2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 18

Chicago Bears (7-9) @ Green Bay Packers (8-8)

Sunday, January 7, 4:25 PM ET

This game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers might be the most underrated game on the entire Week 18 schedule. Although this isn’t a situation where both teams are playing for the division title at the buzzer of the season, there is a lot at stake for both teams.

The Chicago Bears have clinched the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft thanks to the Carolina Panthers. This will be the second year in a row the Bears will own the #1 pick in the NFL Draft, and after passing on quarterbacks in 2023, will they be able to do the same in 2024?

Justin Fields has certainly given them something to think about this year. Although Fields hasn’t been perfect, I think the full arsenal of his talent has been on display more this year than any of his other seasons in the NFL. If the Bears keep continuity with their coaching staff – and it seems they will – is Justin Fields also part of that plan?

From the Packers’ perspective, this game is about making the playoffs, and doing so in year one of the Jordan Love era would be absolutely outstanding. Love has played really well over the course of this whole season and has proven that he can be the franchise QB of the Packers. Green Bay is fresh off of a dominating win over the battered Minnesota Vikings, and they have a chance to do this year what they couldn’t last year – punch their ticket to the playoffs in Week 18.

It would be almost poetic for Green Bay to find a way to do exactly that after the way the Aaron Rodgers era ended. They’re 3-point favorites against the Bears and I think we’ll see them get the job done in a hard-fought battle by both teams.

Prediction: Packers win 31-27