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Da Bears
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If the first game is a blowout, as the panelists have suggested, it’ll at least serve as an appetizer for the next three games, which could be showstoppers.
Fittingly, that starts with the 213th edition of Bears-Packers, though it’s only their third postseason affair. Nine Bears carried the ball for 277 yards to lift Chicago to a 33-14 victory when they initially met in the 1941 postseason.
Times have changed, but the recipe may not have.
“The Bears will run the ball,” an executive said.
The Bears are built on physicality, and their strong offensive line sets the tone. They had the third-ranked rushing attack this season and averaged 144 rushing yards in their two December meetings with the Packers. The teams split the series.
The Bears were 3-2 this season against playoff teams, with all five of those games since Week 12. They’re young, but they’ve had the unique opportunity to grow with a backloaded schedule that could help them in the postseason.
Meanwhile, the Packers looked like a Super Bowl favorite for about half the season, as their offense rolled and their defense was coming together with linebacker Micah Parsons. They were 5-1-1 before tight end Tucker Kraft tore his ACL in Week 9 against the Panthers. One executive pinpointed that as the moment when the offense began to unravel, although injuries to quarterback Jordan Love and others have been problematic as well.
The Packers are the fourth team in history to enter the playoffs with at least a four-game losing streak. (The 1986 New York Jets were the only team to overcome the skid to win a playoff game.) And while they’re the more experienced playoff team, this is the third consecutive year they’ve been a No. 7 seed.
Bears rookie coach Ben Johnson has guided an impressive turnaround with the team’s most wins in seven years. But they’ve still got to knock out “the NFC North juggernaut,” as one executive described the Packers.
The Bears have won two of the last three meetings with the Packers to ignite a dose of competitiveness into the rivalry. Before that, the Packers had won 16 of 17, including 11 straight.
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