The Jordan Love-Caleb Williams debate has become one of the cleanest ways to frame the NFC North race, and the latest voice to lean in is ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum.
On the Pat McAfee show, Tannenbaum made it clear where he stands on the two quarterbacks. He pointed to Williams’ efficiency issues and said, "I think to be an elite quarterback, you have to be able to throw at a much higher completion percentage... when you're under 60%, which [Williams] was last year, that's a concern," Tannenbaum said. "I would take Jordan Love and that Packers offense over this Bears offense."
The numbers back up that view. Williams finished the 2025 season with more passing yards and touchdowns, but he also played two more games and did it with far less efficiency. Love finished ahead of him in quarterback rating by 11.1 points, in completion percentage by 8.2%, and in touchdown percentage by 0.4%.
That gap is a big reason the Packers still look like the more settled team in this rivalry. Williams may have the flash and the upside, and Tannenbaum did praise his potential to grow into a better version of himself, but Love has the edge right now in the areas that matter most: accuracy, precision, and the ability to run the offense at a high level.
Green Bay’s case gets even stronger when you zoom out to what last season actually looked like. The Packers lost a hard-fought Wild Card matchup to the Bears, but they were dealing with a battered roster and a quarterback who was nowhere near full strength. Love was battling both a concussion and a shoulder injury as he pushed through the stretch run.
The injury list around him was long, too. Micah Parsons, who was without question their best defensive player and likely their best overall player, was missing.
Tucker Kraft, one of their top offensive threats, had torn his ACL. The receiver group was also beat up throughout the year, with every player in the rotation dealing with injuries and most missing multiple games.
That’s why the postseason version of the Packers never really showed what they could be at full strength. This season, that could change. Chicago’s defense also came off an unusual year that may not repeat in terms of turnovers forced, and the Bears now have to adjust without DJ Moore, who was traded to Buffalo.
The Bears are still figuring out exactly what they are. The Packers, by contrast, look like a team that already knows. And that’s what gives Green Bay the cleaner path to taking back the NFC North.
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Packers Fans Still Have One Clear Favorite At No 28
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Buchanons place in team history has only hardened with time, helped along by his 1993 induction into the Packers Hall of Fame. Other names have worn the number, including AJ Dillon and Mike Michalske, but none have built the same rsum or left the same imprint on the defensive side of the ball. For Packers fans sorting through the best to ever wear No. 28, the answer still comes back to the same familiar name. [Read more 🡒]