Today’s Chicago Bears game against arch-rival Green Bay Packers has more drama than Chicago first planned. Going into last week’s Sunday Night game against the Eagles, the Bears planned to cruise past Philly and enter today’s Packers game as NFC North champs. An eagle’s a bird, but the Bears laid the egg, losing 54-11 to Philadelphia and setting up today’s 4:25 EST / 1:25 PST showdown at Soldier Field. Aaron Rodgers is returning for today’s Packers game, with the winner of the Packers Bears rivalry walking home with the division title. If you can’t catch the game live on FOX, you can watch Packers vs Bears game online free live using one of several different tools.
Bears fans had high expectations last week with quarterback Jay Cutler returning. The game plan was to ease Cutler into game shape by focusing on the Bears ground game behind running back Matt Forte. That plan fell by the wayside once the Eagles went up 21-0 in the first quarter. Forced to pass, Cutler was hounded by a defense that ripped through the Bears offensive line for five sacks. Cutler completed 20 of 35 passes for 222 yards, but he left the game before the final horn sounded, setting up this NFC North division title game against the Packers.
The Packers and Bears last met Nov. 4 in the fateful game that sent Aaron Rodgers to the injured list with a fractured collarbone. With Rodgers out, Bears QB Josh McCown won that battle of the backup QBs, though Green Bay only managed a 2-4-1 record during Rodgers’ absence. Today’s Packers game will see both Aaron Rodgers returning and Cutler back in the lineup, with the Green Bay QB making his return against the team that knocked him out in the first place. It’s like a game for Hollywood. Two teams, in a rivalry going strong since 1921, playing a winner-take-all title game, with their respective starting quarterbacks each returning to play hero.
On paper, when you watch Packers vs Bears game online free live you’ll see a Green Bay team poised to win. The Packers have the fourth-ranked offense, anchored less by Aaron Rodgers and the NFL’s eighth-ranked passing game than it is by rookie running back Eddie Lacy and the league’s seventh-ranked ground game. Lacy’s been a big surprise, having rushed for 1,112 yards and 10 TDs this season. Chicago’s Matt Forte has ground it out as well in rushing for 1,229 yards and seven touchdowns, but the six-year veteran was expected to deliver.
Neither the Packers (26th) nor the Bears (29th) has a stout defense, so Lacy vs Forte should give at least as good a show as Rodgers vs Cutler. With that said, Aaron Rodgers has a 62-32 record since taking over for Brett Favre, and he’s thrown a whopping 203 touchdown passes and just 54 interceptions during that time. Having hoped to re-enter the starting lineup two weeks ago, Rodgers will be out to show Green Bay’s bitter rival a thing or two about finishing strong. Especially after the Packers were edged out late last Sunday against the Steelers.
To see which quarterback/running back duo gives the best winner-take-all NFC North performance, you can watch Packers vs Bears game online free live on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with Max Package. To do so you’ll need to have the NFL Sunday Ticket Package, which requires a subscription, but anyone who has a subscription can watch the live streaming version free of any game, including today’s 4:25 EST / 1:25 PST game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
