4 Bold Predictions for Packers' Week 10 Matchup

The 3-5 Chicago Bears will face the 5-3 Green Bay Packers for the 188th time in the regular season on Sunday night at Lambeau Field.

Both teams need to bounce back in Week 10, as the Bears have lost two games in a row while the Packers are coming off a disappointing performance in their loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 8. Both teams had a bye in Week 9.

The Bears should be coming into the game pretty desperate. A loss would make them 0-2 in the division, and they would fall to three games behind the Packers and possibly four games behind the NFC North-leading Lions.

I'm definitely not Nostradamus, but I'm going to predict four things that will occur in this game between the rivals who first started playing each other in 1921.

Mike McCarthy Will Celebrate a Win After His New Contract Extension

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

It's quite apropos that Mike McCarthy received his contract extension the week his Packers would be playing the Bears.

When McCarthy became the head coach of the Packers in 2006, his first game was against the Monsters of the Midway at Lambeau Field. The result? A 26-0 beatdown by the Bears.

But McCarthy and the Packers recovered from that early lesson. Since then, McCarthy has a 12-5 record against the Bears in the regular season and beat "Da Bears" at Soldier Field in the 2010 NFC Championship Game.

The Packers also have a 87-48-1 record under McCarthy since he became head coach and have won four NFC North titles, been to the playoffs six times and won Super Bowl XLV.

McCarthy and the Packers have had their way with Chicago the last few years, as they have beaten the Bears seven out of the last eight times in the regular season.

The only time Chicago beat Green Bay in those eight games was last season at Lambeau, when Aaron Rodgers suffered a fractured clavicle.

I don't see anything like that happening on Sunday night.

Aaron Rodgers Will Light Up the Bears.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

When it comes to playing the Bears, Aaron Rodgers always seems to excel. The last two games are prime examples, and both games were at Soldier Field.

In Week 17 last season, the Packers and Bears were basically playing for the NFC North title. And this game was No. 12's first game back from the fractured clavicle injury he had suffered against these same Bears at Lambeau Field in Week 9.

Things looked bleak for the Packers. It was 4th-and-8 with 46 seconds to go at the Chicago 48-yard line, and the Packers were down 28-27.

Thanks to a block thrown by fullback John Kuhn, Rodgers was able to elude defensive end Julius Peppers (now his teammate) and, while moving to his left, hit Randall Cobb with a long touchdown pass with just 38 seconds to go in the game, as the Packers won 33-28.

Then in Week 4 of this season, Rodgers was fantastic, as he completed 22 of 28 passes for 302 yards, four touchdown passes and no picks, as the Packers won 38-17.

In his career against "Da Bears," Rodgers is 10-3 (regular season) and has thrown 25 touchdown passes versus just eight interceptions for 3,133 yards. That adds up to a very nice 105.0 passer rating.

Don't forget that Rodgers beat the Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship Game as well.

Bottom line, Rodgers will continue his dominance against the Bears on Sunday night.

Jay Cutler Will Be Lit Up by the Packers

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

When Jay Cutler plays against the Packers, they sure seem to be his kryptonite. He just doesn't seem to play very well when he matches up versus Green Bay.

In his career against the Packers, Cutler is just 1-9. No. 6 has thrown 13 touchdown passes compared to 19 interceptions for 2,184 yards. That adds up to a less-than-mediocre passer rating of 67.0.

Somehow, things always seem to go off the rails for him when he sees the green and gold.

Week 4 was a good example. The Bears were only down 21-17 at halftime in that game at Soldier Field.

Chicago actually could have been up in the game if not for a touchdown-saving tackle near the goal line by safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix against tight end Martellus Bennett on the last play of the first half.

Cutler played pretty well in the first half, but he imploded in the second half, as he threw two key interceptions. That led to the Packers blowing the game open and winning the contest 38-17.

I don't see Cutler's luck against the Packers changing on Sunday night.

The Packers Will Close in on Tying the Overall Series Between the Teams

Associated Press

The Packers and Bears have been playing each other since 1921. The Bears hold 92-89-6 edge in the regular season while the teams are 1-1 in the postseason.

The Packers have had the edge recently because of the play of Brett Favre and Rodgers. In the 23 years that those two quarterbacks have played against the Bears, the two have combined to have a 32-13 record versus Chicago.

That has gotten the Packers very close now to closing in on evening the overall series between the teams. With a win on Sunday night, the Packers would close to just two games of catching the Bears in the almost century-old series.

That would also mean that the Packers could tie the series in 2015 if they swept the Bears.

It's been a long, long time since the Packers were even or ahead in this series. It's been 75 years since the Packers and Bears were tied in the series, when they both were 17-17-4 in the 1939 season.

The last time the Packers were ahead in the series was in 1932, when the Packers had an 11-10-4 edge on the Bears.

The Bears took hold of the series between the teams in the late 1940s and 1950s, when the Packers were not very good.

That changed some when the Packers of Vince Lombardi went up against the Bears of George Halas. Green Bay was 13-5 versus Papa Bear in that era.

Then, when Mike Ditka became the head coach of the Bears from 1982-1992, Chicago beat Green Bay 15 times in 20 games.

Then came the eras of Favre and Rodgers.

On Sunday night, I see the Packers getting to within two games of their rivals from the Windy City in their storied series.