Brian Urlacher only played in 1 game for the Bears last year in which he made 3 tackles before breaking his wrist.  Many thought that Urlacher would have lost a step by missing a year as he is not getting any younger.  But, Urlacher is back with a vengeance so far this year.  He has played in 3 games for the Bears this year and he has 25 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  His forced fumble last night was recovered by CB Tim Jennings which set the Bears up with great field position.  Jay Cutler then drove the team down the field for the game winning FG over the hated Packers.  Urlacher is a big reason why the Bears are only allowing 39.7 yards rushing per game so far and only 2.1 yards per carry.  The Bears hope that Urlacher can stay healthy the rest of the year because he is back.

The Bears got a little bit lucky last night as the Packers played undisciplined football as they were penalized 18 times for 152 yards.  Still, the Bears played better football than the Packers overall last night and that was a big reason for the win.  Jay Cutler completed 16 of 27 passes for 221 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 37 yards (12.3 ypc) last night.  Matt Forte certainly didn’t have his best game last night as he carried the ball 11 times for 29 yards (2.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards (7.0 avg).  WR Johnny Knox (4 rec, 94 yards) and TE Greg Olsen (5 rec, 64 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bears last night.  WR/PR Devin Hester only caught 1 pass for 16 yards in this game but he also returned 3 punts for 93 yards including one that he returned 62 yards for a TD.  The Bears finished up with 77 yards on 18 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes for 199 yards despite only having possession of the ball for 24:11.

LBs Brian Urlacher (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 forced fumble) and Lance Briggs (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Bears’ D last night.  CB Tim Jennings had 7 tackles and a huge fumble recovery that set up the Bears will good field position late in the 4th quarter which led to the game winning field goal.  The Packers finished up with 63 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 34 of 45 passes for 316 yards.  The Bears are now 3-0 on the year after this huge win.

Rivalries like this one should almost always be reserved for Sunday or Monday Night Football.  This will be a fun game to watch this Monday.  The Bears hope things go better this year against the Packers who swept them by a combined score of 42-29 last year.  Here is a look at the matchups:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Packers are giving up 136.5 yards rushing per game and 5.3 yards per carry so it might be smart of the Bears to run the ball more than usual this Monday Night.  Matt Forte and Chester Taylor will also be weapons out of the backfield in the passing game because Cutler might not have a lot of time to throw the ball with Clay Matthews chasing him around all night.  Cutler had his issues against the Packers last season as he completed 40 of 72 passes (55.6%) for 486 yards with 3 TD passes and 6 INTs.  He will have to play better than that on Monday Night if the Bears have any hope of pulling an upset.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to come out throwing the ball so it’s important for the Bears to get a good pass rush going in this game.  That means that DE Julius Peppers is the key to the D in this game.  Because, if Rodgers has time to throw the ball to his very deep group of talented receivers it could be a long night for the Bears.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 31, BEARS 20

27-year old QB Jay Cutler looks like he really likes Mike Martz’ new offense.  In his first two games of the year for the Bears, Cutler has completed 44 of 64 passes (68.8%) for 649 yards passing with 5 TD passes and 1 INT (121.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 10 times for 25 yards (2.5 ypc) so far this year.  This is the Jay Cutler the Bears thought they were getting from the Broncos instead of the version of him that showed up in 2009.  Cutler played in 16 games for the Bears last year and he completed 336 of 555 passes (60.5%) for 3,666 yards with 27 TD passes and 26 INTs (76.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 40 times for 173 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  The offense will only succeed for the Bears if Cutler stays on his game like he is right now.

The Bears made a lot of big plays on both sides of the ball to beat the Cowboys in Dallas yesterday.  It all started with QB Jay Cutler who had another outstanding game for the Bears yesterday as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 277 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Matt Forte pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.9 ypc) and 37 yards receiving on 5 grabs (7.4 avg) with a TD reception.  WR Johnny Knox (4 rec, 86 yards), WR Devin Hester (4 rec, 77 yards, TD) and TE Greg Olsen (1 rec, 39 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game in Dallas yesterday for the Bears.  The Bears finished up with 38 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.0 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 29 passes for 270 yards in this game.

The Bears’ D stuffed the Cowboys’ running game yesterday and they made some big plays in the passing game despite giving up quite a few yards through the air.  CBs Zack Bowman (10 tackles, 1 QB hit), Chris Tillman (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and D.J. Moore (2 interceptions, 38 yards in returns) made some big plays for the Bears’ secondary in this game.  LB Brian Urlacher also had a solid game with 8 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery.  The Cowboys finished up with 36 yards on 20 carries (1.8 ypc) and they also completed 34 of 51 passes for 374 yards passing yesterday.  The Bears are now 2-0 on the year.

The Bears turned the ball over four times last week yet they still beat the Lions.  If they don’t protect the ball this week they could get blown out in big D.  Here is a look at the match-ups:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Cowboys D was very effective stopping both the running game and the passing game in the season opener against the Redskins.  That isn’t going to stop the Bears from putting the ball up early and often in this game.  If Jay Cutler can limit his mistakes in this game he could do some damage by moving the ball around to Devin Aromashodu, Greg Olsen, Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, Chester Taylor and of course Matt Forte.  It would also be smart for the Bears to run the ball a bit in an attempt to slow the Cowboys’ pass rush this Sunday.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are likely going to be more balanced on offense in this game in an attempt to control the clock.  That means that the interior of the Bears’ D will likely have to deal with the three headed Cowboys’ running backs by themselves.  Brian Urlacher needs to take care of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice so that the secondary can deal with the WRs and TEs of the Cowboys.  The Bears must get a good pass rush on Tony Romo because he makes mistakes often when moving out of the pocket.  Miles Austin will likely draw a double team most of this game because of his elite speed.  That means that Dez Bryant, Roy Williams and Jason Witten will often be facing single coverage.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 27, BEARS 20

Whispers were all over the place during the off-season that Chester Taylor was going to take touches away from Matt Forte but that wasn’t the case in the season opener against the Lions last week.  Forte carried the ball 17 times for 50 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 151 yards (21.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  So overall he had 24 touches that went for 201 total yards of offense (8.4 yards per touch).  Taylor still got in on the action but Forte will likely remain the focus of the offense as long as he continues to play at a high level.

The Bears have placed 29-year old linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer on Injured Reserve ending his 2010 season.  He played against the Lions last Sunday but he didn’t make any tackles.  He played in 14 games last year for the Bears finishing up with 90 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  Hillenmeyer has played in 101 games in seven years with the Bears and he has 382 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 7 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions.  No word on what is wrong with Hillenmeyer but the Bears are going to miss him because he is a productive player.

It’s amazing to me that the outcome of this game came down to the very last play.  Calvin Johnson of the Lions appeared to catch a game winning TD pass before the refs waved it off.  Jay Cutler completed 23 of 35 passes for 372 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception yesterday.  He also carried the ball 5 times for another 22 yards (4.4 ypc) yesterday.  RB Matt Forte was the star of the game on offense for the Bears yesterday.  He carried the ball 17 times for 50 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 151 yards (21.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Chester Taylor was also busy for the Bears with 9 carries for 29 yards (3.2 ypc) and 3 catches for 44 yards (14.7 avg) in this game.  WRs Devin Aromashodu (5 rec, 71 yards) and Johnny Knox (3 rec, 52 yards) also pitched in for the Bears in the passing game yesterday.  The Bears finished up with 101 yards on 31 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 35 passes for 362 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:42.

The Bears were incredible on defense in this game.  LBs Lance Briggs (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and Brian Urlacher (8 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the D yesterday.  The Lions finished up with 20 yards rushing on 21 carries (1.0 ypc) and they completed 20 of 34 passes for 148 yards.  The Bears should count their lucky stars that they won this game based on the last play of it.

The Bears swept the Lions last season by a combined score of 85-47 last season.  I don’t think the Lions are going to lay down that easy this year.  Here is a close look at the match-ups in this contest:

When the Bears have the football:  The Bears will likely be airing the ball out starting this Sunday.  They had trouble protecting Jay Cutler in the pre-season and that can’t continue if the Bears are going to win this Sunday.  If Cutler has time to throw the ball he should have little problem connecting with Devin Hester, Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu down the field.  The Bears will also likely have RBs Matt Forte and Chester Taylor involved in the passing game as well as giving the offense some balance with their running.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Bears can’t wait to send DE Julius Peppers after Matt Stafford to try to rattle him in the pocket forcing him to make some mistakes.  I honestly think the Bears should key on stopping RB Jahvid Best in this game due to his outstanding speed.  Brian Urlacher better be on top of his game or Best will have a lot of success.  The Lions will also be using the TE more this season in the offense so Bears’ safeties Chris Harris and Danieal Manning better be on their toes.  WRs Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Bryant Johnson are also hard to match up with so the Bears’ D is going to have their hands full on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 30, LIONS 27