👋 Good morning!
Packers Week is unrivaled.
Everywhere you look in Chicago this week, a “Green Bay Sucks” chant is breaking out.
Word on the street is that one could be heard in Las Vegas after the Blackhawks game last night, too.
Absolutely nothing beats a rivalry with some juice. And Sunday feels like the most juice this game has had in years.
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‘Details, Details, Details…’
Sunday afternoon’s tilt in Green Bay might not be the toughest left on the Bears’ schedule but it’s probably the most important.
Filled With Rich History: Only one team has more wins than the Chicago Bears in the history of the NFL: The Green Bay Packers. The Packers have 818 wins. The Bears have 807.
Caleb Williams is 1-1 against the Packers. His win in Green Bay in Week 18 last season made him the first Bears QB to win up north since Jay Cutler and company upset Aaron Rodgers on Brett Favre Night on Thanksgiving in 2015.
Williams on defeating the Packers in Green Bay last year: “It was awesome. Obviously, you go through such a tough time and weird time; everybody knows what happened last year. You go and face a rival like this rival that’s been going on for 100 years or so. Being able to go out there and defeat them and things like that, it was important for us as players and the guys that are still here.
“And for the future, we want to keep that going, obviously. You want to win every single game that you play, but this week, since this is the only week that we’ve got, you definitely want to go out there and keep proving ourselves.”
Leaving Green Bay with a 10th win will be easier said than done. Much of that relies on Williams’ ability to get the passing game moving this week after a bumpy stretch. That begins by getting the little things right.
Williams on his responsibility in getting the passing attack back on track: “Details, details, details, and when the time comes, give the guys a runner’s ball and from there let them go be special.
“But you know, my part of it is details, just footwork, being clean and moving throughout the concepts, getting reps and visualizing all the different reps and concepts we have throughout the weeks and visualize completing each pass, the coverage or however it may be, my drop or pressure or anything like that.
Reinforcements: The Bears did not release an injury report on Tuesday despite practicing. They’ll release an estimated report on Wednesday instead.
However, I have eyes, and during the media-viewing portion of yesterday’s practice, it looked like linebackers T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring) and Noah Sewell (elbow) were able to participate in some capacity.
Edwards had not practiced since suffering a fracture in his hand that required surgery and a hamstring strain in Week 9 against the Bengals. Sewell missed the last two games after injuring his elbow against the Vikings in Week 11.
Among players not seen in that period were cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder), defensive tackle Andrew Billings (concussion) and wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Stevenson missed Friday’s game against the Eagles after exiting the Bears’ Week 12 win over the Steelers early. Billings suffered a concussion on Friday. Odunze was not on the injury report last week but has spent time on and off the report this year with a nagging heel issue. He has, however, not missed a game this season.
I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself but I think it’s fair to begin thinking about the Bears’ path to an NFC North title.
As it currently stands, the Bears sit in first place at 9-3. The Packers are close behind at 8-3-1. The Lions are surprisingly in a fight for their playoff lives at 7-5 and the Vikings are cooked at 4-8.
IF the Bears march into Green Bay and escape with a win on Sunday, they’ll be a little more than a full game up on the Packers. The tie complicates things. Ties are stupid.
Over in Lions Land, they play a scrappy Cowboys team tomorrow night in primetime. Both teams desperately need a win, but the Cowboys are no doubt the hotter squad coming off back-to-back wins against the Chiefs and Eagles.
That result doesn’t necessarily matter a whole lot but a Lions loss would obviously help the Bears.
Fast forward to Week 15. The Bears host Shedeur Sanders and the Browns, the Packers head to Denver to face the 10-2 Broncos and the Lions travel to Los Angeles to take on the 9-3 Rams. Let’s just say all of that goes in the Bears’ favor…
That would set up a potential clinching scenario for the Bears at Soldier Field in Week 16 against … the Packers.
Yesterday, the league officially set that matchup for 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, December 20th.
Oh — and the last time the Bears won the NFC North? At Soldier Field … against the Packers.
One game at a time, Patrick.
Insider Analysis: Why Caleb Williams looks close to breaking out for the Bears
Golden Knights 4, Blackhawks 3 - F/SO: Plain and simple, this game was nuts.
The Blackhawks led twice but surrendered the lead with 2:28 left in regulation before eventually falling in a shootout.
Oliver Moore scored his third goal of the year in the first period and Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 14th of the season following a takeaway in the second. Connor Bedard scored his team-leading 17th goal to put the Blackhawks ahead with 15:15 left in the third period.
Bedard’s goal was his third go-ahead goal in the third period this season, tied for the second most in the NHL. He was also the only Blackhawks player to score in the shootout.
Disappointing outcome? Sure. But Bedard’s third-period goal and shootout tally were simply silly. The Blackhawks have an elite star making every single game appointment television. Good stuff.
World Class Send Off: Soldier Field will host the United States Men’s National Team for a World Cup send-off match against Germany on June 6th.
The match is one of four that the USMNT announced on Tuesday, with the team hosting Belgium on March 28th and Portugal on March 31st at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, followed by the Allstate Continental Clásico at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on May 31st against an opponent still to be announced.
As Seen At The Wieners Circle…
🐻 Hoge & Jahns
12:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
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2:00 on YouTube
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4:30 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
Pregame at 6:30 on YouTube
🏀 Bulls vs. Nets
7:00 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Bulls
Postgame on YouTube
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– P.N.
