The Chicago Bears managed to knock off the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field a few weeks ago, but expect things to be very different in this playoff matchup. Chicago still has home-field advantage, but this time Green Bay expects Jordan Love to take every snap. The Bears needed overtime to win the first meeting after Love exited and Malik Willis took over, a shift that stalled the Packers’ offense and opened the door for Chicago. Assuming Love is fully recovered from his concussion, this game will feature two of the most explosive signal callers in football, a chance for a high-scoring classic. Here are four bold predictions for how the grudge match will play out on Saturday night.
Caleb Williams will lead Chicago in rushing
The Bears were smart to try to protect their star quarterback from taking too many hits during the regular season. The restrictions on his scrambling will undoubtedly be lifted when the postseason begins.
Don't expect Williams to feature on a ton of designed runs. Instead, he'll use his mobility to try to extend plays on the perimeter. A few of things are goin to turn into explosive plays against a Green Bay defense that will drop a lot of bodies to protect their questionable secondary.
The end result of those explosives will see Williams exceed 60 yards on the ground. That will be just enough to edge D'Andre Swift for the team lead.
Josh Jacobs will get more than 25 carries
This game will get a lot of pre-game hype as a battle between Love and Williams. Don't expect Packers head coach Matt LaFleur to get caught up in that narrative.
instead, he's going to lean on his ground game to control the ball and keep it away from Williams. Josh Jacobs, his No. 1 back, went out against Chicago with a contusion in their last encounter. Fortunately, he got some time off in his team's regular season finale which should have done wonders to improve his physical conditioning.
Jacobs might not lead his team in yardage, but he'll be used as a battering ram to soften up Chicago's defense. If he experiences any sort of efficiency he'll flirt with 30 carries on the night.
Rashan Gary will reappear
Rashan Gary has not managed to produce a negative play since October. He's clearly struggling without Micah Parsons to work with. Even so, he's Green Bay's most accomplished edge rusher and they desperately need him to come up big against the Bears.
Gary is not going to suddenly morph into Myles Garrett, but he's got enough juice to trouble Chicago on the edge. Coming up with one sack and a couple of hurries could really boost his team's chances of scoring the road win. Look for him to do just that in what would qualify as a major surprise for coordinator Jeff Hafley's defense.
Love and Williams will combine for over 600 yards passing
Williams has to enjoy a big game if his team is going to move on. Love won't feel quite as much pressure to carry his offense, but Green Bay still needs him to hit on some explosives to emerge victorious.
Look for both quarterbacks to go over 300 yards as long as this game, as expected, stays close. Williams might even flirt with 400 yards through the air if Chicago needs to play from behind. The Packers will try to maintain balance as long as humanly possible to avoid putting that type of pressure on Love.
Expect the duo to go over 600 yards with relative ease. That might not feel like a typical Bears-Packers matchup in January, but it's the way both teams are built this season.