Coming out of the bye, the Green Bay Packers will head to Soldier Field in search of their first divisional win of the season. It has been an interesting start for Matt LaFleur’s young squad, who came into the season with high expectations in a relatively weak NFC.
First, Jordan Love’s injury at the end of a loss in South America threatened to end the season before it began. Then, Malik Willis’ heroics got them back into a power position. Love’s return included a statement winning streak, topping the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and Houston Texans. Aside from that crucial win against C.J. Stroud, whose team is arguably Green Bay’s AFC counterpart, the big games have yet to go well in 2024.
From Sao Paulo sadness to division rivals coasting to victories on Lambeau Field, the Packers have left an abnormal amount to be desired, considering they’re off to a 6-3 start. The upcoming post-bye stretch will be crucial for a young team looking to build on a defiant and definitive 2023 season.
Love has been hot and cold overall, occasionally resembling Brett Favre’s gunslinger tendencies more than the Aaron Rodgers-esque touchdown-to-interception ratio he stacked up in the home stretch of last year. The Toyotathon is on, and fans have already latched on to the narrative in hopes that Love begins to look more like his AT&T Stadium self than what we have seen in recent weeks.
The Chicago Bears are an ascending team looking to get things back on track. Any adversity that Green Bay has faced in the past few decades pales in comparison to what is taking place at Halas Hall. The unsuccessful Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields sagas were one thing, but it was hard to imagine that shoo-in No. 1-overall prospect Caleb Williams would be anywhere near as challenging.
It’s early days in the USC rookie’s career, and he undoubtedly has significantly brighter ones ahead of him. Still, things have gotten off to a tumultuous start. The streets were saying this was the best situation a rookie QB has entered in years. However, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after only 10 weeks of play.
The Bears have been a mess on offense, failing to sustain drives despite featuring an All-Star cast of skill players, including D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, and D’Andre Swift. Standout Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who has delivered a massive boost to the defense, had nothing but encouraging words for Williams. He told reporters that he will be a great quarterback in the NFL, one way or another. As for Moore, likely his main priority on Sunday, McKinney wasn’t as gracious. He called out the Pro Bowler for walking off the field mid-play as Williams scrambled.
The play, which gained social-media buzz almost immediately, features Williams miraculously escaping pressure and rolling back out to his right … as Moore took a seat on the bench, having ushered himself out of bounds already. Knowing he had made a premature decision, he gave a courtesy hammy pull as cornerbacks often do when they’re burned all the way to the end zone. However, what appeared to happen was a play that lasted obnoxiously longer than it should’ve, making Moore look much worse than he probably expected.
That didn’t stop Bears and NFL fans from letting him have it. McKinney doesn’t seem shy about riling up Chicago’s top wideout, saying, “Play’s still going on, and you walk off the field on your offense. … You know, you take note of that. Everybody takes note of that, and we see it, and we’re going to work it accordingly.”
While it feels like an isolated incident, McKinney has no problem trying to get under Moore’s skin openly. It will be his first game as part of the historic rivalry, but assuming he has been following the league for at least as long as he’s been in it, he’s well aware of the lopsided nature of this ongoing municipal conflict. Moore didn’t have much to say in response, telling Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times that “trash talk is trash talk. We’ll see on Sunday what it all plays out to be.”
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is a perfect 10-0 against the Bears, carrying on the profound dominance that also started under Mike McCarthy. He will enter Sunday looking to make it 11-0 while accomplishing the key objectives of building post-bye momentum and securing Green Bay’s first NFC North win of the season in what appears to be the toughest division in football by a healthy margin.
They will catch Chicago at an optimal time, with the offense in flux and finger-pointing abounding. Still, it’s hard to imagine Chicago won’t bring that extra fire and insecurity that they’re usually able to find when the Packers come to town. Sunday’s contest will be nothing short of huge, and the star matchup between McKinney and Moore will be a crucial element to keep an eye on.
