Dan Orlovsky explains why Christian Watson is key to Packers' Super Bowl hopes

As Orlovsky noted, the status of Tom (right knee), who has been the star of Green Bay's offensive line this season with an above-average Pro Football Focus overall grade of 83.5, is not ideal for a team that is already banged up.

Watson has only played in eight games this season after recovering from an ACL tear suffered last season, but Love has played his best football of the season with him on the field. Prior to suffering a chest injury in the third quarter of the loss to Denver, Watson had three receiving TDs in the previous two games, including a pair of TDs in the first meeting with the Bears on Dec. 7.

In those same games, Love, who leads the league in QBR (73.8), had seven TDs and only one interception, further highlighting the impact that Watson brings to the offense by opening up the field and providing more options for Love to target.

The overall impact of losing Parsons cannot be understated down the stretch. With that said, Green Bay still has the sixth-shortest odds to win the Super Bowl (+1100, per FanDuel) as of Thursday, so it still cannot be taken lightly as one of the NFC's current playoff teams.

Injuries are not only impacting the Packers, though, as Bears QB Caleb Williams will be without two of his receivers, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, putting Green Bay in prime position to retake the NFC North lead despite facing its own adversity.

With a home game against the Baltimore Ravens (7-7) and a road trip to the Minnesota Vikings (6-8) remaining after Saturday's contest, everything lines up well for the Packers if they can take care of business and sweep the Bears first.

If Green Bay wants to have any shot at reaching its first Super Bowl since the 2010-11 season, Watson's performance is crucial with Parsons sidelined.