The Chicago Bears go on the road to face the hated Green Bay Packers. The team tries to keep from embarrassing themselves in front of a national audience.
The Chicago Bears take to the road to take on their landlord, er, nemesis, Aaron Rodgers, and the Green Bay Packers. This time, they get to do it in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football.
In a season full of embarrassing moments, the Bears try to not add another one. With the Bears struggling, the Packers relish the opportunity to pile on. While the Bears are trying to get things together enough to win a game, the Packers have a chance to clinch the division early.
The Bears do have one thing going for them in the game. Quarterback Justin Fields comes back after missing the last two games because of some cracked ribs. That is about one of the brightest things in the game for Chicago.
We’ll see how FIelds returns from the injury. He was finally starting to get into a rhythm before he went down. He struggled with having chemistry with his receivers. Just when he finally started to find it, he goes down. Now he tries to find it again.
Of course, being the Chicago Bears, the bad always travels with the good. The Bears get FIelds back but now might end up losing their running back David Montgomery. He missed Wednesday’s practice with a multitude of injuries. Hopefully, it’s just a day of rest to recover but it would make life more difficult for the Bears’ offense if he isn’t available. That means Khalil Herbert needs to create some more of the magic he had earlier in the season when Montgomery missed a month of games.
The Bears need to play keep away
Having Montgomery is very important for the Bears. Last week, he accounted for 43 percent of the Bears’ total yards of offense. He was able to help the offense hold onto the ball.
The Bears need to play keep away with the Packers if they want to win. Rodgers cannot beat you if he is relegated to a spectator on the sideline.
The Bears did a great job of milking the clock last week against the Arizona Cardinals. They had three drives that totaled 22 minutes. The previous week, on Thanksgiving against the Detroit Lions, they held the ball for the final 8:30 of the game and got a game-winning field goal to win the game.
One of those long drives against the Cardinals ended up in an interception, however. That cannot happen against Green Bay. Those drives have to end in touchdowns, something the Bears haven’t been able to do on a consistent basis.
Additionally, they need to avoid short, three-and-out drives. While they had three drives that totaled 22 minutes, they had seven other drives that totaled just 13 minutes. Again, that cannot happen this week. If it does, Rodgers will have plenty of opportunities to make big plays.
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The Bears have to take it to Rodgers
Defensively, the Bears have to pressure Rodgers. They recorded three sacks in their first matchup. They have to get to him. Rodgers does a good job of sliding away from the pressure. That way, he buys some extra time or he’ll just tuck the ball and run. He isn’t the greatest athlete, but he’ll find a way to make a run that will kill you. We saw that in the fourth quarter the last time the two teams met.
Speaking of that run, Rodgers said a certain phrase that went viral across the entire nation. After he made a touchdown run to give the Packers a 10-point lead late in the game, he yelled to the fans that he always owned the Bears and still owns them.
That caused a stir among Chicago Bears Nation. Despite the outrage, what Rodgers said was basically correct.
What the Bears have to do is put the pressure on Rodgers and rough him up. While they are without All-World pass rusher Khalil Mack (out for the season), they do have Robert Quinn. Quinn is having a resurgent season. After recording just two sacks in 2020, he already has 12 sacks, good for fourth in the league.
The Bears likely have Akiem Hicks back from injury. He missed the last three games due to injury. He should helo with the pass rush.
Is this Nagy’s last stand?
As we all know, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy is on a hot seat. Even if the Bears win the game he still likely gets fired. This could be his last stand, however. Additionally, this may be the final time Rodgers plays against the Bears in a Packers uniform. His status in Green Bay beyond this season is unknown.
Of course, this could be another beatdown. As I mentioned, the Packers have a chance to clinch the division. You know they’ll take the opportunity to clean up the divisions quickly and concentrate on the conference. If they also have the opportunity to hit the final nail in Nagy’s coffin as the Bears’ coach, they’ll love to do that as well.
Let’s see if the Chicago Bears make a stand and pull off a big upset. Heck, it would be nice if they just keep it close. Hopefully, they don’t give another embarrassing performance and make Rodgers’ time difficult.