Bears: Packers defense remains dangerous even without Micah Parsons

Bears coach Ben Johnson has seen the Packers defense without Micah Parsons.

So has quarterback Caleb Williams.

Both have a sense, then, of what their rival will look like Saturday without the star edge rusher, who tore his ACL Sunday against the Broncos and is out for the season. Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was calling plays last season when Johnson was the Lions’ offensive coordinator and Williams the Bears’ rookie quarterback.

“Just because one player goes down, that doesn’t mean that this is going to change a whole lot for them,” Johnson said Tuesday. “They play relentless football. They pursue. They have a ton of team speed. The linebackers are thumpers. If you ask your backs to pick them up in protection one too many times, they’re going to find a way to get to your quarterback.”

Williams called the strategic challenge “a fun challenge” for the Bears, who faced Parsons just two weeks. He had a 95.1 passer rating and a 1-1 record against the Packers last year.

“We’ll prepare how we normally prepare and have our stuff,” Williams said. “And then when you get into a game, you obviously have to adjust for whatever they do. And so that’s the fun part about playing quarterback.”

The Packers didn’t trade for Parsons until late August. They don’t have to look too far back into their notes for game planning ideas.

“You gotta kinda dust off some stuff,” coach Matt LaFleur told Packers reporters. “And take a look at and formulate as good a plan as you know how.”

The Packers defense remains dangerous.

“I know you kind of lock in on one player, because he does garner a lot of your attention when you go against that defense,” he said. “And, yet, they have some high-caliber players throughout, on the defensive line, the linebacking core and on the back end.”