Green Bay Packers v. Bears: Week 12 Predictions

Here are six predictions for the Green Bay Packers Sunday Night matchup with the Chicago Bears. Who comes out on top?

The Green Bay Packers are coming off a brutal overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts. At the beginning of the third quarter, they held a 14 point lead, but that quickly vanished as the offense went ice cold and the defense let the Colts pretty much do whatever they wanted.

However, despite the ugly second half of football, Aaron Rodgers, Matt LaFleur, and many others seemed encouraged by the overall performance. Now, this week they will look to bounce back against a Chicago Bears team that has lost four in a row, and a Packers win tonight should all but eliminate them from NFC North contention.

So with it being game day, you know what that means here at Dairyland Express; it’s prediction time! Like the Packers, several of our writers will be looking to rebound after predicting that Green Bay would win last week’s game. Here is how we all see this Week 12 matchup playing out.

Kenny Jilek (6-4)

The Green Bay Packers offense scored 28 points in the first half against the best defense in the league last week. This week, they face another top defense in the Bears, and they’ll have to come ready to perform again. While they might have a bit more room for error because of the Bears’ offensive struggles, they’ll still need to put points on the board. Lazard should see more touches this week, and he’ll have to be big as Davante Adams will have Kyle Fuller on him all day.

Defensively, the Packers will face a Bears offense that has been largely stagnant for much of this season. Mitch Trubisky takes back the reins as the starter this week, and if they can stop the Bears’ lackluster run game, and Jaire Alexander locks down Allen Robinson, they’ll make Trubisky beat them by throwing to other targets. That’s the best-case scenario for this defense, and hopefully, they’ll have one of their best performances of the season.

Prediction: Bears 16 – Packers 27

Brian Sampson (5-3)

The Green Bay Packers are looking to rebound after a second-half collapse against the Indianapolis Colts, and I’d hate to be in the Bears’ position. It appears Green Bay is as locked in as ever and is thirsty for revenge. Throughout the week, they’ve appeared to have a sense of urgency, and I’m excited to see how that translates to game day. Throw in the fact that Mitch Trubisky is starting once again, and this game could get ugly. I hope it does.

Prediction: Bears 17 – Packers 31

Harrison Carter (0-1)

Following a disappointing overtime loss to the Colts, the Green Bay Packers have an opportunity to bounce back against Chicago. The Bears will start Mitch Trubisky, who will replace a struggling Nick Foles. Like Indianapolis, the Bears have a good defense, but they have struggled much more on the offensive end.

If the Packers can pressure Trubisky consistently, I think they can force the turnover-prone quarterback to give up the ball. The story of the game will be who can take care of the ball more, as turnovers killed Green Bay last week. As Chicago has lost 4 straight, I expect the Packers to put their foot down and rebound from last week.

Prediction: Bears 14 – Packers 27

Matt LeVene (2-2)

The best rivalry in the NFL on Sunday Night Football from historic Lambeau Field. The stage is set for this primetime NFC North Divisional battle. The Bears are headed by their stout defense with Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks, who will need to wreak havoc on Aaron Rodgers and the dominant Packers offense in order to stay in this game. With Allen Lazard off a snap count and fully back in the fold, AR12 should be well equipped to take down this impressive defensive unit. Look for the Packers to get the running backs involved in the short pass game to combat this ferocious run defense. I predict Jamaal Williams finds the endzone out of the backfield and outplays Aaron Jones.

The Bears will have Mitchell Trubisky back at the helm, with Nick Foles sidelined. Look for a lot of creativity in Nagy’s play-calling to try and hide his young quarterback’s flaws. The matchup between Jaire Alexander and Allen Robinson will be something to monitor. If Ja Money can clamp down yet another top tier receiver in the league, he may put himself in the DPOY conversation. The Bears are currently two games back in the division and essentially need this game if they want to mount a comeback, so they will do anything and everything to make that happen. However, if the Packers can limit the Bears’ rushing attack while protecting Rodgers on offense, there is no reason they should not come out victorious.

Prediction: Bears 16 – Packers 24

Trevor Bender (0-1)

The longest rivalry in NFL history will play its 201st game, 199th in the regular season. The Green Bay Packers record against the Chicago Bears is 99-95-6, including both regular season and playoffs. I will say that I believe the Packers will get to 100 wins against the Bears in the all-time series.

To me, this is a game that the Green Bay Packers should pretty clearly win, but NFC North divisional games are always tough. This is a game that we will see strength, battle strength, and weakness battle weakness. The Packers’ strength is the offense; they are ranked third in the league in points per game, the Bears’ strength is their defense. They are sixth in the league in points allowed per game. The weakness for the Packers is their defense, which is ranked 17th in points allowed per game, while the Bears struggle on offense, they are ranked 31st in points per game, only ahead of the New York Jets.

I think the Packers’ strength is better than the Bears’ strength, while the Packer’s weakness is not as debilitating as the Bears’ weakness. The only thing that concerns me is if the Bears are able to force turnovers and have a big play on special teams. With all of that said, I think that the Packers will win unless they shoot themselves in the foot as they did against the Indianapolis Colts.

Prediction: Bears 17 – Packers 34

Paul Bretl (8-2)

There are two areas about this game that concern me; the Bears’ defense and their special teams. By DVOA, the Bears have the fourth-best defense in football — one spot ahead of the Colts — and they allow the sixth-fewest points per game. Meanwhile, on special teams, the Green Bay Packers have not been very good over the last five weeks or so, and Cordarrelle Patterson and Dwayne Harris are two return specialists that will make them pay for any mistakes that occur.

But having said all of that, Mitch Trubisky is under center, and this is a Bears’ offense that has been bad all season. The quarterback play has been awful, their offensive line just isn’t good, and by rushing yards per game, they rank last in the NFL. Talk about a get right game for the Green Bay defense. My hope is that because of these issues; we see Mike Pettine playing more aggressively. This means less dime, less soft zone coverages, and more blitzes. Stop the run and force Trubisky to make difficult throws under pressure.

While the concerns that I listed above are all valid, and I do believe that will be why this game is relatively close, the talent gap at quarterback — you know, the most important position in the game — will be too much for Chicago to overcome. Packers win.

Prediction: Bears 13 – Packers 24