Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Chris Simms breaks down why he believes Bears will beat Packers in playoffs
08 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are Chris Simms' thoughts on the Bears vs. Packers playoff matchup?
Outstanding arm, a lefty who can sling it around the field, and I'll tell you what, when you look at Chris Simms, the tools are there. He's had such poise and presence, command of the huddle. Simms fires to the end zone, touchdown! Joey Galloway on the 15th play of this drive. I don't trust a quarterback having to make a playoff start who hasn't played in three weeks.
I think that's what bothered me with Jordan Love a little bit, right? So that's where I leaned with the Bears. And I do think Ben Johnson ripping the offense and the way they played last week will actually end up helping them this week to be on their game and maybe take a few chances and jumpstart them early on in the football game.
Brahimi Harrison-Grody on Chicago Sports Radio. 670 The Score.
Is your top button buttons? It better be if you're going to talk to Chris Sims. He joins us via the Circa Sports Illinois hotline. Download the Circa app today. Chris Sims, an NFL analyst for NBC Sports. He's the co-host of Pro Football Talk Live. That's with our friend Mike Florio. And he is the host of the Chris Sims Unbuttoned podcast.
Chapter 2: How does Chris Simms evaluate Jordan Love's performance and preparation?
You get the drift. He's at CSimsQB on Twitter. And he joins us now. Chris, thanks for coming on.
Of course. No problem. I mean, you know, I feel bad for you guys. You got to deal with Mike Florio. It sounds like on a once a week basis. That's tough. So I figured, you know, I'd show you that, you know, the other side of his working partner is not so bad and not such a jerk like he is. So I figured I'd owe that to you.
Chris, I used to interview from time to time on NBC Sports Chicago, and yes, I appreciate the level-headedness, but yesterday was the perfect day to work with Mike because we went down a billion different rabbit holes after John Harbaugh got fired.
Right. I'm sure. And he's the master of going, you know, that's the one thing about Florio, right? He's not into always breaking news. He knows a lot of people behind the scenes in the NFL, right? He's very good at connecting dots. What I always call his pasta and meatballs, his stomach, his guts. His intuition are top-notch that way.
And yeah, this is the time of the year usually where he thrives, calling his shots about things he's heard, things he thinks might happen and all that. So I'm sure you guys had some good combos yesterday. It's been a long time since the Bears have thrived in this situation because they don't usually get to this situation, but they have a chance to get their first playoff win in 15 years.
When you look at this matchup, Bears-Packers, I'm having trouble finding a way where the Bears, based on the previous two matchups, would win this game. Can you tell me if you think the Bears are going to win this game? I do think they can win this football game. I mean, I think this is a coin flip type of football game. I think that's the first thing I would say. I wouldn't want to bet money.
I'm not doing that on this game because it could go either way. I think it's a field goal game either way. But at the same time, yeah, there are ways they can win this football game. But I understand what you're saying. There's no doubt in the first two matchups, the Packers played better football than the Bears.
The Bears miraculously pulled that week 16 matchup out with two late fourth quarter drives and of course the overtime drive was really the full extent of their offensive performance that day. Everything else was a struggle. Jeff Halfley has had his way a little bit with Ben Johnson, which is very rare.
And I know you guys are looking for your first playoff win, and they're coming because I don't think the Bears are going anywhere for a long, long time with this guy at head coach and this guy at quarterback. I'll say that. But at the same time, I think the biggest thing I look at here, and I think in the second matchup,
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Chapter 3: What factors contribute to Chris Simms' belief that the Bears can win?
I understand what you're saying about Jordan Love... Is he going to just hit the ground running? But he doesn't turn the ball over. And also, the Bears haven't been able to get to him. Why will he not be afforded statue status in the pocket? Do you see something I'm not seeing as far as them being able to affect him on defense? No, well, I mean, listen, that's going to be the balance they got.
And this is where, you know, the Bears are playing with house money. The year's been a success. Watch out for the Bears in years to come. This offseason, when you guys got some money and can spend, you know, another pretty penny on maybe another pass rusher and another cover corner and all that. You guys will be dangerous with Dennis Allen. But yes, you're not a great defense.
There's no doubt about that. And you're going to have to pick your point. My big thing with them is, yeah, you want to take some tactical chances. I think blitzing Jordan Love. But don't make it a habit. Because the one thing to me with the Green Bay Packers, they love when you blitz and play man to man. And it go back to game number one when he had a few deep touchdown passes.
Or even if you remember game number one in Green Bay, he threw the slant pass to Christian Watson who ran down the field for a touchdown. Those are all against aggressive Bears defenses where I go, that's what Jordan Love wants. If you look at the Packers, they want to run the ball, throw some screens, and throw bombs down the field. That's how they operate.
When they've struggled, teams have taken away those big plays. And then the one thing I'll say about Jordan Love where I think he can get better in his game is he's not the most surgical intermediate passer in all of football. those plays between five and ten yards, those type of throws, they're not usually real consistent in that department and dicing up defenses that way.
So that's where I go, the Bears have to have a blend there. But to your point, that's why anybody that's listened to my stuff, I love the Bears. I love Ben Johnson. I love Caleb Williams. Everybody knows that. I haven't been a total believer in the Bears or the 49ers to make a deep playoff run because of what you said.
The defenses are just below average, and it's hard to go through the playoffs with a below average defense and think you're going to get to the Super Bowl.
Yeah, it makes sense. I mean, it's a concerning factor for us as well. And Chris, since you study the tape so much, you know, the two games, we joked about how similar not only the two games were against these two teams, but how similar the discussions are for both fan bases as to the criticisms of certain players or the criticisms of certain aspects of the team.
What do you think could be different that we haven't seen out of these two? Or do you think it's going to be more of the same on Saturday?
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Chapter 4: What challenges does the Bears' offense face against the Packers?
Who gets real PTSD? He's seen it up close and personal from the sidelines.
Oh, yeah. I don't blame him for that either. Either. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harrison-Groney, we spend a lot of time talking about life according to the Packers. But what about life according to the Bears? Let's have some main character energy here. Colston Loveland let everybody know what the direction was. So we will relay it to you next.