Packers seek top seed in NFC, Bears try to make playoffs
Associated Press
January 01, 2020
GREEN BAY (12-3) at CHICAGO (8-7)
GAME TIME — Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox
OPENING LINE — Packers by 51/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD — Packers 9-6; Bears 8-7
SERIES RECORD — Packers lead 100-95-6
LAST MEETING — Packers beat Bears 41-25 on Nov. 29 at Green Bay
LAST WEEK — Packers beat Titans 40-14; Bears beat Jaguars 41-17
AP PRO32 RANKING — Packers No. 2; Bears No. 14
PACKERS OFFENSE – OVERALL (3), RUSH (8), PASS (9).
PACKERS DEFENSE – OVERALL (7), RUSH (14), PASS (6).
BEARS OFFENSE – OVERALL (25), RUSH (24), PASS (22).
BEARS DEFENSE – OVERALL (11), RUSH (15), PASS (13).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — The Packers have won five straight games and clinched the NFC North. They can lock up the No. 1 seed and a bye with a win or tie against Chicago, or a loss or tie by Seattle against San Francisco. ... Green Bay has won 18 of 21 against Chicago, including the playoffs. ... Green Bay has scored an NFL-leading 31.6 points per game. … QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown 44 touchdown passes with only five interceptions. He is one off his career high of 45 touchdown passes, set in his first MVP season of 2011. … WR Davante Adams is one of only three NFL players to have at least 100 catches and 17 touchdown receptions in the same season. The others are Cris Carter in 1999 and Randy Moss in 2003. Adams’ 17 touchdown catches are one away from Sterling Sharpe’s team record in 1994. His 109 overall receptions are three behind Sharpe’s franchise mark in 1993. … The Bears, trying to reach the playoffs for the second time in coach Matt Nagy's three season, would get in with a win. They can also make it with a loss if the Arizona Cardinals drop their road game against the Los Angeles Rams. And if both games end in ties, Chicago would be in the playoffs. ... The Bears could join the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals and 2014 Carolina Panthers as the only teams since the 1970 merger to make the playoffs despite a six-game losing streak. ... The Bears have won three in a row, beating Houston, Minnesota and Jacksonville. Those teams are a combined 11-34. ... Chicago has scored 30 or more points in four straight games for the first time since 1965. The Bears haven’t done it in five or more since 1956, when they did it in seven consecutive games. ... QB Mitchell Trubisky has a 99.3 rating in the five games since he returned to the lineup, completing 68% of his passes for 1,243 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. ... WR Allen Robinson has a career-high 100 receptions for 1,213 yards. Only Brandon Marshall (118 in 2012) and Matt Forte (102 in 2014) have caught more passes in a season for Chicago. ... K Cairo Santos has made 24 consecutive field goals, tying Robbie Gould's single-season franchise record in 2006. ... Fantasy tip: Rodgers is 20-5 against Chicago, counting the playoffs. And with plenty riding on this game, expect the two-time MVP to give the Monsters of the Midway plenty of trouble.
