Bears Blitz

Canadian newspaper The Globe And Mail is reporting that the Chicago Bears are scheduled to face the Buffalo Bills in their third game across the border.

The game will take place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sunday, November 7.

This will be the first NFL game the windy city franchise has played in Canada. The game will be the second Buffalo home game played at the Rogers Centre as they will play the Indianapolis Colts in a preseason game on August 19.

The game will be played a month earlier than expected, as the previous two Canadian matches were played in the first week of December.

Buffalo has played two regular season matches in Toronto, losing them both to AFC East opposition.

The Rogers Centre is situated next to the CN Tower and is along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The Astroturf field has an NFL capacity of 54,000, so expect tickets to sell out fast. The stadium also has a retractable roof, which can mean the players will be spared from the freezing Canadian winter weather.

Though the Rogers Centre usually stages CFL and baseball games, it has also been home to many exhibition games, including Gaelic Football, Soccer, Cricket, Aussie Rules, and four NCAA bowl games.

It has also held the 1992 and 1993 World Series and Wrestlemania VI and Wrestlemania V8 in 1990 and 2002, respectively.

In their first game in 2008, the Bills lost to the Miami Dolphins 16-3. The Dolphins had finished 1-15 a year before. Last year, in the game against the Jets, they lost their second game by six points with the Jets winning 19-13.

Despite already having the November match up in Toronto, the Bears are still heavily rumoured to be facing the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

The other Thanksgiving specials are New England at Detroit and, in the NFL Network clash, the Minnesota Vikings are speculated to be facing the New York Jets in the later game.

In the previous Bears-Bills showdown, Jay Cutler made his debut for the Bears in a preseason opener last year.

The Bills came out on top 27-20 as Cutler under performed, though working with his new young Bears receiver for the first time.