GREEN BAY, Wisc. — The Chicago Bears are poised to secure the NFC North division title this weekend, contingent upon the outcome of the Green Bay Packers’ match against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. Should the Packers triumph, the Bears will have their opportunity to clinch the division during their Sunday night showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.
Regardless of the scenario, the Bears have experienced a remarkable turnaround under the leadership of head coach Ben Johnson. His effective partnership with Caleb Williams, their promising second-year quarterback, has been pivotal to their success.
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Ravens facing must-win situation Saturday and probably missing Jackson as they visit playoff-bound Packers, who are missing Love
Meanwhile, the stakes are high for the Baltimore Ravens.
For Baltimore to avoid missing the playoffs for only the second time in eight years, they must win both of their remaining away games. Additionally, they need the Pittsburgh Steelers to falter against the Cleveland Browns this Sunday.
The Ravens, with a 7-8 record, face a challenging encounter on Saturday night at Green Bay (9-5-1). They are likely to be without their star quarterback, Lamar Jackson, as he is listed as doubtful due to a back injury.
Despite the circumstances, Ravens running back Derrick Henry remains unfazed. “There isn’t any added pressure,” he remarked. “We’ve played football our entire lives. Let’s go win.”
Baltimore hardly expected to be in this position after going a combined 25-9 and winning the AFC North the last two seasons. If the Ravens win Saturday and the Steelers lose Sunday, their Jan. 4 matchup in Pittsburgh would determine the division champion.
Tyler Huntley likely will start at quarterback for Baltimore after Jackson got hurt in the second quarter of a 28-24 loss to New England last week.
The Ravens do get a break in that they’re playing a Green Bay team that already is guaranteed a playoff spot and won’t have its starting quarterback.
Green Bay has ruled out Jordan Love after a concussion sidelined him in the second quarter of a 22-16 overtime defeat at Chicago. Backup Malik Willis hurt his shoulder later in that game, leaving him questionable for this game.
“It’s the situation, so you just prepare the best you can and try to lay out a great plan for whoever’s out there and go play,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
Green Bay clinched a playoff spot when the Detroit Lions lost 23-10 at Minnesota on Thursday, but the Packers still have incentive to improve their seeding. The Packers would grab the NFC North title if they win their final two games and Chicago loses its last two games.
Both teams have been struggling to finish lately.
Baltimore blew an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead against the Patriots. Green Bay led 23-14 in the third quarter of a 34-26 loss at Denver and followed that by squandering a 10-point advantage in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter in Chicago.
The collapse in Chicago caused Green Bay to lose control of its destiny in the NFC North race.
“I think the vibes are still high,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “The energy is still high. Obviously, we didn’t want to lose the game, but things happen. So, you’ve got to be able to put it to bed. You can’t dwell on it. We’ve still got an opportunity to do what we want to do, so I think that’s really the biggest thing.”
The Ravens also still have an opportunity to reach their goals, but they’re going to need some help.
“Like you guys said, it’s a must-win game,’ Huntley said. “We’ve had a lot of games where the defense played great, and then we had games where the offense played great (or) special teams played great. Well, we just want the whole game to be everybody playing great.”
It’s clear if Baltimore misses the playoffs, there will be many fans demanding recriminations.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh was asked about his own job security Monday and then defended his relationship with star quarterback Lamar Jackson on Wednesday. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is again taking heat over Henry’s usage after the veteran running back didn’t touch the ball on the Ravens’ final two drives against the Patriots.
Green Bay’s injury woes aren’t limited to the quarterback position.
The Packers lost their lone Pro Bowl selection – edge rusher Micah Parsons – to a torn anterior cruciate ligament on Dec. 14. Tight end Tucker Kraft and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt also suffered season-ending injuries.
Notable players questionable for Saturday’s game include offensive tackle Zach Tom (back/knee), center Sean Rhyan (knee/illness), wide receiver Christian Watson (shoulder/illness), guard Aaron Banks (neck/illness) and safety Evan Williams (knee).
The Ravens have lost 12 fumbles this season, which is tied for the most in the NFL. Henry’s fumble last weekend cost Baltimore some early momentum, and then a fumble by receiver Zay Flowers ended the team’s final drive.
“The thing about Zay is that he works really, really hard at practice, and he focuses on those things,” Harbaugh said. “And yet, man, the ball gets punched out from a blind spot. So, we’ve just got to keep on working on catching it and putting it away and getting up field and protecting the football when you’re in traffic like that.”
Green Bay has driven inside the opponent’s 20-yard line nine times during its two-game skid, but the Packers have just one touchdown to show for it. The Packers didn’t reach the end zone on any of their five red-zone possessions against Chicago.
The Packers had ranked second in the league red-zone touchdown efficiency before these last two games.
The Packers haven’t recorded a single sack over their last two games. That includes one game without Parsons and another game in which he tore his ACL in the third quarter.
AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report.
The Bears and the 49ers bring top play-callers into key NFC showdown
The best play-callers in the NFL always take time to watch some of the other offenses in the league in order to steal ideas or see new wrinkles that can help their own team.
San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan has long been viewed as one of the best play-callers in the NFL, with Chicago’s Ben Johnson quickly moving up on that list, making Sunday night’s key NFC showdown between the Bears (11-4) and the 49ers (11-4) a must-watch game.
“I think Shanahan is one of the best, if not the best in the business, in terms of doing this, calling plays at a high level for as long as he has,” Johnson said. “He’s probably the first to truly marry that run game and pass game as well as you see some of these other teams doing it now, he was kind of the front-runner on all that stuff. You always like to turn on that San Francisco tape each week, whether you’re playing them or not, just to look at some of the stuff that they’re doing.”
The 49ers have evolved from a run-first team early in his tenure to one that relies more on passing since the emergence of Brock Purdy. That has been evident during a five-game winning streak that featured Purdy’s five-TD performance last week against Indianapolis.
The Bears (11-4) have engineered one of the best turnarounds in the NFL this season in Johnson’s first year as coach. He helped build a strong offensive line that has fueled one of the NFL’s best running attacks and helped Caleb Williams develop.
“I’ve got so much respect for Ben just in terms of how they run the ball,” said Shanahan, who matched up the past two seasons against Johnson when he was offensive coordinator in Detroit. “It starts with the run always with Ben and the things off of it, which he’s a very balanced play-caller and makes teams defend everything.”
The two offenses are a big reason why the Bears and 49ers are still in the running for division titles and the top seed in the NFC playoffs headed into Week 17.
Chicago can clinch the NFC North for the first time since 2018 with one more win or a loss by Green Bay and can earn the top seed with two wins and one loss by Seattle.
San Francisco would win the NFC West and earn the top seed by beating the Bears this weekend followed by a home win against Seattle in the finale. That would give the 49ers home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs and a chance to win the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8 without having to leave home again.
Williams has shown a knack for some late-game magic in his second season.
He has led Chicago to six wins this season in games where the team trailed in the final two minutes of regulation, setting a record for the most late-game comebacks in NFL history. Williams has a 113.2 passer rating when the game is tied or he’s trailing by eight points or fewer in the fourth quarter or overtime, and he has led the team to scores on 10 of 15 drives in that situation, with two TD drives in the comeback win against Green Bay last week.
“The mindset just changes,” Williams said. “A play happens and the spark becomes a fire and we’re ignited at that point.”
The Niners offense has been clicking on such a high level that the team hasn’t needed to punt once in the past two games. San Francisco is just the sixth team ever to go back-to-back games in the regular season or playoffs without punting. The 49ers have gone 22 straight possessions since the last punt for Thomas Morstead in the fourth quarter on Nov. 30 at Cleveland.
“That’s pretty rare,” running back Christian McCaffrey said. “So that’s cool to be a part of and hopefully we do it again.”
San Francisco has struggled to generate a pass rush ever since Nick Bosa went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 3, with the team having a league-low 18 sacks on the season. But two rookie defensive tackles stepped up last week against Indianapolis, with Alfred Collins and C.J. West each getting their first career sacks.
It was the first time the Niners got sacks from two rookies in the same game since 2016.
“I think they’re only going to get better, but it’s good to see them surging, especially as rookies here in the second half of the year,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
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