The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have faced each other 187 times in their storied rivalry that stretches back to the days when George Halas and Curly Lambeau roamed the sidelines. Two of those games have been postseason games and, while their matchup on Saturday won’t be the third such contest, it is a win-or-go-home tilt with everything on the line.
Sunday’s game will be the second between the two teams in 2013. The first came in Week 9, a Monday night game from which the Bears emerged with a 27-20 victory. That game was less significant for its outcome, however, than it was for a play on which Chicago DE Shea McClellin sacked Aaron Rodgers and broke the Green Bay quarterback’s collarbone in the process.
Before Rodgers went down, the Packers were 5-2 and seemed to be in position to win their third consecutive NFC North title. The 2011 NFL MVP hasn’t played since he sustained the injury, however, and Green Bay has suffered accordingly without its star signal-caller.
The Pack dropped its first three games after the injury with backup Seneca Wallace and, later, local hero (and practice squad call-up) Scott Tolzien under center, and the team seemed to be without answers after a 27-13 loss to the hapless Giants.
“We didn’t play well enough as a football team to win, and it starts with the head coach,” Coach Mike McCarthy said after the loss. “We’re not playing well enough to win right now. We need to get better….We recognize that.
The next week, however, Green Bay signed Matt Flynn to their roster and inserted him into their game against the Vikings. The Packers tied that game and won two of their next three with career journeyman Flynn at quarterback. The stretch included a season-saving 37-36 win over the Cowboys that saw the Packers erase a 23-point halftime deficit behind the former LSU star and some timely Tony Romo interceptions.
The Packers now sit at 7-7-1, remarkably tied in the loss column with the first place Bears, who have experienced a roller coaster season of their own in rookie head coach Marc Trestman’s first season at the helm.
The Bears also lost their quarterback midseason, but the situation turned out very differently from the one that unfolded in the Land of the Cheeseheads. Career back-up Josh McCown, owner of a 38/44 career TD/INT ratio prior to 2013, took over for Jay Cutler after the polarizing starter tore his groin in a Week 8 loss to Washington.
The 34-year old McCown proceeded to throw 12 TDs and only one pick in six starts and sparked conversation about whether he should remain the starter even when Cutler’s health returned. Trestman stood behind Cutler, however, and the former Vanderbilt star started against Cleveland in Week 15, leading the Bears to a win that ran their record to 8-6.
After Green Bay lost to Pittsburgh 38-31 earlier in the day last Sunday, the Bears needed only to defeat Philadelphia to clinch their first division title since 2010. In a season in which nothing has gone according to plan for any of the teams in the NFC North, though, Da Bears were embarrassed at home against the Eagles, losing 54-11. Cutler struggled, posting a 15.1 QBR and throwing a pick-six. Now, McCown will be waiting in the wings to take over if Cutler plays poorly against Green Bay, adding another layer to the already thickening drama.
That drama intensified even more when, on Thursday, McCarthy made what could be the most important announcement of the Packers’ season.
“We’re preparing for the Chicago Bears with Aaron Rodgers as our quarterback,” the eighth-year coach stated at his press conference.
With that simple announcement, the Packers seemingly go from underdog to heavy favorite. Las Vegas had Green Bay as a 3 point ‘dog with Rodgers out and a 4.5 point favorite now that he’s in the lineup. On Saturday, Green Bay got even more good news when it was announced that one of Rodgers’ favorite targets, electrifying wideout Randall Cobb, was activated off the injured reserve/designated to return list after being sidelined since Week 6. He’s officially questionable to play Sunday.
“This week in practice I’m going out and preparing to play,” Cobb said Thursday. “That’s not my call to make. My position is to communicate with the coaches and with the training staff how I feel and just let them know that and let them make that decision.”
So, with Rodgers and Cobb back, and the Bears quarterback situation in disarray, the Packers are a sure bet to win, right? Not so fast. I’m leaning toward the Bears on Sunday, for a number of reasons. To begin with, there’s no guarantee that Rodgers is 100 percent quite yet. He’ll probably be rusty and might not be completely in sync with his receiving corps.
Also, much has been made about the porous Bears defense and many are predicting that Eddie Lacy will run all over a run defense ranked dead last in the league in rushing. However, not many are discussing the fact that the Packers defense ranked in the bottom third of the league this season, as well, and that was before they lost former Defensive Player of the Year Clay Matthews to a broken thumb last week.
Expect the Bears to take some early shots down the field to their dynamic receiving duo of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. The Packers’ secondary will have its hands full guarding those two and some early completions could lead to large holes for Matt Forte to run through. I expect this to be a shootout, but I’m going with the Bears, 45-35. Marc Trestman certainly has confidence that his team can pull off the upset.
“With Aaron back, they have a feeling they’ll be at their best, and we’re ready for that. Excited about it,” said Trestman.
Regardless of the outcome, expect this game to add another chapter to the novel the Bears and Packers have already written in their long rivalry.
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
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