A Saturday special in Week 16 of the NFL season is an NFC North showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Similar to Thursday night’s thriller between Los Angeles and Seattle, the stakes could hardly be any higher. Whoever wins will have sole possession of first place in the division and will also remain in the mix for the top seed in the conference.
Let’s dive into my Packers vs. Bears predictions.
Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears odds
Money line: Packers +105 / Bears -125
Spread: Packers +1.5 (-108) / Bears -1.5 (-112)
Total: Over 46.5 (-110) / Under 46.5 (-110)
Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears best bet #1: Bears -1.5 (-112)
These two division foes just squared off two weeks ago at the Frozen Tundra, where the Packers prevailed in front of their home crowd in a contest that could not have been more competitive. It was a one-possession game and the visiting Bears came up just a few yards short of forcing overtime. Fast forward 13 days and head coach Ben Johnson’s team is in better shape for success — and not just because it is playing at home. The Bears are coming off a 31-3 beatdown of a Browns team that had been showing recent signs of being a competitive football squad. Caleb Williams continues to play the best ball of his young career and should have plenty of confidence heading into Saturday after throwing for 242 yards with two TDs and no INTs against Cleveland.
Meanwhile, Green Bay without star defender Micah Parsons for the remainder of the season because of a torn ACL. On the other side of the ball, wide receiver Christian Watson (chest/shoulder) is questionable. Watson might play, but he may not be 100 percent. Look for Chicago to avenge its Week 14 loss.
Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears best player prop bet: D.J. Moore Over 43.5 receiving yards (-114)
Moore had negative-4 receiving yards in the first head-to-head matchup. Yes, negative-4. Count on that being the calm before the storm. In fact, Moore already raised his game substantially since that performance, catching four of five targets for 69 yards and two scores against Cleveland. The former Maryland standout has produced four of his five touchdown catches this year in the past four games.
Momentum should continue against the Packers, whose pass rush is obviously quite depleted with Parsons’ absence. That will give Williams more time to operate, and the second-year QB should find Moore early and often given that two of his other favorite weapons are missing (Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are sidelined by injuries). Green Bay is also fantastic at defending opposing tight ends, which means the output for Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet (questionable with knee and ankle problems) could be limited. It must also be noted that even though Moore did nothing against the Packers two weeks ago, he caught 16 of 17 targets for 148 yards and one touchdown against them in the pair of 2024 encounters.
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