2011 NFL Playoffs: Who Do the Chicago Bears Want To Play?
Published by Andy Miller on January 6, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
While the Bulls and Blackhawks are both at about halfway through their respective seasons, the Chicago Bears are still the talk of the town.
The talk lately throughout the Chicago area is who the Bears will be playing in the second round of the playoffs.
With an 11-5 record, the Chicago Bears are in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and have a first round bye. The three possible teams that could play at Soldier Field next Sunday are the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints or Seattle Seahawks.
So, who would the Bears rather play?
Well, the answer seems like it should be simple, right? I mean, who wouldn’t want to face a team that got into the playoffs from the worst division in football with a 7-9 record? It would seem to be a dream matchup.
However, Bears fans have quickly forgotten that Chicago already played the worst playoff team this year. At home. And lost.
The Bears were embarrassed the week before the bye, and playoff hopes seemed extremely dismal.
There’s no doubt that this team is certainly more structurally sound then the team that played the Seahawks earlier this season, but I believe that Pete Carroll’s Seahawks could be the (extreme) dark horse of the NFC playoffs if they beat the Saints.
Then, there are those fans who can’t wait to see the rival Green Bay Packers get knocked out of the playoffs at the hands of Mike Vick, the true “comeback” story of the NFL this year.
The Bears beat the Eagles at home already. The real question is: can they do it again?
In my opinion, the Bears’ best matchup would be with the New Orleans Saints, a rematch of the 2006 NFC Championship game.
The Bears would take on the defending Super Bowl Champs, but this is not the same team that hoisted the Lombardi trophy last February.
Drew Brees has looked like anything but a Super Bowl QB. He’s thrown 22 interceptions this year, and threw interceptions in 12 straight games. The Bears are the number one team in the league in takeaways. Brees’ stats indicate that if the Saints come to Soldier Field in January, the Bears would certainly be able to create some more of that turnover magic.
The Saints don’t have the same dominance that they did at this time last year, and playing them would give the Bears a good shot at making it to the NFC Championship game.
Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
