The Green Bay Packers own the Chicago Bears. No matter who they put at quarterback, they have found a way to beat the Bears for the last three decades. Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, and now Jordan Love. Different quarterbacks, same results. It has been a nightmare for the Bears fans for the last three decades.
The Packers and the Bears squared off in the 2023 season opener, and as usual, they gave the Bears an old-fashioned beat down, winning 38-20. Since then, they struggled throughout last season as Jordan Love had an up-and-down performance. But after a 2-4 start, the Packers making the playoffs is a direct correlation to Love's improvement in his performance as the season progressed.
And adding insult to injury, they beat the Bears 17-9 in a season finale to clinch the playoff spot, promptly destroyed the Dallas Cowboys in the opening round of the playoffs, and nearly beat the San Francisco 49ers in the next round had it not been for a terrible kicking game and bad defense.
It is easy for the Bears fans to feel discouraged that they will have to deal with the Packers for years to come now with Love. And why not? They were the youngest team in the NFL last year to win a playoff game since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger. And after an acrimonious divorce from Rodgers that has been in the making for the last few years now, the mood and the morale within the organization has to be much improved.
Also, Matt LaFluer is 8-0 against the Bears, 4-0 against Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. If Eberflus did not understand the significance of this rivalry when he took the Bears head coaching job, he better be by now because it has been so one-sided.
Their front office has been able to replace both Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams the last few years with Love and a slew of young receivers, who were drafted late rounds. And you bet that some will take major steps next season and will be a household name in a few years based on their past track records. Let's look at what have they been up to this off-season.
The Packers off-season moves
Our colleague Cameron Ellis wrote about the moves each NFC North rival has made and mentioned the addition of safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs are the two moves that should concern the Bears fans.
McKinney was ranked the best safety in coverage according to Pro Football Focus last season(91.2 grade), did not allow a single touchdown, and recorded three interceptions. He is replacing Darnell Savage, who left to join Jacksonville. McKinney is still only 24 years old and his best playing days are still ahead. Many Bears fans wanted to see him sign with the Bears and replace injury-prone Eddie Jackson. But instead, they will have to watch him in a Packers uniform for the next four years.
Signing Josh Jacobs was a surprise move even by the Packers' standard. After leading the league in rushing yards in 2022 with 1,653 yards playing for the Las Vegas Raiders, they placed a franchise tag on him last off-season. He did not sign until late August and rushed for only 805 yards and a career-low 3.5 yards per carry. The Bears will likely face Jacobs, who will be motivated to prove doubters wrong about last season's dropoff.
The signing of Jacobs ended Aaron Jones' career. He gave the Bears plenty of problems. But he ended up signing with the Minnesota Vikings, so they will still have to face him twice a year again next season. There is no doubt that the Bears' run defense will face a major test next season.
The other notable loss for the Packers this off-season is linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who was released after becoming an All-Pro linebacker in 2021. They also released former All-Pro tackle David Bakhtiari, who had been injury-prone throughout his career, playing only 14 games the last three years, and finally cut ties with him. Unless he goes to the New York Jets and reunites with Aaron Rodgers, he may be better off calling it a career. They also lost guard Jon Runyan Jr., who signed with the New York Giants this off-season.
But their biggest addition this off-season could be the addition of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who left his head coaching position at Boston College to replace Jeff Berry. He was to the Packers fans what Luke Getsy was to the Bears fans. Expect their defense to look significantly different schematically and improve after this off-season.
The draft needs for the Packers
Round | Overall | Acquired from |
|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | |
2 | 41 | From New York Jets |
2 | 58 | |
3 | 88 | |
3 | 91 | From Buffalo |
4 | 126 | |
5 | 169 | Compensatory pick |
6 | 202 | |
6 | 219 | Compensatory pick |
7 | 245 | |
7 | 255 | Compensatory pick |
1. Inside Linebacker
The Packers are thin at inside linebacker after releasing De'Vondre Campbell. The depth is also suspect. However, this year's linebacker class does not have star power. North Carolina State's Payton Wilson would be rated much higher had it not been for injuries and age. Other notable names include Texas A&M's Edgerrin Cooper, North Carolina's Cedric Gray, and Michigan's Junior Colson. Given the Packers have 11 picks, expect them to draft multiple linebackers on Day 3.
2. Offensive Tackle
Releasing David Bakhtiari was made easy after rookie Rasheed Walker, their 7th-round pick in the 2022 draft played well after Bakhtiari suffered a season-ending injury in a season opener against the Bears last season. He is their Braxton Jones. Given the depth of tackles available in this draft, they could draft a tackle high to either compete with Walker for the left tackle position or at least provide depth after the departure of swing tackle Yosh Nijman to Carolina.
3. Defensive End
To help support new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, they could add more pass rushers to their arsenal. They have Rashan Gray, Preston Smith, and Lukas Van Ness but after them, they have little. Van Ness had 4 sacks as a rookie, so Hafley has his work cut out to figure out how to get the most out of him next season. Also, Smith is 31, so they need to add more rotational pieces to keep him healthy and effective in 2024, and possibly replace him in 2025.
4. Cornerback
This position could be a higher priority if Jaire Alexander does not return to his form and is still at odds over his suspension when he has not anointed the team-designated captain and participated in a coin toss that he should not have against the Carolina Panthers last season. However, the Packers made it sound like that may not be the only reason that led to his suspension.
Their other starter, Eric Stokes has been inconsistent after a strong rookie season in 2021. Iowa's Cooper DeJean, Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell, and Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry are some of the names to remember in the first round.
How does it impacts the Bears?
The Packers have 11 picks, including 3 compensatory picks awarded by the NFL. They also received a second-round pick from the New York Jets in the Aaron Rodgers trade.
They could add multiple players to their defense to help out their new defensive coordinator. And 11 picks give them plenty of flexibility to trade up toward the end of the first round if they have someone rated higher and cannot wait until the second round if they want to. Given their track record of finding starters and contributors in late rounds such as Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, and Dontayvion Wicks from last year's draft class, you can bet they will find players, who will torment the Bears in this year's draft class.
Last year's playoff run despite a poor start will boost the confidence of a young Packers team. If their defense can reach their potential and Jordan Love continues to build from last season's finish, that is not good news for the Bears who must figure out a way to beat them if they want to keep up in the NFC North.