The NFL's oldest rivalry will begin the 2015 season with its latest chapter Sunday afternoon, although the Green Bay Packers have dominated the Chicago Bears recently.
Bears vs. Packers 2015 preview: Good luck slowing down Aaron Rodgers
The Bears are transitioning to a 3-4 defense, but there haven’t been many defenses at all that know how to solve Aaron Rodgers.
Green Bay will look to make it nine wins in the last 10 meetings of the two NFC North teams, and put the team one win closer to evening the all-time series with the Bears. In 188 regular season meetings, the Bears have a 92-90-6 lead and the teams have a 1-1 split in only two postseason meetings.
Both of the meetings in 2014 went Green Bay’s way, by a significant margin. The Packers beat the Bears by three touchdowns in a September visit to Chicago and upped that margin with a 55-14 victory at Lambeau Field in November.
In those two games, Aaron Rodgers tallied 10 touchdowns, including six at Lambeau. Four of those 10 touchdowns were caught by Jordy Nelson, who tallied 16 receptions and 260 yards receiving against the Bears in 2014, but he will miss all of 2015 with an ACL tear. Instead, the Packers will turn to Randall Cobb to lead the way for the Green Bay receiving corps as he returns from an AC joint sprain.
The Bears will also adjust to life without a top receiver after trading Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets during the offseason. That puts a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Alshon Jeffery, who enters a contract year with a lot to prove and won't have the help on the other side of first-round pick Kevin White, who underwent stress fracture surgery in August.
Digits
Most are picking the Packers to come away with win No. 91 in the all-time series, thanks mostly to the consistency and elite play of Rodgers, the NFL's reigning MVP. He finished 2014 with 38 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 112.2 passer rating, which was somehow not even the best mark of his career. In 2011, he somehow managed to post an impossibly high 122.5 passer rating, the best-ever mark in a single season.
Rodgers became the first player in NFL history to post six consecutive seasons with a passer rating above 100, and it's that consistency of top-level play that earned the Packers just behind the Seattle Seahawks for the top spot on our power rankings.
Rodgers will start his 2015 campaign against a Chicago defense that will look much different than years past. The Bears are still working to transition to a 3-4 base defense in the first season with John Fox as the head coach, and the scheme's success will depend heavily on the impact players like Jared Allen, Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson are able to make in the new front.
Only the Oakland Raiders allowed more points than the Bears in 2014 after the Chicago defense finished No. 30 against the pass and No. 17 against the run. New additions like Pernell McPhee, Sam Acho, Alan Ball and Antrel Rolle should help the pass defense some, but defensive transitions can often take time.
The Packers are hopeful for defensive improvement after finishing the 2014 season No. 1 in scoring offense, but No. 13 in total defense. But they'll hope for a boost without making many changes at all during the offseason. While the defense lost players like A.J. Hawk and Tramon Williams, the team stayed away from making any splash additions in free agency and will rely on its group of talented pass rushers, Julius Peppers, Nick Perry, Mike Neal and Clay Matthews, to lead the way.
Who to Watch
Davante Adams - With the loss of Jordy Nelson for the year, there's a lot of pressure on Randall Cobb to prove that he is worth the four-year, $40 million contract he was given in March. Some of that pressure could be alleviated by Davante Adams, though, who could be primed for a breakout year. The 2014 second-round pick showed flashes as a rookie, but never reached the superstar potential that his elite athleticism offers. Now he's in the starting lineup in Green Bay and is likely to receive plenty of opportunities to shine thanks to Aaron Rodgers.
Jared Allen - Getting to the quarterback is nothing new for Allen, who enters the 2015 season ninth all-time in sacks with 134. He’s never rushed the passer in a 3-4 defense, though, and has spent his entire career as a defensive end with his hand on the ground. His production dropped off significantly in his first season with the Bears in 2014, so the Allen experiment in a 3-4 will likely determine if a career revival is possible for the 33-year-old or if the end of his career is on the way.
How to Watch
When: Sunday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m. ET
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews
TV: FOX
Online: NFL Game Pass
Preliminary Judgment
Most of the experts are siding with the Packers to start their season with a win. All eight guys at CBS Sports are taking Green Bay and six of the seven experts at SB Nation plus the OddsShark computer taking the Packers. The only expert taking the Bears is PFT Commenter, who has had some Jay Cutler opinions in the past.
Odds
The Packers are 7-point favorites with an over/under of 49.5, according to OddsShark.com.
Further Reading
For more on the Bears, head on over to Windy City Gridiron. For everything Packers, check out Acme Packing Company.
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