Final NFL Playoff Seeding and Predictions for Every Wild Card Game

Kickoff: Saturday, January 10 at 8 p.m. ET

This is a tricky matchup to predict for a couple of reasons, beginning with the fact that this will be the third meeting between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Both teams backing their way into the postseason doesn’t help.

Chicago won the latest matchup, taking advantage of a few key Packers injuries and winning in overtime. However, it’s hard to feel great about the Bears after their uninspired performance against the Detroit Lions in their Week 18 loss.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love suffered a concussion in that Week 16 game against Chicago, but he’ll be in the lineup for Round 3. That, along with the experience of head coach Matt LaFleur and a Green Bay roster that is making its third straight postseason appearance, could well make the difference in this one.

However, I’m very concerned with the way Green Bay’s defense has looked since losing Micah Parsons for the year. I expect Ben Johnson to get his offense rolling and the Bears to ride the momentum of the home crowd—one that hasn’t experienced the playoffs since the 2018 season—to a close victory.

Prediction: Bears 31, Packers 28