GREEN BAY — Being from the Chicago suburbs and now playing for the team he grew up rooting for, Cole Kmet’s perspective on the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers rivalry is unique.
Not only did the Bears veteran tight end watch Packers-Bears games as a kid, but his best friend is a dyed-in-the-wool Packers who refuses to wear Kmet’s jersey, but Kmet’s own sister, Frankie, is a Packers fan — because her boyfriend is Packers defensive end Lukas Van Ness.
“Growing up here in Chicago, it’s a game that obviously I watched year in and year out,” Kmet explained at midweek in advance of Sunday’s matchup between the NFC North-leading Bears (9-3) and the Packers (8-3-1) at Lambeau Field.
“It sparks a lot of family debate and a lot of spirited debate between those people. So there’s a lot to it, and I have a lot of fun with it. And it obviously has a lot of history. It’s a great game to be part of. “
That’s partially why Kmet loved it when his new head coach, Ben Johnson, took a shot at Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during his introductory press conference in January, singling out his rival after praising Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell and Detroit’s Dan Campbell (Johnson’s) former boss) before adding, “And to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”
That quote made the rounds again this week, and while LaFleur and the Packers downplayed its significance, Kmet and the Bears players leaned into it.
“Obviously it gets you pumped up,” Kmet said. “This is a huge rivalry and a game that means a lot to a lot of people. I think Ben understood that, coming in and taking the job. This is a game that I look forward to every year. This is one of my favorites, and it’s an honor to be part of this type of game.”
LaFleur, who was 11-0 against the Bears before the Packers lost their regular-season finale last January at Lambeau Field, shrugged off Johnson’s remark but not the loss 11 months ago.
“You can never take it for granted. That’s for sure,” LaFleur said. “In the most critical moments, you’ve got to be at your best. Unfortunately, a year ago, myself, we weren’t at our best.”
The Packers have dominated the series since Brett Favre took over as the Packers starting quarterback in 1992 with a 50-16 record, thanks to their advantage at quarterback — the Packers were 22-10 in games started by Brett Favre, 25-5 in games started by Aaron Rodgers and are 3-1 in Jordan Love’s four starts against Chicago.
Sunday’s game has the most at stake since the 2013 regular-season finale at Soldier Field, when Rodgers returned from a broken collarbone and threw a game-winning fourth-down 48-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb to win the division title and clinch a playoff berth.
That game — along with the Packers’ 2010 NFC Championship Game win to send Green Bay to Super Bowl XLV — are the outliers during the one-sided three decade run the Packers have had, but this could be the beginning of a far more competitive age.
“I think it’s bigger this year than it was last year, because they actually, you know, a pretty decent team,” Packers running back Josh Jacobs said of the Bears. ‘With them playing at a high level, obviously having a new coach and new energy and things like that, I think they have more of a belief that they actually have a chance of playing in this game.”
Here are three aspects to Sunday’s matchup worthy of attention:
1️⃣ — BALL SECURITY AT A PREMIUM
Love comes into Sunday having thrown only three interceptions all season — and zero over the past four games. But he’ll be facing a Bears defense that leads the NFL in interceptions (17) and total takeaways (26).
LaFleur watched every one of the Bears’ INTs on film, crediting the Bears’ ball-hawking abilities under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, while Love knows it will be the key to the game.
“That’s something we’ve focused on all season, just taking care of the ball. And that’s everybody,” Love said at midweek. “But it just comes down for me, decision making — making those smart decisions, understanding where I need to go with the ball against 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.”
Jacobs, meanwhile, has lost one fumble this season and doesn’t intend to lose another one to the Bears.
“Some [of their turnovers] have been given and some have been really, really great plays by their defense. So shout outs to them for that,” Jacobs said. “But I don’t plan on giving the ball away. So, we will see how it goes. It’s the ultimate test for us as an offense. And I don’t plan on giving the ball away.”
2️⃣ — THE MIDDLEMEN
In the aftermath of losing 2022 first-round draft pick Devonte Wyatt for the rest of the season to an ankle injury he sustained in the team’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions, the Packers know the game could be won or lost between the Bears’ offensive tackles?
Why? In their 24-15 Black Friday win over the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles last week, the Bears racked up 281 rushing yards — with the vast majority of that yardage coming up the middle.
Without Wyatt, the Packers will rely on veterans Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, rookies Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse, and perhaps new additions Jordon Riley and Quinton Bohanna to fill the void.
“You don’t really replace a player like Wyatt, especially with how good he was playing,” Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “But like we’ve done all year, those young guys, they stepped up and they’re going to have to step up again.
“We’re going to play a bunch of teams down the stretch that are going to run the ball, [so] guys like Brinson and Stackhouse, they’ll be ready to go. And I think Karl and Colby have played really, really well this year, so we’re going to rely on them more. It’s going to be all four of those guys and we’ll find a way to get it done.”
Bears running backs D’Andre Swift (18 carries, 125 yards, one touchdown) and Kyle Monangai (22 carries, 130 yards, one touchdown) both eclipsed 100 rushing yards against the Eagles, the first time a pair of Bears running backs have gone over 100 yards in the same game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey did it in a 1985 victory over the Lions.
One thing that should give the group confidence: The Packers managed to keep the Lions’ dynamic duo at running back — Jahmyr Gibbs (20 carries, 68 yards) and David Montgomery (eight carries, 32 yards) — in check on Thanksgiving.
“Yeah, it will be a challenge,” Hafley said. “That took a lot of strain and it took a lot of effort and it took all 11 guys running to the ball to play as well as we did against Gibbs last week. So can we go do it again against two more good backs, a good offensive line, and a similar scheme in some regards? Sure, it should help with the guys’ confidence, but that’s over. So can you do it again, right? That’s going to be the whole key.”
3️⃣ — GETTING HIS KICKS — AGAIN
Packers veteran kicker Brandon McManus’ season has not gone according to plan, but at least in the last two games, he’s looked like himself again.
Having missed three games with a persistent quadriceps injury in his right (kicking) leg, McManus’ cumulative numbers are underwhelming: He’s 15 of 21 on field-goal attempts (71.4%) and 22 of 23 extra points (97.3%).
But in the last two games — a Nov. 23 win over Minnesota and the Thanksgiving win over the Lions — McManus hasn’t missed a kick. He made all three of his field-goal attempts (from 32, 30 and 40 yards) and both of his extra points. Against the Lions, he made a 45-yard field goal and drilled four of his extra points.
“Obviously, it’s been really good. It feels like he’s back,” special-teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “He went through [a] slump as we would call it coming off the quad, but I think he’s back to who he is, the attitude, and the crazy body language and all those kind of things. I think he’s back and I think he feels like he’s hitting the ball the way he wants to hit it.” For me, that’s the saving grace of, I feel good about every time he goes out there to kick the ball.”
Last year, both games came down to end-of-the-game kicks. In Chicago, Brooks blocked Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in the Packers’ 20-19 win at Soldier Field. In Green Bay, Santos hit a 51-yard game-winner as time expired to beat the Packers 24-22 at Lambeau Field, just 54 seconds after McManus had given the Packers a 22-21 lead on a 55-yard field goal.
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