Bears, Packers for NFC Championship

 The stage is set for arguably the biggest game ever to be played at Soldier Field. The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers will square-off for the NFC Championship and the right to play in Super Bowl XLV. The Bears and the Packers split the regular season match-ups— Chicago winning in Week 3, 20-7 and Green Bay winning in the season finale 10-3.

Although the Bears are the higher seed, the Packers are still three-point favorites. Green Bay made it to the conference championship by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons—both on the road. Chicago, with a first-round bye, beat the Seattle Seahawks.

All of the attention has been focused on Chicago’s defense versus a red-hot Aaron Rodgers. The Bears has one of the top-ranked run defenses in the league, and Green Bay’s running game really doesn’t present a major threat. Chicago’s front-four will have to generate some pressure on Rodgers in order to keep the Packers’ passing game in check. Tommie Harris had his best game of the season in the divisional round of the playoffs by recording 1 ½ sacks. With Harris’ level of play rising, and the presence of Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije, the Bears pass rush should cause some havoc—especially with some blitzes from Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

The key to the Bears’ offensive success in the second half of the regular season and the playoffs has been their balance of running plays and passing plays. Jay Cutler is coming off his first career postseason game, in which he did what only one other player has done in NFL postseason history. Cutler threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns. Hall of Famer Otto Graham was the other player ever to do that in the postseason. Even though Cutler seems to be coming into his own, the x-factor for Chicago’s offense will be Matt Forte. Forte’s production as a runner and a receiver has been very instrumental in Chicago’s success this season. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz will have to continue to run the ball in order to keep Green Bay from blitzing—something that Chicago’s offense had difficulty picking up against the Packers in Week 17.

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On special teams, everyone will be wondering if Devin Hester will get a chance to return anything. Hester set the NFL record for most returns in a career with 14 during the regular season, and also returned a punt for a touchdown in Chicago’s Week 3 victory over the Packers. Hester’s presence alone can dictate field position for the Bears in this game.

One thing that both the Bears and Packers will have to endure isn’t the cold weather, but the Soldier Field turf. It has been said by many players in the NFL, including players from the Bears, that Soldier Field is the worse field to play on in the entire league. This will be the x-factor for the entire game. This should work in favor of the Bears, since this is their home turf and they have played over half of their games here this season. In addition, this may slow down Green Bay’s vertical passing game.

This will be the first time that these storied franchises have faced-off in the playoffs since December 14, 1941. To Chicago and Green Bay fans, this is a Super Bowl within a Super Bowl. The only thing that would make this any bigger is if George Halas, Vince Lombardi, “Curly” Lambeau, and Walter Payton were here to witness it.

For the Chicago Bears, a win against the Packers will be their biggest in this storied rivalry, and put them back in a place where they were four years ago, which is in position to be world champions.

By Clyde Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent