| Nicole Haase. 14th November, 2008 - 7:12 pm
 The Packers and the Bears meet for the 176th time on Sunday, both looking for redemption.
A Packers' win evens them with Chicago in the NFC North standings and, depending on how the Vikings fare against Tampa, could lead to a three-way tie for the division.
The Packers have struggled on the road lately and are surely hoping Lambeau Field is home sweet home. Having lost two-in-a-row, Green Bay is hoping home field brings an advantage, as they’ve won 11-of-the-last-14 at Lambeau.
Add to those streaks that either the Bears or the Packers have won the division since it was restructured in 2002. The Packers lost both of last season’s games to the Bears and six-of-the-last-eight, including four straight at home.
Two injuries will be key to the game. Green Bay’s leading tackler LB Nick Barnett is out for the season with a torn ligament in his right knee. The already struggling Packers' line will sorely miss Barnett’s presence, as he had a team high 68 tackles and 49 individual tackles. The defensive line has failed to hold the run game to manageable numbers, and the Bears come with Matt Forte, the impressive rookie who has already amassed 713 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
For the Bears, it will be a matter of will-he-or-won’t-he on quarterback Kyle Orton. Chicago fans aren’t too happy with Rex Grossman as their quarterback. His performances have always shown flashes of brilliance, but those are often over-shadowed by his uneven and erratic play. However, Grossman is 3-1 in career starts against the Packers.
If Orton plays, it may be on a tender ankle, and the Packers will have to find a way to get pressure without opening holes in the line for Forte to run down the field.
As with last weeks game in Minnesota, this could be a game about defense and special teams. The Packers scored two more touchdowns off interceptions last week, to lead the league with eight, and Will Blackmon scored another punt return touchdown. Of course, the Bears offer their own threat in Devin Hester.
Turnovers will also be key, as the Packers and Bears hold the top two spots in the NFC in regards to turnover ratio, respectively. The Packers have 17 takeaways and just 10 turnovers while the Bears are tied for the NFL lead with 20 takeaways and 14 turnovers.
- Nicole Haase is a RealGM contributor, and her work can also be found on CuteSports.blogspot.com. |
