Packers hope success continues in Chicago
The Green Bay Packers’ long-shot playoff bid received a major shot in the arm last week when they beat the Atlanta Falcons and four teams ahead of them in the playoff chase lost.
Now comes the biggest challenge for the Packers: A trip to Chicago.
Soldier Field might as well have been Lambeau Field South over the last quarter century. Starting with the 2010 NFC Championship Game, the Packers have won eight consecutive games in Chicago. Going back even further, they’re 21-4 in their last 25 trips to the Windy City.
“We’ve won eight in a row. I’m not talking trash to their squad or Akiem (Hicks, the Bears’ star defensive lineman) or anything, that’s just the facts,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.
This, however, will be a much, much bigger challenge. The Packers are only 5-7-1. They haven’t won a road game in more than a calendar year and haven’t won back-to-back games all season. Chicago, on the other hand, is 9-4. Defensively, the Bears are once again the Monsters of the Midway. They demolished the high-flying Rams’ offense in last week’s 15-6 victory.
“They’ve got good players at every level of the defense,” interim head coach Joe Philbin said. “It will be a great challenge for us. If you look at the NFL, they put out those comparables and they rank 15 stats for offense and defense, and you can look at it in a straight vertical line and you look at their defense and it’s a bunch of single digits all the way down – and a lot of them low.”
For Green Bay to spring a major upset, Rodgers is going to have to play his best game of the season. In a 24-23 victory over Chicago in Week 1, Rodgers returned from a knee injury and sliced and diced the vaunted Bears defense in a 20-point second-half comeback. Rodgers probably hasn’t played that well the rest of the season, though.
What he has done historically well is avoid interceptions. In last week’s 34-20 victory over Atlanta, he set a NFL record for most consecutive passes without an interception. That streak is up to 368 consecutive attempts. Chicago’s defense, however, is practically lapping the field in takeaways. With cornerback Kyle Fuller tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions and outside linebacker Khalil Mack tied for the NFL lead with six forced fumbles, Chicago leads the league with 34 takeaways and 25 interceptions. No other team has more than 28 takeaways or 19 interceptions.
“Every defense is better with a great pass rush,” Rodgers said.
Against the Falcons, the Packers played without three starters on the offensive line: right tackle Bryan Bulaga, right guard Byron Bell and left guard Lane Taylor, with Bell landing on injured reserve on Wednesday. Their health will be vital this week. In the first matchup, Mack mostly squared off against Bulaga, and the guards will have to tangle with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Hicks.
SERIES HISTORY: 196th regular-season meeting. Packers lead series, 96-93-6. Green Bay has won its last eight games at Soldier Field, including the 2010 NFC Championship Game, and four in a row in Chicago in December.
