The Bears have won 2 games in a row and they have already clinched the NFC North.  They already have a bye in the first round of the playoffs so they don’t have much to play for….or do they?  They can knock out the Packers who get into the playoffs with a win this Sunday.  The Bears beat the Packers 20-17 in the first meeting between these two teams in Chicago.  The Packers are 3-3 in their last six games but they are 6-1 at Lambeau Field.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  I just can’t see the Bears risking the health of too many of their key players in this game.  I think Jay Cutler might start the game but he won’t be in it long.  Caleb Hanie will likely get a lot of P.T. in this game and the Packers will eat him alive.  The Bears will also save Matt Forte some punishment in this game.  I see Chester Taylor getting his chance to be the main man in the running game and I doubt that will go to well either.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to be all systems go in this game.  Aaron Rodgers is without a doubt coming out passing in this game.  The Bears must get pressure on Rodgers or he will pick the Bears’ secondary apart by moving the ball around between Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones making it impossible to double anyone.  The Packers likely won’t run the ball much unless they get a big lead in this game.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 30, BEARS 10

24-year old WR Johnny Knox has been outstanding for the Bears since arriving in Chicago last season.  Knox has played in 15 games for the Bears so far this year and he has caught 51 passes for 960 yards (18.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Knox has now played in 30 games in his first two years with the Bears and he has caught 96 passes for 1,487 yards (15.5 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He has also returned 40 kickoffs for 1,109 yards (27.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  Knox was a fifth round pick in 2009 out of Abilene Christian and he has been quite a find for the Bears.

The Bears held off the Jets yesterday by making a lot of big plays on both sides of the football.  Jay Cutler was solid for the most part as he completed 13 of 25 passes for 215 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (it was returned 20-yards for a TD by Jets’ CB Dwight Lowery).  Cutler also carried the ball 4 times for 3 yards (0.8 ypc) with a TD run.   Matt Forte led the way on the ground for the Bears in this game with 113 yards rushing on 19 carries (5.9 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 56 yards (14.0 avg).  WRs Johnny Knox (4 rec, 92 yards, 2 TD grabs) and Devin Hester (3 rec, 48 yards, TD) led the way for the Bears in the passing game yesterday.  The Bears finished up with 120 yards on 27 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 25 passes for 202 yards despite only having possession of the football for 26:09.

The defense gave up a lot of points and yards in this game but they also made the big play when it really counted.  Safety Chris Harris led the way for the Bears with 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception andd a fumble recovery.  His interception came on the last Jets’ offense possession essentially putting the game away!  CB Charles Tillman (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and LB Brian Urlacher (8 tackles) led the way for the Bears in this game.  The Bears are now 11-4 on the season.

The Bears have won six of their last 7 games as they have won the NFC North already.  Now they want to get a bye in the first round of the playoffs so they need this game badly.  The Jets are 6-1 on the road and they would be a Wild Card in the AFC if the playoffs started today.  One more win likely makes them a lock for the playoffs making this a big game for them too.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are going to come out running the ball with Matt Forte.  He’s going to have to fit for every yard against a Jets’ D that is only allowing 92.7 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry.  The Jets are likely going to be bringing the house after Jay Cutler to try to force him into making some mistakes.  But if he has time to throw the ball I think he’s going to make some plays to Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Greg Olsen and Matt Forte out of the backfield.

When the Jets have the ball:  Mark Sanchez is hurting right now so I expect that the Bears will key on stopping LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene.  The Bears are only giving up 89.8 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry so I think they will be up for the challenge.  The Bears have 32 sacks and 19 interceptions so far this year so they will try to force Mark Sanchez into making some bad throws.  They need to put a good pass rush on him though because he does have a nice set of WRs and TEs.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 16, JETS 13

The Bears outplayed the Vikings in all three phases of the game last night and it showed on the scoreboard.  Jay Cutler was very solid last night as he completed 14 of 24 passes for 194 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Matt Forte led the way on the ground for the Bears with 92 yards rushing on 17 carries (5.4 ypc).  Chester Taylor only rushed for 5 yards on 11 carries (0.5 ypc) last night so he had a rough time.  Johnny Knox (2 rec, 78 yards, TD) and Rashied Davis (1 rec, 9 yards, TD) had good games for the Bears  last night.  But, Devin Hester had an amazing game.  He caught 2 passes for 23 yards (11.5 avg) with a TD grab.  But it was on special teams that he really made his mark.  He returned 1 kickoff for 79 yards and 2 punts for 67 yards, including a 64-yard TD return to give Hester the all-time NFL record for kickoff/punt return TDs.  The Bears finished up with 104 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 24 passes for 189 yards as the offense was efficient.

The defense was outstanding for the Bears.  After they knocked Brett Favre out of the game, it was child’s play against rookie QB Joe Webb.  Brian Urlacher (8 tackles) and Lance Briggs (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bears’ D in this game.  DE Henry Melton and DT Matt Toeaina each pitched in with a fumble recovery apiece last night.  CB Charles Tillman, S Chris Harris and DE Julius Peppers each picked off a pass last night.  The Vikings finished up with 114 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 33 passes for 159 yards.  The Bears are now 10-4 on the season and they are the NFC North Champions for 2010.

The Bears got punished 36-7 at home last week at the hands of the Patriots in snowy Soldier Field.  They are still one game up in the NFC North over the Packers so they need this game.  The Vikings are 2-1 under Leslie Frazier as the head coach but they got punished last weekend at Detroit, 21-3 by the Giants.  The Vikings will be starting rookie 6th round pick Joe Webb at QB on Monday Night due to the injuries to Tarvaris Jackson & Brett Favre.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  Hopefully the Bears have been practicing outside because it’s going to be a cold one in Minnesota on Monday Night.  That usually calls for the running game to be the preferred choice on offense.  The Bears might have a hard time running the ball against the Vikings who are only allowing 101.3 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  The Bears will likely take some chances through the air as long as it’s not too windy as Jay Cutler should be able to make some plays against a Vikings’ D that is allowing 208 yards passing per game.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are likely going to be very run heavy in this game.  In the first meeting the Bears held Peterson to only 51 yards rushing.  If they can hold Peterson to under 100 yards rushing, I just don’t see any way they can lose this game.  The Vikings drafted rookie QB Joe Webb in the sixth round last April with the idea of switching him to WR.  I have a feeling that Webb is going to make some big mistakes in this game.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 20, VIKINGS 7

The Bears were down 33-0 at the half as this game was their worst nightmare.  Jay Cutler was awful as he completed 12 of 26 passes for 152 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 21 yards and lost a fumble.  Matt Forte led the way on the ground for the Bears in this game with 25 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 36 yards (18.0 avg).  Chester Taylor only carried the ball 3 times for 1 yard (0.3 ypc) but he did score a TD.  WR Earl Bennett led the way in the air for the Bears in this game with 3 catches for 53 yards (17.7 avg).  The Bears finished up with 47 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 26 passes for 138 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 20:19.

The defense was pathetic for the Bears yesterday.  LB Brian Urlacher (11 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 passes defensed and 1 QB hit), safety Danieal Manning (8 tackles) and DE Julius Peppers (6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bears’ D.  The Patriots finished up with 124 yards rushing on 35 carries (3.5 ypc) and they completed 27 of 40 passes for 351 yards.  The Bears are still in first place in the NFC North at 9-4 due to the Packers loss in Detroit.

These two teams are as hot as can be right now.  The Bears have won five games in a row to rise to the top of the NFC North, 1 game ahead of the Packers.  The Patriots have won 4 games in a row and they are now tied with the Falcons at 10-2 for the best record in the NFL.  The weather is likely to be yucky this Sunday at Soldier Field and with that in mind, here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Patriots are allowing 114.1 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  With that in mind and the weather going to be bad, I look for the Bears to feed the ball to Matt Forte and Chester Taylor.  The Bears are also likely going to keep the passing game of the shorter variety as Jay Cutler likely isn’t going to have a lot of time to throw the ball.  That shouldn’t be a problem though as the Bears have been throwing a lot of shorter passes as of late.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots have been throwing the ball a lot in this game and that might not change at least early in this game.  The Bears have to be ready to take away the short stuff as that is Tom Brady’s bread and butter.  The Bears also have to make Brady pay for any mistakes he might make as they have 16 interceptions so far this year.  The front seven will be in charge of stopping RBs BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead.

PREDICTION:  BEARS 23, PATRIOTS 20

The Bears have really started to pick it up on offense the last couple of weeks in which they have scored a combined 55 points.  Cutler is a big reason for that.  Cutler completed 35 of 47 passes (74.5%) for 481 yards with 5 TD passes and 0 INTs in the last two games.  He also carried the ball 12 times for 29 yards (2.4 ypc) in this last two games.  Overall, Cutler has played in 11 games for the Bears this year and he has completed 201 of 318 passes (63.2%) for 2,545 yards with 17 TD passes and 8  INTs (92.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 41 times for 201 yards (4.9 ypc) so far this year.  The Bears already have one of the best defenses in the NFL so when Jay Cutler is hot, they are very, very hard to beat.

The Bears were caught in a battle with the Lions at Ford Field yesterday before prevailing in the end.  Jay Cutler was solid in this game for the Bears as he completed 21 of 26 passes for 234 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 12 yards (2.4 ypc) in this game.  Matt Forte led the way on the ground for the Bears yesterday with 64 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.9 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 36 yards (18.0 avg).  Chester Taylor pitched in with 33 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.7 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) yesterday.  WR Earl Bennett (7 rec, 104 yards) and TE Brandon Manumaleuna (2 rec, 23 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bears yesterday.  The Bears finished up with 114 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 26 passes for 197 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:19.

LB Brian Urlacher (17 tackles, 1/2 a sack and 1 QB hit), LB Lance Briggs (7 tackles) and CB D.J. Moore (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1/2 a sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bears on D in this game.  The Lions finished up with 134 yards on 27 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 24 passes for 168 yards.  The Bears are now 9-3 on the year.