Packers: Bears loss helps Green Bay ahead of Monday night game

The Green Bay Packers can close the gap in the NFC North on Monday night.

With victory on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, the Green Bay Packers will move back into second place in the NFC North.

But more importantly, they would match the division-leading Bears with three victories on the season.

Chicago lost in overtime to the Brock Osweiler-led Miami Dolphins on Sunday, which means the Bears are now 3-2 on the year. The Packers would improve to 3-2-1 with a win, but would still have a worse win percentage after playing one more game than the Bears.

With Green Bay’s tough schedule coming up following the bye, Chicago has an opportunity to pull away in the division.

After next week’s home game against the Patriots, the Bears play the Jets and Lions at Soldier Field with a road trip against the Bills in between.

Had they beaten the Dolphins on Sunday and improved to 4-1, it’s not unrealistic they could have finished the following four weeks with a 7-2 record.

Sunday’s loss to Miami could help the Packers in a big way.

With victory Monday night, the Packers will enter their bye at 3-2-1. And if the Bears lose to the Patriots next week, Green Bay would go ahead of Chicago, who would fall to 3-3.

While the Packers have made a less than ideal start to the season, the same can be said of the Vikings. Their victory over the Cardinals on Sunday puts them 3-2-1, which Green Bay can match tonight.

While it may seem too early to call this a must-win for Green Bay, it many ways it is. A loss to San Francisco would put them 2-3-1 ahead of the bye, with the next two games coming on the road against the LA Rams and New England.

But with a win, the Packers will be back on track. Part of that is thanks to Osweiler and the Dolphins.