2) Life without Parsons begins for Green Bay. Saturday’s showdown in Chicago will be the first game following Micah Parsons’ season-ending ACL tear, which begs a big question: How will the Packers defense adjust without one of the league’s premier pass rushers? Parsons led the NFL with 83 QB pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, and led his team with 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 26 QB hits in 2025. With 40 more QB pressures than the next Packers pass rusher (Rashan Gary), Parsons’ impact has been monumental for Green Bay’s sixth-ranked overall defense, allowing an 89.1 passer rating with Parsons on the field compared to a 101.4 rating from opposing QBs when he’s off the field this season, per NGS. With Gary supplying a reliable presence, Green Bay will be leaning on Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare to step up. Van Ness returned last week from a nagging foot injury that forced him out a bulk of the season but was limited in snaps played. Enagbare, meanwhile, has been hot as of late, notching a QB hit in each of the last five games while collecting 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss in that span as a rotational piece. With the Packers’ pass rush is expected to take a step back, it’s the Bears’ rushing attack they might need to worry more about. Powered by D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai — the only running back duo in the NFL with 650-plus rushing yards each in 2025 — Chicago leads the league with 171.1 rushing yards per game since Week 6, and that ground attack has really balanced the Bears offense out and into one of the top units in the NFL. Bears wideouts Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are ruled out for Saturday’s game, making their rushing game a key element for Green Bay to stop — but they will have to figure it all out without Parsons.
