The Bears‘ rematch against their rival will likely take place without the Packers’ best player.
Edge rusher Micah Parsons was helped off the field in Denver on Sunday after suffering what appeared to be a non-contact knee injury. ESPN reported after the Packers’ 34-26 loss to the Broncos in Denver that he’s believed to have torn his ACL, which would keep him out for the rest of the season.
The 10-4 Bears will host the Packers on Saturday, just 13 days after they lost to them at Soldier Field. The Bears could be without two of their best receivers — Rome Odunze remains out with a chronic foot issue that flared up during warmups Sunday and Luther Burden II left with an ankle injury.
The Bears handled Parsons well in their first matchup, though coach Matt LaFleur later bemoaned holding penalties that he said were not called by officials in the moment.
With their NFL-best 11th consecutive victory, the Broncos (12-2) clinched a playoff berth and moved a game ahead of New England for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They stayed two games ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West.
The Packers (9-4-1), who led 23-14 in the third quarter before falling apart offensively, slipped a half-game behind the Bears. This was Green Bay’s first loss by more than three points.
Denver cornerbacks Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss recorded their first interceptions of the season, the Broncos sacked Jordan Love three times and Denver held the Packers to just one touchdown in four trips into the red zone.
After scoring on their first five drives, the Packers managed one field goal in their final half-dozen possessions. The others ended in a pair of picks, two turnovers on downs and a punt.
Former Broncos kicker Brandon McManus kicked field goals of 56, 23 and 35 yards to help the Packers take a 16-14 halftime lead, which they quickly stretched to 23-14 on Josh Jacobs’ 40-yard touchdown run following a debatable pass interference flag on Moss.
Denver’s defense finally got a stop when Surtain intercepted Love’s deep throw to Christian Watson, who suffered a chest injury on the play.
The Broncos turned that takeaway into points when Nix drove Denver 71 yards on seven plays, hitting Courtland Sutton from 14 yards out to pull the Broncos within 23-21.
Nix’s 23-yard pass to Troy Franklin put the Broncos ahead for good at 27-23 and R.J. Harvey, who suffered a rib injury, capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run.
In the first half, Love threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jacobs one play after Broncos coach Sean Payton declined a holding penalty that would have pushed the Packers back to the Denver 24.
The Broncos responded with their second straight touchdown drive, the payoff coming on a perfectly placed 5-yard throw from Nix to Lil’Jordan Humphrey that gave Denver a 14-13 lead.
Earlier, Franklin was mistakenly ruled down at the Green Bay 7 even though his knees never hit the grass as he broke tackles and rambled into the end zone. Nix made sure it didn’t matter by finding fullback Michael Bandy for a 20-yard touchdown reception that erased Green Bay’s 6-0 lead.
Injuries
Packers: In addition to Parsons’ knee injury, TE Josh Whyle sustained a concussion in the first quarter and RT Zach Tom sustained a knee injury in the second quarter.
Broncos: In addition to Harvey’s rib injury, ILB Justin Strnad injured his right ankle in the first quarter and didn’t return. Also, S Brandon Jones was ruled out with a pectoral injury just after halftime.
Up next
Packers: At Chicago next Sunday.
Broncos: Host Jacksonville next Sunday.
Contributing: Associated Press
