NFL Week 3 – Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears Preview

Frank Doyle looks ahead to the 183rd playing of the NFL’s oldest rivalry, Green Bay v Chicago.

Green Bay at Chicago is always a big deal. No way it can’t be with that weight of history. But as well as the weight of history, Sunday’s game at Soldier Field has the extra edge of both teams being good at the same time, which isn’t characteristic of the rivalry.

Each team has enjoyed periods of dominance over the other through the years. Green Bay dominated the ‘sixties and the ‘nineties, while the Bears owned the ‘forties, ‘fifties and ‘eighties.

Green Bay is an NFL betting road favorite this week, as the Packers appear to be on the cusp of their third golden era. The Packers are Super Bowl Champions and are 2-0, 1-1-0 ATS, for the season so far. The Bears are 1-1, 1-1-0 ATS, following up an impressive home win against Atlanta with a caning in the Superdome from the Saints. The same Saints whom the Packers beat in Week 1.

That said, there is reason to hope for the Bears. The Packers beat the Bears in Soldier Field for eleven straight years while Brett Favre was their quarterback, but the record is 2-2 since Favre retired, including the NFC Championship Game last year. The Bears will take that as progress.

They’ll also be buoyed by the fact that the Packers have the third worst record in yards per game conceded in the league so far, and were 14-0 down against the Panthers last week. Green Bay, as far as they’re concerned in Chicago, is showing fault lines.

The question is whether or not the Bears can take advantage. The Bears defense were able to bring the heat against Matt Ryan but they weren’t able to get after Drew Brees at all. The Bears were able to protect Jay Cutler against the Falcons while he got a going over against the Saints.

And there are people in Chicago who believe that Mike Martz’s obsession with the passing game leaves Cutler exposed more than he has to be, and Martz should call running plays more often than once in every seven downs.

The total is set at 45.5, a reflection of the potency of both offenses. The average total of the past ten years of regular season games between the Packers and the Bears is 34.6, but that rises to 40.3 over the ten games at Soldier Field. That’s the reason the total is so high for a game that, down through its history, has been fought in the trenches.