The Green Bay Packers must feel unlucky to be playing in the NFC North this season. Green Bay is 11-5 heading into Week 18 but still find themselves in third place in the NFC North division standings. They have had no hope of a division title in weeks as the Vikings and Lions duke it out for the division crown. It certainly did not help matters to lose to the Vikings in Week 17. Weirdly enough, the Packers could be in control of almost any other division in the NFC.
Regardless, the Packers have clinched a playoff berth and will compete in the wild card round in a few weeks. Green Bay will not have a great seed in the NFC playoffs, but they have been road warriors before. Packers fans certainly haven’t forgotten their rout of the Cowboys during the playoffs last season.
But the Packers have one more regular season game before the playoffs. Green Bay has a bad taste in its mouth after Sunday’s disappointing loss and will be looking to take revenge on their opponent. It’s just a nice bonus that they happen to be playing the Bears, one of the NFC’s most dysfunctional teams of the season.
Will the Packers get an easy win against an ailing Bears team? Or will the Packers become victim to an all-time ‘trap game’ defeat?
Below we will explore three Packers bold predictions ahead of their Week 18 regular season finale against the Bears.
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Jordan Love passes for over 250 yards and multiple touchdowns
Jordan Love was one of several Packers players who did not play at their best on Sunday.
Love only managed 185 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota, which proved to be just shy of enough to get an upset victory. The Packers seemed to rely more on Josh Jacob and his ability to keep the offense on schedule instead of leaning on Love to throw the ball.
That should change against the Bears in Week 18.
The Packers don’t need to do anything fancy to get a win against the dysfunctional Bears. Regardless, I believe Love will play well and give Packers fans reason for optimism heading into the postseason.
My prediction: Love will put together a solid overall performance against Chicago. I see him going for over 250 passing yards and throwing for multiple touchdowns.
Packers ride Josh Jacobs to victory, resulting in multiple rushing touchdowns
There is one common ingredient in nearly every Packers victory this season: a good performance from RB Josh Jacobs.
Looking back at the 2024 regular season, it seems clear that the Packers signing Jacobs in free agency may have been one of their best moves of the offseason.
Jacobs is having one of his best NFL seasons with the Packers. He has logged 295 carries for 1,285 yards and 14 touchdowns heading into the final week of the regulars season. His 2022 breakout season is the only year of his career where he had more carries or significantly better efficiency overall.
The Packers love to use Jacobs as a battering ram to establish a rhythm on offense. Nearly every part of Green Bay’s scheme is built around this happening.
Expect the Packers to feed the Bears a steady diet of Josh Jacobs throughout the entire game. I only see Green Bay letting up in the fourth quarter if they have amassed a massive lead.
My prediction: the Packers will give Josh Jacobs at least 25 carries against the Bears. He will also score at least two rushing touchdowns.
Packers D will force Bears to have more punts, turnovers than points in Week 18
The Packers have one of the better defensive units in the NFL this season.
Perhaps the best strength of Green Bay’s defense is their opportunistic nature, which has led to a number of forced turnovers. Many of these turnovers have a huge impact on each game.
The Packers’ defense have forced 16 interceptions this season, which is tied for third best in the NFL.
Green Bay poses a major threat to any opposing offense. However, that is doubly true against a rookie QB like Caleb Williams who is in a tough situation.
It will not take much for the Packers to scramble Williams’ head and force him to make a couple of mistakes. After that, winning this game should become trivially easy.
My prediction: Green Bay’s defense will completely shut down Chicago’s offense on Sunday. They will force the Bears into several stalled drives and at least two turnovers. As a result, the Bears will have more combined punts and turnovers than they do points scored at the end of the game.
