GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a way, the Green Bay Packers offense vs. the Chicago Bears defense on Sunday will be akin to the irresistible force paradox.
The Packers’ offense isn’t an unstoppable force. The Bears’ defense isn’t an immovable object. However, what will happen when a Green Bay offense that doesn’t turn over the ball often meets a Chicago defense that excels at forcing turnovers?
Entering Week 14, the Packers lead the NFL with just seven giveaways while the Bears lead the NFL with 26 takeaways.
That will be the obvious key to the game when the teams battle for first place in the NFC North at Lambeau Field.
“Yeah, it’s something that we’ve harped on all season, so we’ve got to go out there and do a great job of just protecting the ball,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “And that’s everybody. That’s me, the receivers, the running back, tight ends – anybody that’s carrying the ball.
“And they’re No. 1 in the league at creating turnovers and getting interceptions. They do a good job. Their DBs are aware of the ball, and they’re making plays when it is in the air. So, obviously, a great group of DBs over there, but it just comes down to us, being smart with the decisions and just take care of it at all times.”
Only the Eagles (two) with Jalen Hurts have thrown fewer interceptions than the Packers (three). Love is second in the NFL with a 0.83 interception percentage.
The Bears have 17 interceptions – four more than any other team. Chicago’s interception rate of 4.55 percent is the highest in the league by a mile; no other team is greater than 3.20 percent.
Safety Kevin Byard leads the NFL with six interceptions – that’s as many as the Packers have as a team – and cornerback Nahshon Wright is tied for second with five. At least the Packers won’t have to deal with injured linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who leads all non-defensive backs with four interceptions.
Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard (31) runs for a gain following an interception during the second quarter against the Vikings. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
It’s been a blast-from-the-past season for the 32-year-old Byard, who was a first-team All-Pro with the Titans in 2017, when he led the league with eight interceptions, and again with the Titans in 2021, when had five. He had only one interception with the Titans and Eagles in 2023 and one interception with the Bears last year.
“He’s incredible,” Bears coach Ben Johnson told reporters this week. “I had a lot of respect for him from afar prior to coming into the building and it’s nothing but grown from there. He’s done a tremendous job taking care of his own business first and foremost. To your point, he’s playing at a really high level on that back end, picking up a new scheme.
“And he is really leading the charge, not just for the defense, for the entire team. I lean into him heavily for just feeling the pulse for the locker room. He knows what winning looks like, and so his voice really carries a lot of weight for everybody in the building.”
Meanwhile, Wright – a towering 6-foot-4 cornerback – had one interception and five passes defensed in 33 career games in four seasons with the Cowboys and Vikings before his breakout debut season in Chicago.
It’s not just interceptions. The Bears have forced 11 fumbles and recovered nine. Their top pass rusher, Montez Sweat, has forced three and Wright has recovered three.
Why are the Bears so good at forcing turnovers?
“I think there’s a lot of things,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “No. 1, you can tell there’s certainly an emphasis around it, the way they attack the football, any ball-carriers or whatnot. And I think that’s a byproduct of (defensive coordinator) Dennis Allen. Shoot, I can remember when he was in New Orleans when I was in Houston, back in 2008, 2009. We practiced against those guys and you could see the emphasis placed on it in practice.”
Allen spent the previous decade with the Saints, including as defensive coordinator from 2015 through 2021 and head coach from 2022 through 2024. In the 2022 opener, won by the Saints 38-3, they intercepted Aaron Rodgers twice.
“He does such a great job getting that out of his guys,” LaFleur continued, “but I also think it’s a credit to his players in regards to they’ve got tremendous ball skills, really, on every level of the defense. So, D.A. does a great job of putting his guys in position to make plays then, ultimately, they’re going out there and making the plays.”
Meanwhile, during Green Bay’s three-game winning streak, it has not turned over the ball. Love is on a four-game streak without an interception. If the season ended today, Love would have the fourth-lowest interception in Packers history.
He’s second in the league this season with four games with two-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He is fifth in the NFL with a 104.3 passer rating; the Packers are 7-0-1 when he has a rating of 90-plus.
The Bears, despite all their interceptions, are only 17th in opponent passer rating due in part to ranking 26th in completion percentage allowed and 28th in yards allowed per attempt.
If the Packers don’t hand the ball to the Bears – a task easier said than done with a kickoff temperature in the teens – they could have the upper hand.
“That’s something we’ve focused on all season, just taking care of the ball,” Love said. “And that’s everybody, but it just comes down for me, decision-making – making those smart decisions, understanding where I need to go with the ball vs. certain looks, and sometimes just knowing when they just throw it away or find the check down. So, just smart decision-making at the end of the day.”
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