Game Day – Week 17: Packers Look to Lock in #1 NFC Seed Against the Chicago Bears
First of all, for those that are not aware, here is what needs to happen this week in order for the Packers to officially claim the #1 NFC seed for the players(gaining the bye week and home field advantage):
Packers Beat or Tie the Bears
Seahawks Lose or Tie the 49ers
Either one of these can happen. For example, if the Packers lose, but the Seahawks also lose, the Packers will be the #1 seed. Both these games will occur at 3:25pm – Central time. The Bears are also using this game to claw their way into the playoffs, but even a loss to the Packers will not ruin that hope; they have other factors at play. Here is what needs to happen for the Bears to make the playoffs.
Second of all, for those that live under a rock or have just been especially busy this week, LT David Bakhtiari injured his knee during practice and will not be playing in today’s game or the playoffs. It sucks, I know.
Aaron Rodgers was quoted by ESPN on the event:
“I got a call from him yesterday, late in the afternoon,” Rodgers said Friday. “I was hoping for some good news. Didn’t get it. You gotta move on, but right now it’s still a little raw. We’re still sad and hurting for Dave, just because it’s our brother and it’s our left tackle, our teammate. It’s been a tough time for us and times that by infinity is probably where he’s at right now.”
Rodgers said he was still “in the grieving process.”
Meanwhile, Bears QB Mitch Trubisky will see his contract end this season so he is going to be very hungry for a win to possibly prolong his existence with the Bears.
Rob Demovsky predicts that the Packers defense will show up again against the Bears:
The Packers will prove last week’s near-dominant defensive performance against the Titans was no fluke. The Bears have scored 30 points in four straight games — the first time they’ve done that since 1965 — and have averaged 35.0 points over the past four weeks (third best in the NFL in that stretch). But they’ll have trouble getting past 20 against a resurgent Packers defense.
Injury Reports:
Game Odds per SportsLine:
Packers vs. Bears spread: Packers -4
Packers vs. Bears over-under: 50.5 points
Game Information:
Who: Packers at Bears
Where: Soldier Field
When: 3:25 PM (CT)
Television: NFL on Fox
Radio: 620 WTMJ
Television Broadcast Availability:
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In the last 3 season’s, have there been any weeks St. Brown hasn’t been on IR, or the injury list? Holy shit
Fun Facts:
The Packers are 1st in the NFL in scoring at 31.6 PPG. An increase of 8.1 PPG over last season. SOLID
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They are also…
#2 in red zone eff.
#1 in 3rd down conv.
#1 in time of possession with an outstanding advantage of 6 minutes a game.
Bears missing 2 CBs and Rogers has 3 TDs with guys wide open. Looks like an MVP for Rogers.
Rodgers. With a D.
Sure would be nice to have some WR’s or even CB’s that could catch the fucking ball consistently.
Kevin King trying to catch that end zone interception reminded me of my 6 year old niece playing catch with a snowball i tossed to her yesterday.
There was another one later in the game by I forget who, that hit him right the numbers and probably could have been a pick six because there was no one in front of him. Instead it fell to the ground. C’mon man…
Lol, good to hear you’re enjoying the outdoors PF4L.
Thanks Cheese, it’s been a rough journey my man.
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A few of my favorite winter things are ridiculous amounts of fresh snow, a crackling fire with beverages, and snowmobiling and skiing (well, they used to be).
For the Bears too. They dropped 3.
Week 17 early game observations….
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Make no mistake…McTriple is now officially in the doghouse for not challenging a catch by Pettis with 7 minutes left in the 4th only down by 1, enabling the Giants to kick a field goal and force the Cowboys to score a TD. Andy Dalton got intercepted in the end zone. Game over.
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In related….How fat will McGravy allow himself to get, before he takes obesity seriously? When the front of his neck is fully resting on his chest?
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I’m damn happy for Brown fans, their team’s first playoff appearance since 2002. Damn
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The only thing better than NFL football this time of the season, is when i go on date nights with Kay Adams.
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Of course i watch the Packer game on delay so i don’t have to watch commercials, but i accidently saw online the score is 7-0 Bears with almost 7 minutes left 1st quarter. I’ll be investigating this shortly.
I’ll take my date with Charissa Thompson.
Yea…i liked Charissa, but after 2 weeks she got a bit needy and clingy. I don’t care for that.
It’s 2nd and 1…you can’t run it? Almost intercepted.
It’s 3rd and 1…you can’t run it? Almost intercepted
Punt
3rd Quarter 4:34
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Remind me again why you drafted Dillon.
I was saying the same thing while watching. We all love the 2nd and 1 bomb TDs but they had the ball like 3 minutes in the game and do that shit?
Gotta love the Kevin King no hands tackle on Mooney….WHIFF….OOPS
4:12
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If i never saw Kevin King again in my life after this season….i’d be just fine.
How many missed “thrown-shoulder tackles” does it take to tackle a ball carrier? Today I counted four, and yes, Kenny King was involved. Or at least that’s what the announcers have been calling him the last few weeks.
They were calling him Kenny King that last Bear game also…i laughed.
A nice pick from Amos…and there is your DAGGER!
Derrick Henry finished with 250 yards with a 7.4 average. Making him, the best running back….today
On only 34 carries. No other RB had a carry. That dude can’t last too much longer. They have worn him out 3 straight years.
Makes you appreciate what the GB defense accomplished last week. The D played well today — other than the dropped picks. Snacks looks like a good addition. I’m interested in what Howard has to say about snacks.
The D looked real good when you consider them being put in a couple tough situations. Snacks is a great pickup, Gute keeps getting it done, nice to have a GM that will go out and find people after Ted, especially late in the season with a championship team. Nice job by Billy Turner today too on short notice.
Yea, the OL looked good against a great front 7 with short notice as you pointed out. Let teams focus on stopping the run and force GB to pass.
Dean, I thought Harrison did his job as a nose tackle. Harrison took on double teams and stood his ground. I think he was only on the ground one time when he slipped. Harrison had no big plays, but he did blow up the run play right after the Austin fumble when he shot the gap. Harrison also forced runners to change course on a couple of other plays because Harrison couldn’t be moved.
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To me Harrison started out the game giving Clark breaks. As the game went on Harrison and Clark were in the game together. I think on the one wild cat run Harrison appeared to take charge and shift the D-line.
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I think Harrison had about 12 plays plus or minus one or two. Some of those plays were outside zone run action with bootleg passes. Not much for a nose to do on those plays except hustle. Harrison hustled on every play even the pass plays.
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A couple of things Harrison will help with on the defense. Giving Clark and Lowry breaks, and allowing the defensive front to maintain gap control because Harrison is going to hold up at least two gaps. Harrison will probably shoot a gap or run over a center once or twice a game depending on snap quantity.
Not to mention Lancaster having fewer snaps is never a bad thing
I have 2 questions…
1) Why does MVS keep giving us reasons to like him?
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2) Why does MVS keep giving us reasons to not like him?
1) MVS had 6 tds and 20 yards per catch
2) MVS should have had 10 tds and 30 yars per catch?
MVS has a 52% catch rate
Howard December 10, 2020
Since it is mid week and it appears Travon Austin is going to take over Ervin’s roles, is anyone concerned with the fumble rate that Austin has had over the years?
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Any concerns now?
I wasn’t impressed with him from the get go. All he talked about is how fast he is and how he can still run a 4.3, and he ran a 4.2 back in the day and blah blah blah blah.
Game observations…..
1)Looking at the box score you’d think the Bears won this game. Trubisky 78% completion percentage. 9 minute advantage in time of possession. Bears ran 74 plays to the Packers 44. Only punted once.
So what’s the problem? The Bears are inept in the red zone going 1-5.
The Bears hardly have the most potent offense in the league, hopefully the defense can give a better showing in 2 weeks…maybe it’ll be snowing.
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2) The Bears middle of the league pass rush got some push, but that’s about it. Turner gave up a sack but otherwise the Packers O line kept it together. We have something we haven’t had in awhile, and that’s some depth. Give Gute credit for that.
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3) How’s that Tavon Austin pickup looking?
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4)What did the Packers, Kyler Fackrell, and Blake Martinez have in common today? They each had a sack.
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5) Props to the Packers and Matt LeFleur. 13-3 in each of the last 2 seasons. Although i note strength of teams, at the end of the day it’s the NFL and still damn impressive,
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6) Props to Aaron Rodgers and his 4 TDS, he’s lucky he didn’t get picked 3 times today.
But it was pretty damn depressing he couldn’t finish the game with a passer rating of 158.3, but…whatever, he’s old.
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7) It seems a given Rodgers wins MVP, maybe he shares it with Derrick Henry. You may remember him, he was the 3rd best running back on the field last week.
But it doesn’t stop there. Keep your fingers crossed as Kenny King may win Def Player of the Year.
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Somebody mentioned Snacks Harrison. To be honest, i forgot all about him. But then again, i wasn’t reminded, i never heard his name called out.
Seems out of breath just standing there.
http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/coach-mike-mccarthy-postgame-week-17-at-nyg
Poor Cam Newton…AKA Superman
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Before Sundays game via videoconference, 10 year veteran Cam Newton blamed his season on Covid restrictions while trying to learn a new offense.
2,657 yards…8 TD’s…10 interceptions…Rating = 82.9
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Meanwhile…..NFL rookie Justin Herbert, learning a new offense, and life in the NFL (under the same Covid restrictions) hasn’t made any excuses.
4,337 yards…31 TD’s…10 interceptions…Rating = 98.3
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43 year old Tom Brady…learning a new offense..4,633 yards…40 TD’s…12 interceptions…Rating = 102.2
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Not unlike many people in this Country…Cam Newton…is a victim.
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You just have to love a guy like Alexander. The guy has attitude and he backs it up. The problem is we don’t get to see him often, because QBs stay away for the most part. Forcing the fumble on Kmet was an attitude play, fight to the end of the whistle. The best attitude play by Alexander in this game was the final play when Alexander kept Graham out of the end zone. The score at that point didn’t matter for the outcome of the game. However, it did matter to Alexander that he didn’t give up a score.
Spot on!!
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I thought the same during the game, Only a small handful of corners can truly shut down one side of the field. When he was drafted i thought he was too small. But you can’t measure a guy’s heart and desire. He is, without a doubt, Gute’s one standout shining star, he deserves all the credit for drafting him.
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We’ve all seen corners who make a tackle, then start prancing around the field as if they were just voted All-Pro. Don’t care for that…never will.
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Howard…i have to tell you. While i acknowledge i’ve been critical…pointing out strength of schedule, etc. Any credit i give this team has little to do with Murphy and Gute. OTHER THAN…..hiring LeFleur, and Gute has provided better depth and a standout corner.
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With that said…i am so proud of this team, and the job LeFleur, Rodgers, and Hackett have done with this offense.
I’m out to lunch on Pettine and this defense. Maybe they can show me something in the playoffs, but for now i’ll stand by my “show me” approach
I loved watching Jimmy Graham get dragged away from the endzone. Kudos to Alexander. He definitely gives it his all.
Did you know….
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Former Packer Marshall Newhouse is alive and kicking in the NFL. He is a back up LT for the Titans.
9 teams in 11 seasons. The man had to move a lot, but he carved himself a nice living in the NFL.
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Props to Colts RB and former Badger Jonathon Taylor, making his presence known yesterday with 253 yards rushing with a 8.4 average and 2 TD’s.
Regular season stats—- In 2 seasons, LaFleur 26 wins- 6 losses. This season, Rodgers 70.7% comp rate; 4299 pass yds; 48TDs’; 3 rushing TDs’; 5 interceptions; 121.5 passer rating; (just shy of his own NFL record rating of 122.5 set in 2011). Adams- breaks Sharpes’ record in receptions with 115 for 1374 yds; ties Sharpes’ record of 18 TDs’; and he did this while missing 2 and a half games to injury!
Other interesting facts this year. Packers had 80% TD scoring in the red, (gold) zone. Adams’ 18 TDs’ compared to 16 FGs’, and 46 punts.. La Fleur said at the beginning of the season–“we need to be better in the red zone”; mission accomplished! How about this little important stat? Adrian Amos help sealed both wins in Chicago the last 2 years with an interception. On offense, a very impressive year!
Does integrity matter?…..
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Doug Pederson sold his soul last night on National TV. Not just because he tanked a game to move up 3 spots in the draft. But more importantly, because he lied about it.
The returning players will have a very hard time trusting Pederson in the future. Not a good look for a Head coach. Pederson lost his core returning players.
You’re right PF4L, WTF? Imagine what Hurts feels about that? Peterson looks like he has a future in politics!!!!
If i’m Hurts, i’m telling my agent i want out.
Why wait, here are my picks for wild card weekend……
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The Browns, Bears, and Washington players, can tell their wives to start planning their vacations starting next Monday.
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Among the better games….i see the Ravens, Hawks, and Bills advancing to the Divisional round.