The 2nd round Jenkins was drafted to be the future at left tackle. Against the Cardinals, however, Jenkins only played special teams. 39-year-old Jason Peters has been decent at left tackle and Nagy stated Jenkins will “most likely” be his backup. Still with the season all but over, Jenkins might see some reps sooner rather than later to prep him for next season.

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Defense Still Holding Water

Though the defense isn’t performing at their normal dominant level, the unit as a whole can still scrap. Again, injuries have hurt the Monsters of the Midway. The biggest blow was losing Khalil Mack for the season and maybe his future in the Windy City. Still the Bears are top 10 squad against the pass. Speed rusher Robert Quinn has led the charge with 11 sacks on the year. Quinn is still playing wee at 31 years old. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson has been doing his part to stop his man also. The second-year Johnson is really showing he is a CB not to sleep on. Johnson only has 1 INT on the year but he’s a sticky cover corner trusted to work with limited help.

The Bears defensive line is still strong with Eddie Goldman, Akiem Hicks, and Bilal Nichols but the glue of this defense works behind them. Linebacker Roquan Smith is turning in another fine season. The 24-year-old Smith leads the team in tackles and almost doubles the next player behind him. Sideline to sideline, #58 is always around the ball. Smith is a good football player Green Bay must account for. Attacking him head-on would be wise.

Even with a strong defensive front and a few bright spots at linebacker and in the secondary, Green Bay should be able to move the ball and score points in this December challenge.

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– Jesse Hall is a writer for Full Press Coverage Packers. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @hall_jhall1212 Follow @FPCoverage and Facebook.

– Kyle Senra is the managing editor for Full Press Coverage Packers. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @SenraSays Follow @FPC_Packers and Facebook.