ALL BUILDING TO THIS MOMENT
Facing Packers at home with playoffs in reach is as big as it gets for Bears
“WE’RE PLAYING OUR RIVAL, AND WE’RE PLAYING IT FOR PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS. YOU REALLY CAN’T WRITE IT ANY BETTER THAN THAT.”
AKIEM HICKS, Bears defensive lineman ( left), trying to bring down Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers last season
The last time the Bears hosted the Packers on Sept. 5, 2019, coach Matt Nagy walked into Soldier Field with George Halas’ fedora on his head and the weight of the football world on his shoulders. The rivalry game opened the NFL’s 100th season. The Bears were considered Super Bowl contenders.
And then they lost 10- 3, crushed under the weight of the moment and by an underperforming offense that would only become more spurious as the year went on.
Three months later, the Packers eliminated the Bears from playoff contention. The Bears finished 8- 8 in their most anticipated season in a generation and seemed destined for a worse fate in 2020. The last time Nagy walked into Soldier Field this year, his team had lost six straight. His job status — and that of general manager Ryan Pace — was in peril.
Now, three straight wins later, the Bears ( 8- 7) can reach the playoffs with a victory against the Packers on Sunday afternoon. Even if they lose, they can sneak in as the No. 7 seed, provided the Rams beat the Cardinals in a game that kicks off at the same time. If the Bears and Cardinals both win, the Bears will be seeded sixth.
If the Packers ( 12- 3) win for the 101st time in the rivalry’s 202 games, they’ll earn the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a bye in the first round.
“We’re playing our rival, and we’re playing it for playoff implications,” Bears defensive lineman Akiem Hicks said. “You really can’t write it any better than that.”
Nagy doesn’t need to talk to his players about what it means.
“The social media world is so big, they get it — they can learn from there,” Nagy said. “But we also respect that part and all the former players and coaches that have been a part of this greatest rivalry in the history of sports.
“If you have to be told that and get juiced up for this, then you shouldn’t be here.”
This is the Bears’ biggest regularseason game since the 2013 finale, in which Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw to Randall Cobb for a 48- yard touchdown on fourth- andeight with 38 seconds left to keep the Bears out of the playoffs.
“This is what we worked for,” Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “And no matter what happened throughout the course of this year, we always know there are going to be ups and downs, some very high and some very low, which we’ve experienced this season. And I’ve been there myself personally. We have a great opportunity in front of us, so our job is to just stay in the moment.”
It would be easy to let your mind wander. Had Trubisky not fumbled in the final two minutes in a loss to the Lions on Dec. 6, the Bears’ playoff spot would be already clinched. The same would be true had Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins not caught a Hail Mary to beat the Bills in November.
The Packers led the Bears 41- 10 in their first meeting Nov. 29 and are a step up from the three losing teams the Bears beat in December: the Texans, Vikings and Jaguars. But needing to run the table has hardened the Bears for the intensity of Sunday’s game.
“We’ve been in the playoffs for three weeks now,” said tight end Jimmy Graham, who spent the previous two seasons with the Packers. “We’re excited to be in this position, to be going up against such a rival, obviously. It’s all here for us.”
A month ago, while the Bears were mired in a six- game losing streak, coaches stressed what the players could control. They were promised four more games and had a chance to make the playoffs if they could find a way to win them.
“This is our last guaranteed one,” wide receiver Allen Robinson said. “The chips are all in.”