The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears have the longest standing rivalry in the NFL, one that dates back to 1921. These teams know each other very well, and the heightened stakes of this game (namely, a Super Bowl berth) should bring out the best in both of these rivals. The Bears won the first meeting between these two teams in the third game of the season, 20-17. When these two met again in the final week of the season, the Packers squeaked out a 10-3 victory at home and secured a playoff berth.
The Packers have now advanced all the way to the conference championship game and are playing incredibly well. Rookie running back James Starks is averaging 95.5 yards per game in the Packers' two postseason games, and Aaron Rodgers has been lights out in these two games as well. He passed for 366 yards, threw for three touchdowns, and ran for another touchdown in the Packers' 48-21 demolition of the Atlanta Falcons last week.
Though the Packers' defense also played well against Atlanta, they gave up a couple of big plays from time to time (such as Eric Weems' 102 yard kickoff return). This could prove problematic against Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who loves to throw the deep ball.
The Bears are also coming off of an impressive victory last week. Their defense has been incredibly stingy all season, reluctant to give up any yards on the ground. Ask the Seattle Seahawks, who had only three points going into halftime of last week's game. The Bears will need another huge game out of quarterback Jay Cutler on Sunday, who threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for two more touchdowns against the Seahawks.
All in all, this game has the makings of a good one: two division rivals going head-to-head with the biggest of prizes, a spot in the Super Bowl, on the line. You can bet that these two teams will give it their all on Sunday.
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears (FOX, 3:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. MT)