Slim Chance: Bears hope to stay alive versus Packers.

With the possibility of being eliminated from the playoffs before they even set foot onto the field Monday night, the Chicago Bears (8-6) are only focusing on getting redemption for their embarrassing 37-3 loss to the hated Green Bay Packers (5-9) in Week 11. Having virtually nothing to play for but pride, the Packers will look to play spoiler to the Bears, who need to win their final two games in order to have a shot at winning the NFC North, coupled with two Minnesota Vikings losses.

Kyle Orton will once again have to be very careful facing the Packers’ 13 th ranked (206.3 ypg) ball-hawking pass defense, which possesses three defensive backs with five interceptions each (Nick Collins, Tramon Williams, and Charles Woodson). Hopefully, the Bears have learned from the previous meeting and found a way to have rookie Matt Forte exploit the Packers’ 26 th ranked run defense (138.2 ypg). The 2008 second-round draft pick only managed to rush for 64 yards, mainly because Chicago was playing catch up deep in their own territory the entire game. And with Green Bay placing Atari Bigby on injured reserved, Devin Hester and the rest of Chicago’s receivers might be able to take advantage of the change of Woodson moving to safety and Williams moving opposite of Al Harris at corner.

Although the Bears’ seventh ranked run defense (93.1 ypg) hasn’t allowed a single player to rush for 100 yards in the past two games, they have allowed their last two opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints, to total 119 rushing yards each. Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, and Chicago’s lone Pro Bowler of this season Lance Briggs will have to spearhead the attack against the same team that ran through them for 200 yards in Week 11. In addition, the Bears’ front four will have to get better pressure than they did in the first meeting on Aaron Rodgers, who didn’t get sacked and completed 76.7% of his passes. Chicago’s 28 th ranked pass defense (233.6 ypg) can benefit from a consistent pass rush since they will have the task of covering Greg Jennings—the NFL’s sixth leading receiver with 1,153 yards.

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As the regular season winds down, the Chicago Bears have no other option but to win. Not only can the Bears advance to the playoffs with if they win their final two games and the Vikings to lose their final two games, but they can also sneak in with a wild card spot if the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Vikings all lose this week. Regardless of the scenario, Chicago has to win, or else they will be sitting at home for the postseason for the second year in a row.

By Clyde A. Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent