Almost everything that could go wrong did for the Bears yesterday.  Jay Cutler hurt a knee in this game and he just couldn’t go on.  He completed 6 of 14 passes for 80 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried ball 2 times for 10 yards (5.0 ypc) yesterday.  Todd Collins replaced him and he was 0 for 4 passing before being yanked late in the 3rd quarter by Lovie Smith.  Caleb Hanie finished up this game by completing 13 of 20 passes for 153 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (one was returned for a TD by Packers’ NT B.J. Raji).  Despite the Bears falling short, Hanie did provide a spark to the offense.  Matt Forte was very solid in this game for the Bears as he carried the ball 17 times for 70 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also caught 10 passes for 90 yards (9.0 avg) yesterday.  Chester Taylor only rushed for 2 yards on 3 carries (0.7 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 12 yards in this game.  WRs Johnny Knox (2 rec, 56 yards) and Earl Bennett (3 rec, 45 yards with a TD grab) led the way in the passing game.  The Bears finished up with 83 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 38 passes for 218 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 25:56.

Linebackers Brian Urlacher (10 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and a interception that he returned 39 yards) and Lance Briggs (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Bears’ D yesterday.  The Packers finished up with 120 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 30 passes for 236 yards.  The Bears didn’t go down without a fight yesterday as they had a really good season.  Still, it hurts to see the Packers get the George Halas Award on Soldier Field.

It just simply doesn’t get any better than this.  The Packers vs. The Bears for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.  No artificial turf, no warm air…..just a nice cold day at Soldier Field the way football is supposed to be played.   Here is a look at how I see the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears are going to need to tighten up the chinstraps and run the ball against the Packers.  Matt Forte & Chester Taylor are going to have to play like they did last weekend when they combined to rush for 124 yards.  Forte will also have to be a weapon on the short stuff out of the backfield in the passing game because I don’t see Jay Cutler having a lot of time to throw the ball.  Look for the Bears to also take on the safeties of the Packers with passes over the middle to Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis.  That’s because the Packers’ corners are a trio of thieves and Jay Cutler does throw his fair share of pickoffs.  It the Bears get the running game going, maybe Cutler can hit some big plays down the field off of play action.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers suddenly have a running game with rookie RB James Starks so the front seven of the Bears’ D is going to have to deal with him.  The Bears also need to get DEs Julius Peppers & Israel Idonije into the Packers’ backfield or Aaron Rodgers is going to have a big day.  That’s because the Bears don’t have enough quality DBs to cover Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jordy Nelson all day long.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 20, BEARS 14

27-year old QB Jay Cutler was outstanding last week for the Bears.  He completed 15 of 28 passes (53.6%) for 274 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (111.3 QB Rating) against the Seahawks last weekend.  Cutler also carried the ball 8 times for 43 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs last weekend.  The problem is that Cutler isn’t playing the Seahawks this weekend.  The Packers are likely going to be a tough nut for Cutler to crack as they have any outstanding trio of CBs and there’s always OLB Clay Matthews who will be coming after him all day long.  The Bears only scored 23 points against the Packers this year.  Cutler completed 37 of 66 passes (56.1%) for 389 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs in two games against the Packers this year.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 45 yards (9.0 ypc) against the Pack.  In Cutler’s defense, he didn’t have most of his WRs for the second game against the Packers in which the Bears lost 10-3.  The Bears need Cutler to protect the ball tomorrow as they will have no chance of winning the game if he’s turning the ball over.

The Bears probably aren’t going to win tomorrow’s game by passing the ball.  With that in mind, RBs Matt Forte & Chester Taylor are going to have to step up.  The Packers have done a good job against Michael Turner & Lesean McCoy in their first two playoff games but opposing teams did have success running against them during the season.  Forte was busy last weekend against the Seahawks as he rushed for 80 yards on 25 carries (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 54 more yards (18.0 avg).  Forte was solid in his two games against the Packers during the regular season.  Forte carried the ball 26 times for 120 yards (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 10 passes for 74 yards (7.4 avg) against the Packers this year.  They need him to have a big game if they are going to win tomorrow and earn a trip to the Super Bowl in Dallas.  Chester Taylor had a awful season for the Bears but he showed some signs of life against the Seahawks last week with 11 carries for 44 yards (4.0 ypc) with a TD run.  If  Taylor can repeat his success from last weekend, the Bears will be in good shape.

27-year old QB Jay Cutler had some ups and downs this year but overall he had a decent year.  Cutler played in 15 games for the Bears this year and he completed 261 of 432 passes (60.4%) for 3,274 yards with 23 TD passes and 16 INTs (86.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 50 times for 232 yards (4.6 ypc) with a TD run this year.  Cutler has now played in 68 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,359 of 2,207 passes (61.6%) for 15,964 yards with 104 TD passes and 79 INTs (84.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 203 times for 828 yards (4.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his career.  If the Bears can improve the offensive line and the WRing corps in the near future, I see Cutler having a true breakout year.

39-year old Todd Collins will be gone as soon as this year concludes as he was awful for the Bears this year.  Collins played in 2 games for the Bears this year and he was 10 of 27 (37%) for 68 yards passing with 0 TD passes and 5 INTs (5.9 QB Rating).  He has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has completed 391 of 701 passes (55.8%) for 4,547 yards with 22 TD passes and 24 INTs (71.8 QB Rating).  Collins has also carried the ball 83 times for 152 yards (1.8 ypc) in his NFL career.  It looks like Collins’  NFL career is coming to a close.

25-year old Caleb Hanie played in 2 games for the Bears this year and he completed 5 of 7 passes (71.4%) for 55 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (94.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard (-1.0 ypc) this year.  Hanie has now played in 5 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 66 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (39.6 QB Rating).  At best, Hanie will be the Bears’ #3 QB in 2011.

VERDICT:  Jay Cutler is the main man.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bears sign a veteran to back up Cutler and draft a developmental QB in the middle rounds next April.  I would be shocked to see Collins or Hanie on the Bears’ roster in 2011 unless one of them is crossing a picket line.

The final score isn’t indicative of how close this game really wasn’t.  The Bears led this game 35-10 with only 4:40 left in the game before the Seahawks scored a couple TDs in garbage time.  Jay Cutler was outstanding in this game for the Bears as he completed 15 of 28 passes for 274 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 8 times for 43 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs yesterday.  Matt Forte led the way on the ground for the Bears with 80 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 54 yards (18.0 avg).  Chester Taylor pitched in with 44 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.0 ypc) with a TD run.  TEs Greg Olsen (3 rec, 113 yards, TD) and Kellen Davis (2 rec, 42 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bears yesterday as they were making big plays.  WR Johnny Knox pitched in with 48 yards receiving on 4 grabs (12.0 avg) in this game.  The Bears finished up with 176 yards rushing on 45 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 29 passes for 261 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:10.

LBs Brian Urlacher (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and Lance Briggs (6 tackles) led the way for the Bears’ D yesterday.  DT Tommie Harris was also solid with 2 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits also was a standout yesterday for the Bears’ D.  The Seahawks finished up with 34 yards on 12 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 46 passes for 242 yards.  The Bears will move on to host the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at Soldier Field  in the NFC Championship Game.

The Seahawks beat the Bears in Solider Field on October 17th by a score of 23-20.  I think this Sunday is going to be very different as it’s going to be really, really cold.  The high for this Sunday’s game is going to be 22 degrees.  This will be Bears’ weather and I’m not so sure that the Seahawks will enjoy playing in a Winter Wonderland.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bears have the ball:  The Bears need Matt Forte to have a much better game than he had in the first meeting when he rushed for a very wimpy 11 yards.  The Bears need Forte to have a good game to have a balanced offense which would also slow the Seahawks’ pass rush a bit.  Jay Cutler gets nervous when he gets drilled a few times, so the Bears might resort to using a shorter type passing game throwing the ball to RB Matt Forte out of the backfield and TE Greg Olsen over the middle.  If Cutler has time to throw the ball though, he’s going to take some deep shots to WRs Devin Hester & Johnny Knox.  Don’t forget Cutler’s old buddy from Vanderbilt (WR Earl Bennett) as he made some big catches for the Bears this year.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks rushed for 111 yards the first time around against the Bears and they can’t let that happen again.  It will be interesting to see the collisions when Marshawn Lynch takes on Brian Urlacher & Lance Briggs.  I’m betting that the Bears will be able to stuff the Seahawks’ running game this time around.  The Bears need to get to Matt Hasselbeck in this game because he will make plays down the field if he has time to throw the ball as he was really effective against the Saints last weekend. 

PREDICTION:  BEARS 24, SEAHAWKS 13

The Bears didn’t play everyone yesterday but they played hard, especially on defense but they fell just a tad short.  Jay Cutler didn’t look too good at all as he completed 21 of 39 passes for 168 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 8 yards in this game.  Matt Forte was a busy body yesterday with 15 carries for 91 yards (6.1 ypc) and 8 catches for 60 yards (7.5 avg).  WR Rashied Davis (7 rec, 63 yards) and TE Greg Olsen (5 rec, 29 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bears yesterday.  The Bears finished up with 110 yards rushing on 20 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 39 passes for 117 yards. 

LBs Lance Briggs (9 tackles) and Brian Urlacher (5 tackles, 1/2 a sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bears’ D in this game.  CB Charles Tillman pitched in with 3 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery) also had a huge impact on this game.  The Packers finished up with 60 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 28 passes for 224 yards.  The Bears won the NFC North with a 11-5 record and they have earned the #2 seed in the NFC Playoffs.