NFC Championship Game 2011: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Published by Brandon Griffin on January 20, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
On Sunday Aaron Rodgers will lead the Green Bay Packers into Soldier Field to take on Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears for the NFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl XLV.
The game could go either way in the end as the teams played twice in the regular season and split the series with the home team squeaking out a win in each of the meetings.
This game though is much more important than either of those meetings as the entire season rides on this game. The winner will be the best team in the NFC while the other will go home and watch the Super Bowl.
Chicago will come out and look to score quickly while keeping Clay Matthews off of Cutler. On defense they will try to get Julius Peppers into the backfield in order to put pressure on Rodgers so he can’t get settled in and make the big plays he is capable of.
Green Bay will come straight out and try to get the ball down the field with Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. On defense they will look to shut down Chicago’s passing attack and keep Matt Forte out of the game.
Both teams are pass-heavy offenses while Green Bay doesn’t really have a consistent running game. This will play into the hands of a strong Bears defense as they can really get after Rodgers and put guys back in coverage.
The Bears offense typically runs through Jay Cutler, but Matt Forte can step up and make plays when he needs to. Clay Matthews will probably be harassing Cutler all day so Forte will have to be there if the Bears want to get points on the board.
In a game that could go either way it is usually turnovers that decide the game and with Jay Cutler being highly prone to making throws that a little league quarterback wouldn’t make then that could really haunt the Bears.
This game will completely hinge on how Cutler does. If he comes out and plays well then the Bears will win, but if he comes out and throws two or three interceptions then the Bears won’t have to worry about hotel reservations.
Since Jay Cutler is prone to mistakes I am going to have to take the Packers to win the NFC Championship. Any other opinions may be put in the comments section.
Green Bay Packers 17
Chicago Bears 13
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