Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers: Live updates from Soldier Field in Week 11

CHICAGO – Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers. Enough said.

The NFL’s oldest rivalry resumes Sunday at Soldier Field. The Packers are looking to make history. They’ve won 10 in a row against the Bears and one more win would be the longest in the history of this series. This is the second time the Packers have won 10 in a row (they also did so from 1994-98).

Head coach Matt Eberflus’ team is playing its first game since firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday. New OC Thomas Brown took over the offense on Tuesday, and the Bears hope it leads to more points on Sunday.

Shaw Local Bears beat writer Sean Hammond will be reporting live from Soldier Field. Follow Hammond on X at @sean_hammond, on Instagram at @bears_reporter and on Threads at @bears_reporter. Shaw Local enterprise reporter Michal Dwojak also will be reporting from the lakefront. Follow Dwojak @mdwojak94 on X and at the same handle on Threads. Shaw Local Bears analyst Marc Silverman will provide his thoughts on X at @WaddleandSilvy.

Here’s everything Bears fans need to know ahead of the game. Stay here all game long for live updates.

Packers score quick touchdown

The Bears won the coin toss but deferred until the second half. Green Bay took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards in just eight plays and 3:45 of game action.

Quarterback Jordan Love threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jayden Reed to give the Packers the lead. The Bears were flagged for having 12 men on the field and for being offsides on the touchdown pass, but it didn’t matter. Love found a wide open Reed up the middle of the field for six points.

The Packers lead, 7-0, with 11:15 remaining in the game.

Bears take the lead just before halftime

After Terell Smith’s interception at the 1-yard line gave the Bears the football, the offense drove the length of the field and scored a touchdown with only seven seconds remaining in the second quarter. Running back Roschon Johnson punched in a 1-yard touchdown run behind a lead block from Doug Kramer at the fullback spot.

What powered the offense on the possession was Caleb Williams’ abilities with his legs. Several times, Williams took off running to pick up big chunks of yards.

It was the Bears’ first touchdown since Oct. 27 against Washington. It gave the Bears their first lead of the game, 10-7, just before halftime.

Williams rushed for 60 yards on six carries in the first half. He was also 9-for-12 passing for 85 yards.

Bears CB Terell Smith picks off Jordan Love

Early in the second quarter, the Packers faced a fourth-and-3 near midfield, but kept their offense out on the field. Unfortunately for the Bears, defensive tackle Byron Cowart jumped early and refs threw a penalty flag for a neutral zone infraction. The penalty went for five yards and gave the Packers a first down.

The Packers offense looked as if it was going to march its way into the end zone. Instead, quarterback Jordan Love sailed a third-down pass over the head of tight end Tucker Kraft into the waiting arms of Bears cornerback Terell Smith.

Smith grabbed the interception at the 1-yard line and carried 23 yards up field for a Bears takeaway.

Ryan Bates exits game in 1st quarter

Bears starting offensive lineman Ryan Bates exited the game late in the first quarter and is being evaluated for a concussion. The Bears inserted backup Jake Curhan into the lineup at left guard in place of Bates.

Bates had only just returned from injury last week. He missed seven games due to a shoulder injury before returning for last week’s contest against New England.

The Bears later announced that Bates will not be returning to the game.

Cairo Santos knocks in 53-yard field goal

Facing their first third down of the game, the Bears left an extra tight end and a running back in to block. Quarterback Caleb Williams escaped the pocket to his left and ran 16 yards for a first down. Later, Williams found receiver DJ Moore for another 16-yard gain on a screen pass out to the left.

The drive stalled a few plays later and the Bears were forced to settle for a field goal. Kicker Cairo Santos made a 53-yard field goal to get the Bears on the scoreboard.

Green Bay leads, 7-3, with 7:49 remaining in the first quarter.

Bears injury updates

The Bears will have both starting tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright in the lineup on Sunday. Both missed last week’s game against New England. Starting left guard Teven Jenkins, on the other hand, will not play. Jenkins injured his ankle last week.

Jenkins is among four inactive players for the Bears, the others being defensive back Ameer Speed, offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and defensive end Dominique Robinson.

The Bears will likely move lineman Matt Pryor into Jenkins’ spot at left guard. Pryor played right tackle last week with Wright out, but he has spent most of the season at guard.

Defensive end Montez Sweat is active and expected to play, despite dealing with an ankle injury.

What to expect from Thomas Brown

Eberflus debated what to do with his offensive coordinator for nearly 48 hours after last week’s game before firing Waldron on Tuesday morning.

In steps Brown, who was previously the passing game coordinator. Brown served as Panthers offensive coordinator last year, which didn’t go well for a Carolina team that went 2-15.

Brown has been working with this offense all season long, although he and quarterback Caleb Williams haven’t spent a ton of one-on-one time together. Here’s everything Brown said about Williams and the offense prior to taking over the OC job.

Brown said there’s no quick fixes for this Bears offense, but this team doesn’t have a ton of time to figure this out. Here are three quick adjustments Brown could make.

The Bears aren’t going to reinvent the wheel, but they do need to make some changes. Williams is asking for more easy passes, for more layups, so to speak. Brown, a former running back, could also look to commit to the run with back D’Andre Swift.

Here’s what to know about the Packers

Quarterback Jordan Love has thrown at least one interception in all seven games he has played this season. He will make mistakes. The Bears defense has forced a turnover in all but one game. If the Bears are going to stand any chance on Sunday, it will be because the defense finds a way to take the football from Love and the Packers.

Here are the top five storylines to watch in this game. For pregame listening needs, head over to the Shaw Local Bears Insider podcast.

Silvy thinks the Bears are broken again. Read his full weekly column here.

Green Bay has won 10 in a row, plus 15 of the last 16 games and 25 of the past 28. The Packers hired head coach Matt LaFleur in 2019 and he has never lost to the Bears. The last Bears win was Dec. 16, 2018, at Soldier Field.

What else did I miss this week?

Here’s what else was happening at Halas Hall this week.

[ Chicago Bears injury report: Safety Jaquan Brisker goes to injured reserve, will miss 4 more games ]

[ Can the Chicago Bears offensive line put 9-sack performance behind it? ]

[ Where does Caleb Williams stand after Chicago Bears offensive coordinator change? ]

[ Nate Davis showed up Sunday with a back injury. On Wednesday, the Chicago Bears cut him ]