Whenever a team plays Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers, the focus has to be first on how to contain one of the NFL's best pass rushers. That won't be the case this time around for the Chicago Bears.
Parsons suffered a torn ACL in the Packers' loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 15, effectively ending his 2025 season. That means the Bears have to face a Green Bay team that is short-staffed on the defensive line in the pass-rushing department.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson isn't letting Parsons's absence affect the way he game-plans. Johnson knows that Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will have something up his sleeve to make up for Parsons' absence.
"We look at everything and that’s where being in the division last year certainly helps because you see all that tape from Hafley’s defense a year ago…There’s elements of that you take into account but at this point of the season, it’s a really good football team. Really good defense. I know you kind of lock in one player because he does garner a lot of your attention when you go against that defense and yet they have some high caliber players throughout on the defensive line, linebacking core and on the back end. Just because one player goes down, doesn’t mean this is going to change a whole lot for them."
Johnson has a chance to attack Green Bay where it hurts without Parsons
Parsons was a nightmare for the Bears in Chicago's 28-21 loss to the Packers in Week 14. He finished with seven quarterback pressures, six hurries, two quarterback hits, and one tackle.
Chicago has an opening to attack the Packers, who are facing all the injuries going into the game. Green Bay had nine players who did not practice on their first injury report.
What worked well in the first matchup was that the Bears were able to establish a ground game of picking up three to four yards at a time. That's something Johnson needs to continue to do to avoid the Packers' significant play offense from getting on the field after the Bears surrendered three touchdown passes of 23 or more yards in the first meeting.
The Bears will need to know the statuses of wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III before deciding what to do about the passing game. Both were listed as "did not participate" in the first injury report, which is already a scary sign.
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Chicago needs this win badly and knows the Packers will throw the kitchen sink at them to win. The Bears need to be ready for anything to come their way.