Chicago Bears Control their own Destiny
Bears Vs Packers is set
With the Bears 3rd straight win on Sunday over the Jaguars, it solidified two things. The Jacksonville Jaguars lock up the #1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and the Chicago Bears will be in control of their own playoff hopes.
The Bears tumultuous season will come down to week 17 against division rival and arch nemesis, Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. While the Packers have the NFC North Division locked up, you would think that they have nothing to play for. It is actually the complete opposite. Any time the Packers can play a role in the Bears missing the playoffs, they have something to play for.
The Packers will not rest their players like Davante Adams or Aaron Rodgers as many Bears fans hope. The Packers are going to do everything in their power to spoil the playoff hopes of the Chicago Bears. Luckily for the Bears and their fanbase, winning is not the only way Chicago can lock up a Wild Card berth. If the Arizona Cardinals lose to the Los Angeles Rams, then the Bears will enjoy an opportunity to fight for their playoff lives in the Wild Card round.
A poetic ending in the works as a season that saw the Bears start 5–1 only to lose their next 6 games to fall to 5–7. Come back from that skid and win 3 in a row to improve to 8–7, control their own fate and they have to go up against the Division powerhouse, Green Bay Packers. You couldn’t script a more storybook ending.
The first time the Bears and Packers faced off this season, Green Bay dominated. Mitchell Trubisky got the start over Nick Foles who was coming off a hip injury, and Bears fans were optimistic heading into Lambeau. Aside from the opening drive which saw David Montogmery gash the Packers defense for a 57 yard scamper, everything else went Green Bay’s way. The Bears will need to hit the drawing board to see how they can generate some offense against a Packers defense that has proven to be more than exploitable this entire 2020 season.
The most obvious key to victory for the Bears is to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. The first meeting between the Bears and Packers saw Aaron Rodgers have plenty of time in the pocket to sit back and dissect the Bears secondary. They will need to find a way to get pressure in the backfield to force Rodgers out of the pocket.
The Bears defense is more than capable of creating turnovers and getting to opposing quarterbacks, but they have been held at bay all season long. Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan must wreak havoc in the backfield on Sunday if the Bears have any hope of taking down the Packers and living to fight in the Wild Card game.
The last time Chicago was in the Wild Card game was 2 seasons ago when they played the Philadelphia Eagles… Bears fans are all too familiar as it was the infamous Cody Parkey Double-Doink game where he missed the game winning field goal… even worse, the ball doinked off the left post and the crossbar before landing on the turf… A heartbreaking loss that the Bears have been looking to avenge ever since. This is their opportunity to play in the Wild Card game and write a new story.
Who knows… The Bears offense may be getting hot at just the right time with 4 straight games of 30+ points. If the offense continues to put up points, the Bears may have a shot at running the table and getting playing in the Superbowl come February…
Wishful thinking, but it would be a wonderful late Christmas gift to Bears fans who have been through so much the past few seasons and their Super Bowl drought is up to 35 years.
As we have seen throughout 2020… anything is possible! 2021 will be a new year, and Bears fans are optimistic that this team can peak at just the right time to make some magic happen in the new year. #BearDown
