It’s an approach best described as letting the dead bear lie.

Maybe it’s that the Bears seem so unhappy with their offense and coordinator issues, or just that Xavier McKinney isn’t familiar with the whole process as a rookie, but the former Giants safety threw Bears receiver DJ Moore in the dirt this week.

The point of a McKinney discussion with The Athletic’s Packers reporter Matt Schneidman was about DJ Moore leaving the field against Arizona during a pass play to go to the bench.

“(Moore) is another one of those guys, same guy, the play is still going and you go off the field on your offense,” McKinney said. “You know, make a note of it.

“I’ve been playing football for five years now (NFL) and I’ve been watching football longer than that and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a… You’re supposed to be the guy and you just go off the field on a rookie quarterback like you have acclaimed, so it’s like a completely different story.

McKinney also expressed doubt in the story that Moore even had an injury.

If the Bears had any kind of standing in this series at this point, it would be an easy rallying point.

By Thursday, Moore had already taken note of what McKinney said. He had little to say in response other than to praise McKinney’s play from their previous meetings.

As for the specific mockery from McKinney, Moore added: “I mean, if he wanted it to be there, it’s already there. So we’ll see on Sunday.”

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander also fanned some flames when he said what he says to Green Bay fans who complain about how the 6-3 Packers have played despite their record: “(I) always say, you know, things could be a lot worse. I could be a Bears fan.”

With their offensive coordinator fired, with the offensive line unable to protect Caleb Williams, with Williams unable to get the ball out in time to avoid sacks, with the team on a three-game losing streak and demanding Matt Eberflu’s job now be replaced with the assumption that he will be fired at some point, McKinney’s comment should really have the impact of a leaf falling from a tree this time of year in Chicago.

The Bears’ 10-game losing streak against Green Bay is tied for the longest streak by either team in this age-old series. The Bears haven’t even covered the spread in any of those 10 games against the Packers.

That’s a source of irritation for Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson. He’s been in Chicago since 2020. Asked if he found the series frustrating, Johnson said, “Yeah, especially when they’re 10-0 against us. So I definitely feel the rivalry and at least want to win. So I’m looking forward to the.”

However, Johnson was a little more civil about it than Packer who dissed his teammate.

He had nothing but praise for the Packers, coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love.

“At the end of the day, of course, I look at the stats for him throwing interceptions and making some bad decisions, but I mean, hopefully he does that in our game,” Johnson said. “But he was able to come out and have a heck of a game against us.

“Overall, I still feel he’s a good quarterback who makes some bad mistakes at times.”

Love has 10 interceptions, twice Caleb Williams’ total.

The Packers’ offense seems no different with Love than it did with Rodgers and that’s because of LaFleur.

“Marrying the running game and the passing game,” Johnson said. “Everything really starts up front with them, and they added Josh Jacobs. It’s still a challenge for us in the run game.

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“Overall, it’s his (LaFleur’s) creativity, I would say, to make things look the same and then reflect different routes and different concepts of it. That and the timing of certain calls. When you push, it seems like he knows that run screen passes and stuff. He’s very smart with his timing, I’d say.”

It’s better to give praise when you’re in the position the Bears are in the series.

It is even better not to be in their position.

(Editor’s note: The photo only appears to be the last time the Bears beat the Packers)

Twitter: BearsOnSI