There is no love lost between the Bears and Packers.
One of the NFL’s biggest rivalries will be renewed on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears in a matchup that feels incredibly different than it did a few weeks ago.
On one hand, the Packers are seeking a reset after their bye week after getting smashed by the Detroit Lions in Week 9. Matt LaFleur and company are hoping that quarterback Jordan Love can get healthy and that this team can continue on as presumed NFC contenders like they have been over most of the last few months.
On the other hand, the vibes around this Bears team are all kinds of bad. They have suffered three straight losses, the first of which came on a miraculous Hail Mary. Since then, the Bears have taken embarrassing blowout losses against the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots.
One of the more viral moments to come out of this losing streak has been wide receiver DJ Moore seemingly walking off the field in the middle of a play against the Cardinals. In the lead-up to Packers-Bears, Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney poured salt in the wound when talking about Moore’s antics, according to former NFL tight end Clay Harbor.
“This dude walked out on his QB, I’ve been playing football for five years now and I’ve been watching football for longer than that, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it,” McKinney said, per Harbor in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “You’re supposed to be the guy and You’re walking off the field on a rookie QB.”
Moore hasn’t been shy about showing his frustration with Williams and the Bears offense all season, and players around the league are beginning to take notice.
Bears offense looking for hard reset after firing Shane Waldron
Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
The Bears offense has been a bad unit almost all season, but it hit such a low point on Sunday against the Patriots that something had to change.
The Bears made that change when they fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after the loss, just nine games into his first season with the team. They’re clearly hoping that this move gives the offense, and the team as a whole, some life heading into a huge divisional game.
Waldron’s offense in Chicago resembled some of his units during his time with the Seattle Seahawks. The player usage, specifically at wide receiver, raised some eyebrows, and the offensive line has seemed unprepared and poorly coached throughout the whole season. As a result, the guys up front have performed far below their talent level (which already isn’t great).
Now, it will be former NFL running back and current Bears passing game coordinator Thomas Brown who will be calling the plays for the rest of the season. The hope is that Brown can at least build a competent enough system around Caleb Williams that the rookie can grow over the course of the rest of the season, and that quest begins against a huge rival on Sunday.