The Chicago Bears (2-1) and Green Bay Packers (1-2) each comprise half of one of the greatest rivalries in football, though there has been a significant gap between the two teams over the past several years. Things are a lot closer in recent seasons, however, and the tables may have even been turned. The Packers are used to winning big, yet they're 1-2 through three games, while the Bears are 2-1 and atop the NFC North.
Packers vs. Bears 2014: NFC North foes duel in Chicago
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are bitter NFC North rivals. Hostilities will be in full swing Sunday for a Week 4 matchup.
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago got off to a rocky start with a somewhat embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills in the season opener. However, they pulled off a comeback to beat the San Francisco 49ers on the road and put up a solid win over the New York Jets in Week 3, also on the road. There are some definite issues on both sides of the ball, and that primarily has to do with running -- they can't run the ball well nor stop it on the ground.
Green Bay, known for a long while as one of the premier offensive teams in the league, has struggled to put up points. Of course, they've faced some tough defenses like the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 and the Detroit Lions in Week 3. But in past years Aaron Rodgers has always kept the Packers on track offensively, even against those strong defenses. That hasn't been the case thus far in 2014, The Packers rank 22nd in the league in passing offense and tied for 26th in rushing offense.
Digits
Bears-Packers
For the Packers, there aren’t too many encouraging stats when it comes to a potential 1-3 start and playoff aspirations. Teams that start 1-3 rarely make the postseason, with only 15 percent of those squads doing so. Odds are that many of those teams didn’t have the talent that the Packers currently do, however. Then again, the Packers probably aren’t even thinking about a 1-3 start. They’re thinking about 2-2 and how they can even things up in the NFC North with a big win.
The running game will be particularly interesting to watch. Neither team is good at running the ball -- Green Bay averages 78.7 rushing yards per game, and the Bears average 64.0, the worst in the league. But neither team is particularly good at stopping the run, either -- Chicago ranks 26th allowing 144.7 rushing yards per game, while Green Bay comes in even worse at No. 30, allowing 156.3 rushing yards per game.
Aaron Rodgers has averaged approximately 282 passing yards in his last five full games against the Bears, with 14 touchdowns against just four interceptions. That’s significant. Cutler has faced the Packers nine times, and he’s thrown six more interceptions (17) than he has touchdowns (11) in those meetings.
Who to watch
Eddie Lacy and Matt Forte - One of these guys has to break out eventually. Lacy is averaging 3.1 yards per carry and has just 113 rushing yards on the season after a huge rookie year. Forte is averaging 3.2 yards per carry and has 136 yards on the ground. Forte does have another 145 yards to add in the passing game, though. Neither running back has found the end zone to this point.
Jay Cutler: Everybody likes to joke about Cutler and his inconsistency. They like to talk about the fact that he's historically thrown a lot of interceptions, but he's been stellar so far this year. Cutler has completed 80 of 121 passes for 750 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He's also played a couple strong pass defenses against San Francisco and New York. Green Bay's defense happens to be solid, as well, but Cutler will be the biggest test it has faced to this point. As noted above, Cutler has historically been bad when playing Green Bay.
Julius Peppers: This is Peppers' first game against his former team. His replacement, Jared Allen, has been playing fine, but Peppers has a sack on the season while Allen does not. Peppers isn't in the prime of his career, but he remains a dangerous player with plenty of ability to get to Cutler and make the quarterback's life tough.
How to watch
Where: Soldier Field
When: 1 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch
Radio: Packers Radio Network | Bears Radio Network
Online Streaming: Verizon NFL Mobile
The venue
Soldier Field is a solid venue where the Bears typically enjoy a home field advantage. That hasn’t been the case against the Packers, however -- at least not recently. The Bears have lost their last four home games against the Packers, including a conference championship game against them in 2010. They managed to beat Green Bay at home in Week 3 of that 2010 campaign (and as an aside, the Bears were struggling to run the ball then too, with Cutler leading all players that game with 37 yards on the ground). Home field advantage may not mean much in this rivalry matchup.
Odds
The Bears opened up as narrow 1.5-point favorites, but the lines quickly shifted in the opposite direction, according to OddsShark. Interested parties could find the Packers favored by two points near week’s end. The Packers are 2-9 against the spread over the past 13 games, while the Bears are 7-16-1 against the spread over the past 24.
Preliminary judgment
SB Nation’s seven experts picked this one (along with every Week 4 game), and they were mostly split. Ryan Van Bibber, Stephen White, David Fucillo and Danny Kelly all went with the Bears, while Joel Thorman, PFT Commenter and Matt Ufford picked the Packers to win.
Further reading
For more on the Bears, head on over to Windy City Gridiron. To read up on the Packers, check out Acme Packing Company.
See More:
