Rivalry Week: Bring on the Bears

Packers vs. Bears, Lambeau Field, forecasted high of 23 degrees. Playoff implications abound, two top-5 defenses, both teams are coming off of spirited wins. This is exactly what this rivalry should look like, and we've got several Packers-Bears related pieces on tap this week, including our first contribution from a poor, misguided soul from south of the Wisconsin border.

Earlier this season we at the Wisconsin Sports Tap questioned the Packers-Bears rivalry, and concluded that while lately it's largely been overshadowed by the Packers vs. Vikings, the tide appeared to be shifting. Though our prediction that this game would decide the winner of the NFC North was inaccurate, the game still figures to have all sorts of bite. A win guarantees the Packers a playoff spot, and should the Eagles beat the Vikings on Tuesday (probable), the Bears will have a first round bye on the line.

There's also a bit of a twist. With a Packers win, not only are they in the playoffs, but they'll play the Bears again the following week. Sound familiar? It should, as last year the Packers played the Cardinals in consecutive weeks. If you'll recall, the Cardinals fell behind early in week 17 and yanked all their key starters, opting instead to save themselves for the playoffs. With the Bears in a similar situation, all the Packers should need to do is jump out to an early lead and coast the rest of the way, right?

Well, I doubt it. This is Lovie Smith we're talking about. A main point on his mission statement when he came into Chicago was that he wanted to beat the Packers. Even if a bye week were all sewn up for his Bears, one gets the feeling that he'd bring his first-team to play regardless.

Still, as well as the Bears have been playing, the Packers can take them. In order to beat the Bears the Packers need to have some semblance of a rushing game, and the past two weeks they've actually had a serviceable one, which is all they need to set up their play-action passes.

There is one last factor which makes me like the Packers here. Though McCarthy's teams have been criticized for not playing well in close games, he does seem to coach well when he's got vengeance on the mind. The loss his Packers suffered in Chicago earlier this season is one he no doubt remembers bitterly, and I think we're more likely to see last week's Packers than we are to see the team he fielded at Detroit.

But this game isn't about analysis. It's not about stats or may the best team win. Logic doesn't apply here. Its about yelling at your TV when the refs make a bad call and jumping off your couch after a touchdown. Its about wearing your lucky Packers underwear and calling your Bears friends to taunt them on good plays, or throwing your phone in the snow when the tables turn. Its about history, about reminiscing on past games and rooting for the team your dad taught you to root for with your friends whose dads did the same. Bring on the Bears! Let's enjoy this week, and GO PACK GO!