Wild Card Week: Bears vs Packers Saturday 7pm on Prime

[Banedon]

👀

[BigSlick]

Gordon being back could be huge, it could also be a nothing because looking at Jaylon back makes me very sad

I do think their defense is qualitatively different with a healthy Kyle Gordon in the lineup. 

[Derwood]

[We Got The Whole 9]

Tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III came on strong to close out the Bears’ 2025 regular season, leading the team with 597 and 481 receiving yards, respectively, since Week 9. But as good as they were, Trapilo provided arguably even more value.

Since he became a starter at left tackle in Week 12, the second-rounder allowed just 13 quarterback pressures. His 77.7 PFF pass-blocking grade over the span was better than all but that of Chiefs first-rounder Josh Simmons. That helped quarterback Caleb Williams work from a clean pocket 64.8% of the time during that stretch — the 13th-best rate in the NFL.

[Hot Sauce]

On 1/5/2026 at 9:35 AM, gflore34 said:

Win or lose the Bears have been playing with house money since they clinched a winning season.  To be honest I'm more excited about 2026.  Caleb and the offense, with this season under their belts, are going nuclear in 2026, I've no doubt.  I believe the Bears will able to fix the defense and, at least, get it to an average level defense coupling it with an overpowering offense, that'll translate to double digit wins.

You can't run unless you first crawl. This was a huge season for the Bears. The culture is beginning to shift. 

[raw]

10 hours ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III came on strong to close out the Bears’ 2025 regular season, leading the team with 597 and 481 receiving yards, respectively, since Week 9. But as good as they were, Trapilo provided arguably even more value.

Since he became a starter at left tackle in Week 12, the second-rounder allowed just 13 quarterback pressures. His 77.7 PFF pass-blocking grade over the span was better than all but that of Chiefs first-rounder Josh Simmons. That helped quarterback Caleb Williams work from a clean pocket 64.8% of the time during that stretch — the 13th-best rate in the NFL.

Quietly a huge development. Because Theo clearly wasn't the answer, and if you had to find a LT in the offseason (or trust an inexperienced Trapilo at RT and move Wright to LT) then that's fewer resources for the defensive front.

[Banedon]

23 minutes ago, raw said:

Quietly a huge development. Because Theo clearly wasn't the answer, and if you had to find a LT in the offseason (or trust an inexperienced Trapilo at RT and move Wright to LT) then that's fewer resources for the defensive front.

It's just fun to not want to fire the entire offensive line into the sun for once.

[Banedon]

[Wilson A2000]

Could be snowy with 17 MPH winds for the game on Saturday

[UMFan83]

Kind of crazy that virtually every playoff game the Bears have played since 1994 has been at home

2001 - Home vs. Philadelphia

2005 - Home vs. Carolina

2006 - Home vs. Seattle

2006 - Home vs. New Orleans

2006 - Neutral vs. Indianapolis

2010 - Home vs. Seattle

2010 - Home vs. Green Bay

2018 - Home vs. Philadelphia

2020 - Away vs. New Orleans

2025 - Home vs. Green Bay

 

COVID season barely counts and the neutral site was the Super Bowl.  Outside of that all home games.  Of course they've only played 10 total playoff games in those 31 years so...

[We Got The Whole 9]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Kind of crazy that virtually every playoff game the Bears have played since 1994 has been at home

2001 - Home vs. Philadelphia

2005 - Home vs. Carolina

2006 - Home vs. Seattle

2006 - Home vs. New Orleans

2006 - Neutral vs. Indianapolis

2010 - Home vs. Seattle

2010 - Home vs. Green Bay

2018 - Home vs. Philadelphia

2020 - Away vs. New Orleans

2025 - Home vs. Green Bay

 

COVID season barely counts and the neutral site was the Super Bowl.  Outside of that all home games.  Of course they've only played 10 total playoff games in those 31 years so...

And only won 3 of them. Pathetic. 

[BigSlick]

1 hour ago, Banedon said:

It's just fun to not want to fire the entire offensive line into the sun for once.

Also shows how much offensive line performance isn't just the pure talent of the guys but coaching and quarterback. Caleb is light years ahead of where he was last year and where Justin Fields was in terms of pre-snap reads, checking, accounting for a free rusher if there's one anticipated, etc. etc. 

Talent wise the guys are way ahead of where they were in previous years but they're also just handling protection better as a whole offensive unit. 

[Brian707]

I keep forgetting they played a playoff game in 2020 lol

[raw]

I shouldn't be confident because this is an experienced team vs a playoff tested team, this is a rookie coach vs a veteran coach, and this is Bears/Packers and we have been on the wrong side of this matchup for like 15+ years.

The Bears kinda limped to the finish line with 2 consecutive losses, but both were on the last play of the game losses. And if the Bears are limping, the Packers are damn near crippled with 4 straight losses. The Packers made the right move though by sitting starters this week, and I fully believe the Bears did so by playing theirs. The Packers have played this game several times (wildcard game on the road). And they had several players they needed to get healthy for the playoffs. On the other side, the Bears are a team that needed the reps. Ben tried to get the offense back to the basics by simplifying the game plan, but it didn't really work. But the coach and QB's demeanor since that game has been of pure frustration. For all the stuff made of the Bears starting off slow, they are actually 6th in the league in 1st quarter points. And they got passed for top 5 on Sunday. 

The Packers are a much different team from what they were in the 1st matchup, their OL is in shambles. They will get Zach Tom back, but the Pack has been sacked 11x since Week 15 and only has 3 sacks themselves without Parsons. They also do not take the ball away (Caleb's game losing INT is their only takeaway the last 6). The Bears did get a couple sacks against them last time, and the big one that killed Love doesn't even count because of the penalty. The Bears defense is not good by any means, and I don't expect 0-5 in the red zone, but the hope is they are motivated enough and Kyler coming back is enough to limit the redzone trips.

On offense, the Packers have actually done a good job stopping the Bears explosive runs. They only have 2 in the 2 matchups (not including a backward pass to DJ counting as a run) and all 3 of those plays came in the last matchup. The Packers haven't exactly stopped the Bears run game, but the Bears do need to find a way to keep them off balance by mixing the run and pass. My hope is they really lean into Darnell Wright being the best run blocker on their OL and just spam the outside right side of line. The Bears add a weapon with Rome, who the Packers haven't seen yet. They only got 1 game of Burden, and the Bears were productive throwing to TEs with Loveland/Kmet combining for 11 catches, 115 yards and a TD, so could be an embarrassment of riches for Caleb in the pass game. 

When Ben was hired, he said he loved beating Matt LaFleur 2x a year. He can't live up to that expectation he put out there unless he wins this one. On the field, these 2 teams have played pretty evenly matched (1 point difference and 6 total yard difference in 2 games). But on paper, I'd like to think the Bears are the better, more talented, healthier team. My heart says the Bears should win this game by 2 scores (whether 9 points or 18), but my head says this is another game that will take multiple years off my life. No prediction.

[raw]

25 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

I keep forgetting they played a playoff game in 2020 lol

All I remember is the Javon Wims drop and the Jimmy Graham walkoff TD catch where he literally walked off the field after scoring all in 1 motion.

[BigSlick]

The Bears 2020 playoff appearance feels like one of those shortened seasons in MLB where there was a work stoppage and all of the stats and results were super weird. I guess it technically happened but I don't really believe it counted. 

[Brian707]

[bukie]

There is a very real scenario where the Bears could play 3 home games in the playoffs against the Packers-Panthers-49ers.

[Soul]

3 hours ago, raw said:

I shouldn't be confident because this is an experienced team vs a playoff tested team, this is a rookie coach vs a veteran coach, and this is Bears/Packers and we have been on the wrong side of this matchup for like 15+ years.

The Bears kinda limped to the finish line with 2 consecutive losses, but both were on the last play of the game losses. And if the Bears are limping, the Packers are damn near crippled with 4 straight losses. The Packers made the right move though by sitting starters this week, and I fully believe the Bears did so by playing theirs. The Packers have played this game several times (wildcard game on the road). And they had several players they needed to get healthy for the playoffs. On the other side, the Bears are a team that needed the reps. Ben tried to get the offense back to the basics by simplifying the game plan, but it didn't really work. But the coach and QB's demeanor since that game has been of pure frustration. For all the stuff made of the Bears starting off slow, they are actually 6th in the league in 1st quarter points. And they got passed for top 5 on Sunday. 

The Packers are a much different team from what they were in the 1st matchup, their OL is in shambles. They will get Zach Tom back, but the Pack has been sacked 11x since Week 15 and only has 3 sacks themselves without Parsons. They also do not take the ball away (Caleb's game losing INT is their only takeaway the last 6). The Bears did get a couple sacks against them last time, and the big one that killed Love doesn't even count because of the penalty. The Bears defense is not good by any means, and I don't expect 0-5 in the red zone, but the hope is they are motivated enough and Kyler coming back is enough to limit the redzone trips.

On offense, the Packers have actually done a good job stopping the Bears explosive runs. They only have 2 in the 2 matchups (not including a backward pass to DJ counting as a run) and all 3 of those plays came in the last matchup. The Packers haven't exactly stopped the Bears run game, but the Bears do need to find a way to keep them off balance by mixing the run and pass. My hope is they really lean into Darnell Wright being the best run blocker on their OL and just spam the outside right side of line. The Bears add a weapon with Rome, who the Packers haven't seen yet. They only got 1 game of Burden, and the Bears were productive throwing to TEs with Loveland/Kmet combining for 11 catches, 115 yards and a TD, so could be an embarrassment of riches for Caleb in the pass game. 

When Ben was hired, he said he loved beating Matt LaFleur 2x a year. He can't live up to that expectation he put out there unless he wins this one. On the field, these 2 teams have played pretty evenly matched (1 point difference and 6 total yard difference in 2 games). But on paper, I'd like to think the Bears are the better, more talented, healthier team. My heart says the Bears should win this game by 2 scores (whether 9 points or 18), but my head says this is another game that will take multiple years off my life. No prediction.

WAT.  I read through all that wanting the reasons why you’re picking the Bears, then no prediction?!?

[We Got The Whole 9]

3 hours ago, raw said:

I shouldn't be confident because this is an experienced team vs a playoff tested team, this is a rookie coach vs a veteran coach, and this is Bears/Packers and we have been on the wrong side of this matchup for like 15+ years.

The Bears kinda limped to the finish line with 2 consecutive losses, but both were on the last play of the game losses. And if the Bears are limping, the Packers are damn near crippled with 4 straight losses. The Packers made the right move though by sitting starters this week, and I fully believe the Bears did so by playing theirs. The Packers have played this game several times (wildcard game on the road). And they had several players they needed to get healthy for the playoffs. On the other side, the Bears are a team that needed the reps. Ben tried to get the offense back to the basics by simplifying the game plan, but it didn't really work. But the coach and QB's demeanor since that game has been of pure frustration. For all the stuff made of the Bears starting off slow, they are actually 6th in the league in 1st quarter points. And they got passed for top 5 on Sunday. 

The Packers are a much different team from what they were in the 1st matchup, their OL is in shambles. They will get Zach Tom back, but the Pack has been sacked 11x since Week 15 and only has 3 sacks themselves without Parsons. They also do not take the ball away (Caleb's game losing INT is their only takeaway the last 6). The Bears did get a couple sacks against them last time, and the big one that killed Love doesn't even count because of the penalty. The Bears defense is not good by any means, and I don't expect 0-5 in the red zone, but the hope is they are motivated enough and Kyler coming back is enough to limit the redzone trips.

On offense, the Packers have actually done a good job stopping the Bears explosive runs. They only have 2 in the 2 matchups (not including a backward pass to DJ counting as a run) and all 3 of those plays came in the last matchup. The Packers haven't exactly stopped the Bears run game, but the Bears do need to find a way to keep them off balance by mixing the run and pass. My hope is they really lean into Darnell Wright being the best run blocker on their OL and just spam the outside right side of line. The Bears add a weapon with Rome, who the Packers haven't seen yet. They only got 1 game of Burden, and the Bears were productive throwing to TEs with Loveland/Kmet combining for 11 catches, 115 yards and a TD, so could be an embarrassment of riches for Caleb in the pass game. 

When Ben was hired, he said he loved beating Matt LaFleur 2x a year. He can't live up to that expectation he put out there unless he wins this one. On the field, these 2 teams have played pretty evenly matched (1 point difference and 6 total yard difference in 2 games). But on paper, I'd like to think the Bears are the better, more talented, healthier team. My heart says the Bears should win this game by 2 scores (whether 9 points or 18), but my head says this is another game that will take multiple years off my life. No prediction.

They have shut down the run in the first half and we need to change that. Its good that we have made the adjustments but we absolutely need to succeed at playing our game to beat them IMO. 

 

Very worried about the secondary being able to keep up with their many weapons. We need the DL to get consistent pressure.

[Brian707]

1 hour ago, bukie said:

There is a very real scenario where the Bears could play 3 home games in the playoffs against the Packers-Panthers-49ers.

Or Packers, Eagles. Rams. Just have Seattle lose their game in the divisional round ala the Lions last year.  Eagles got 3 home games last year 

[BigbadB]

8 hours ago, Brian707 said:

Or Packers, Eagles. Rams. Just have Seattle lose their game in the divisional round ala the Lions last year.  Eagles got 3 home games last year 

Seattle only has to win one game to get home field for the division championship. I don't like the chances of the Bears having a home game in that game. But, it is possible. Whoever gets Seattle will have to have the game of their life. Seattle looked really good against SF.

[Wilson A2000]

33 minutes ago, BigbadB said:

Seattle only has to win one game to get home field for the division championship. I don't like the chances of the Bears having a home game in that game. But, it is possible. Whoever gets Seattle will have to have the game of their life. Seattle looked really good against SF.

You mean conference championship 

[BigbadB]

34 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

You mean conference championship 

Correct. I don't always think straight with my morning coffee. Well, maybe never actually.

[Brian707]

Im becoming more confident for this game as the week goes on. 28-20 Bears