Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers: Complete Week 10 Preview for Chicago
Following an embarrassing 51-23 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 8, the Chicago Bears are hoping to find new life in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers coming off their Week 9 bye.
Sunday night will mark the 190th meeting between the two teams, with Chicago holding a 93-90-6 edge in the all-time series. The Packers have won seven of the last 10 meetings between them, however.
The Bears fell to the Packers in Week 4 by a score of 38-17. Chicago ran for 235 yards on the ground on 41 carries, but it wasn't enough to slow down Aaron Rodgers and his 302 passing yards and four touchdowns.
In order for the Bears to slow down Rodgers on Sunday Night Football, they are going to need to put pressure on him all game long.
"You've got do the best you can to get there," defensive end Willie Young said about getting pressure on Rodgers, via ChicagoFootball.com's Jeff Arnold. "It has not changed one bit. He's doing the things he does on Sundays consistently day in and day out, so it's a challenge. It's competition."
Even though Rodgers has been sacked 20 times already this season, he has shown an incredible ability to still put up impressive numbers. In eight games he has thrown for 2,092 yards with 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
The Detroit Lions sit atop the NFC North standings with a 6-2 record, while the Green Bay Packers are not far behind with a record of 5-3. After the Minnesota Vikings were able to come away with a victory last week over the Washington Redskins and improve their record to 4-5, the Bears currently sit in last place in the division.
A win over the Packers will not make Chicago a favorite to make the playoffs, but it could help give new life to a team that plays five of its last seven games at home.
Here is our Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers preview for Week 10.
Week 8 Recap
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The odds were already against the Bears when they headed into Foxborough, Massachusetts, to take on the New England Patriots in Week 8. The Bears were coming off a disappointing loss to the Miami Dolphins at home, while the Patriots were coming off a thrilling victory over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football that had them sitting at 5-2 atop the AFC East division.
The Patriots offense struck early and often, and their defense forced Chicago's offense into making mistakes. New England went into halftime with a 31-7 lead.
Chicago's defense gave up 487 yards of total offense, and the Patriots eventually came away with a 51-23 victory.
“We got our butts kicked today, plain and simple,” defensive end Jared Allen said after the game, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “We had a heck of a week of practice. Our minds were right. It was one of those games where they just take what you give them."
Tom Brady threw for 354 yards with five touchdowns, zero interceptions, a quarterback rating of 148.4 and an 85 percent completion percentage. In addition to Brady's big day through the air, New England also ran the football 32 times for 122 yards.
On the other side of the football, Chicago racked up 384 total yards of offense. Quarterback Jay Cutler completed 20 of 30 pass attempts for 227 yards with three touchdowns, one interception and one lost fumble.
Chicago failed to get into any sort of rhythm to start the game against New England. Despite only being down by 10 points at one point in the second quarter, the Bears went away from the running game during their third possession of the game. That drive resulted in a three-and-out, and they were unable to get themselves back into the game after that.
With another difficult matchup looming against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10, the Bears are going to need to prove they learned from their mistakes during the bye week if they want to come away with a victory at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football.
News and Notes
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Marc Trestman Feels Support from His Team
After a report surfaced on Sunday from CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora stating Marc Trestman's job was in jeopardy, the head coach has received support from those within the organization.
"The support in this building has been outstanding," Trestman said, via ESPNChicago.com's Michael C. Wright. "That's all I can say. Everybody upstairs has been extremely supportive of the way we're handling things. Our team has been unbelievably compliant in doing everything that we as coaches and myself have asked them to do."
La Canfora's piece states players are tuning out their head coach, but Trestman doesn't believe that is the case.
"It's evident in the locker room," Trestman said about the support he has been receiving, via Wright. "It's evident in the meeting room that these guys are an amazing group of men that have been extremely compliant, and the support has been there."
Trestman's job security and the team's perceived locker-room turmoil are at the forefront because of Chicago's struggles, but a win against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night could help extinguish some of those flames moving forward.
Jay Cutler May Be on the Move (Outside the Pocket)
Statistically speaking, quarterback Jay Cutler is having one of his best seasons since he arrived in Chicago prior to the 2009 season. He has thrown for more than 2,000 yards, 17 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 95.8, but turnovers have once again plagued him this season. He has eight interceptions and nine fumbles on the season.
After spending some time reviewing film, Trestman thinks getting Cutler outside of the pocket may help him eliminate his mistakes.
“We’ve talked about all of that over the bye week and how we can do some different things for him to help him,” Trestman said, via ESPNChicago.com's Michael C. Wright. “We’ll continue to work on that and see how that goes in the second half.”
Cutler's athleticism has always been an underrated aspect of his game, and he has had success before when rolling out of the pocket.
The Bears Have a Couple of Options to Replace Injured Left Guard Matt Slauson
After suffering a torn pectoral muscle against the New England Patriots in Week 8, guard Matt Slauson was ruled out for the rest of the season, via NBCChicago.com's James Neveau.
When addressing the media the day after the team's loss to New England, Trestman hinted at moving right tackle Jordan Mills to guard, via the Chicago Tribune's Dan Wiederer:
"Most ear-catching revelation was the hint that Jordan Mills could be moved to play LG now that Matt Slauson is out for the year.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) October 27, 2014"
“(Mills) has the skill set to be able to (play guard),” Trestman said earlier this week, via Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com. “He’s big, strong. He’s got long arms. He’s quick. A player playing at the tackle position is generally as athletic a player as you have on the offensive line, so to move him inside and still have that skill set—he’s got all the tools necessary to play the position, certainly.”
A fifth-round pick last season, Mills started all 16 games at right tackle last season and seven of eight games this season at right tackle.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Mills graded out last season as the NFL's third-worst tackle with a minus-36.2 grade. He allowed the most quarterback hurries in the NFL with 62. He currently has a minus-17.1 overall grade this season and has allowed five sacks.
Moving Mills to the inside will allow him to better utilize his strength and play with more confidence knowing he has help to his left in tackle Jermon Bushrod and to his right in center Roberto Garza.
After Mills practiced at guard earlier in the week, he made the move back to right tackle during Wednesday's practice. He told the media he believes he will start at right tackle Sunday night.
“I expect I’ll be at right tackle Sunday night, and Ola’s going to be at left guard,” Mills said Wednesday, via Arthur Arkush of ChicagoFootball.com.
Even though he believes he will start at right tackle, Mills did not rule out the possibility of playing left guard.
"Right now we’re going into it with me at right tackle, but if they need me at left guard, I’ll play left guard," he said, via Arkush.
In addition to Mills and Ola getting work at left guard, backup center Brian de la Puente also took reps this week at the position. Trestman said a decision will be made on Friday, via the Daily Herald's Bob LeGere.
Injury Report
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| Eben Britton | OL | Did Not Practice (DNP) |
| Darryl Sharpton | LB | DNP |
| Matt Slauson | OG | DNP |
| Martellus Bennett | TE | Limited |
After injuries forced many members of the Chicago Bears to miss time this season, the team only had a few players miss practice this week coming off their Week 9 bye.
Guard Matt Slauson was injured against the New England Patriots in Week 8 and is expected to be out for the season, via ESPN's Adam Schefter:
"And Bears G Matt Slauson tore his pectoral and is out for the year.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 27, 2014"
With Slauson out of the lineup, expect either Jordan Mills or Michael Ola to start at left guard on Sunday night.
Backup offensive lineman Eben Britton did not practice this week due to an appendectomy. He is listed as week-to-week, via the team's official Twitter page. Assuming Britton is unable to dress on Sunday, rookie Charles Leno will likely be activated for Sunday night's game.
Linebacker Darryl Sharpton injured a hamstring against the Patriots in Week 8 and is unlikely to play Sunday night, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The only change from the beginning of the week to end of the week was tight end Martellus Bennett being listed as limited in Thursday's practice due to a rib injury, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
All injury statuses from Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com and reflect Thursday's practice.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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Kyle Fuller vs. Jordy Nelson
After a strong start to his rookie campaign, cornerback Kyle Fuller has fallen a bit off the national radar in recent weeks due in large part to the team's struggles on defense and his recent injury woes.
Fuller broke his hand and injured his hip against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 but was back out on the field in Week 8 to take on the New England Patriots before he had to leave the game due to his hip.
He returned to practice earlier this week, and head coach Marc Trestman is hopeful that Fuller will be ready to play against the Packers.
Assuming Fuller is ready to go, he will likely see a heavy dose of both Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson on Sunday night. He spent the majority of his time going up against Cobb back in September, but Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen thinks the Bears should have Fuller cover Nelson all night:
"Would like to see #Bears play true matchups on D vs. #Packers in Cover 1. Put Fuller on Nelson & Jennings on Cobb regardless of alignment.
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) November 3, 2014"
The benefit of matching Fuller up one-on-one with Nelson would be to allow him to use his strength and solid coverage skills in press coverage.
Nelson has quietly been one of the league's most productive wide receivers, hauling in 50 catches for 737 yards and six touchdowns. He caught 10 passes for 108 yards with two touchdowns when Chicago and Green Bay squared off in Week 4.
If Fuller can jam Nelson at the line of scrimmage and disrupt the timing of his routes, he has enough speed and coverage ability to keep Nelson in check on Sunday night.
Michael Ola or Jordan Mills vs. Clay Matthews
The Bears have been noncommittal about who will be starting at right tackle against the Packers following an injury to left guard Matt Slauson in Week 8.
Right tackle Jordan Mills began the week of practice at left guard before moving back to right tackle, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Flopping back and forth with Mills has been Michael Ola.
Ola has started games at left guard, left tackle and right tackle this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ola has allowed 10 quarterback hurries, two quarterback hits and just one sack in 474 total snaps. He was at his best playing left guard against the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers earlier this season, particularly in the run game.
Mills has also struggled at times this season, particularly in pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 18 quarterback hurries, one quarterback hit and five sacks.
While both have proved to be solid run-blockers, they will need to show some improvement in pass protection on Sunday night when squaring off against Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews.
Matthews has just 2.5 sacks on the season, but he leads the team with 18 quarterback hurries and five quarterback hits, via Pro Football Focus. Despite his sacks being down, he has still wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. He has four pass deflections, one interception and two forced fumbles this season.
Defensive coordinator Dom Capers is not concerned with Matthews' lack of sacks so far this season.
"Clay's been playing good football," Capers said, via Paul Imig of FoxSports.com. "He'll still have those two or three plays a game that he really affects the game. I don't get too caught up in (the stats), because I think sometimes they come and they come all at once."
For the sake of Mills and Ola, they better hope Matthews' sacks do not all come at once on Sunday night.
X-Factor of the Week: Jared Allen
One of the league's most feared pass-rushers for the better part of the last decade, Jared Allen has looked like a shell of his former self during his first season in Chicago.
Through eight games this season, Allen has just 1.5 sacks, 29 tackles and one forced fumble. He hasn't had a season with less than eight sacks since he accumulated 7.5 sacks in 2006.
Following the team's loss against the New England Patriots in Week 8, Allen talked about how he needed to improve during the team's bye week.
“I’ve got to try to find half a step,” he said, via the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs. “I’ve got to find a way to get the QB on the ground with the ball in his hands. That goes for the whole. Everybody on our D-line would say that. Every position group is like that. You go and look (at) yourself in the mirror and say, 'What can we do better?'"
If there was ever a better time for Allen to find a half a step, this week against the Green Bay Packers would be it.
Allen missed Chicago's first matchup against Green Bay earlier this season due to pneumonia, and he is set to face a familiar foe in quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“Jared Allen is probably the best pass-rusher I face," Rodgers told Peter King of MMQB.SI.com in August 2013.
Rodgers reiterated that sentiment again earlier this week, via CSN Chicago's Jen Lada:
"On @ESPNMilwaukee, Rodgers says Jared Allen is one of his favorite players to compete against.
— Jen Lada (@JenLada) November 4, 2014"
Allen should have a favorable matchup this Sunday when he squares off against Green Bay left tackle David Bakhtiari. According to Pro Football Focus, Bakhtiari has allowed six quarterback hurries and five sacks and has an overall grade of minus-2.0 on the season.
If Allen wants to live up to the big money he received this offseason, he will need to prove he can be an X-factor on Sunday night when he goes up against Bakhtiari.
Prediction
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When looking at this matchup on paper, it is hard to have much faith in Chicago going into Green Bay and coming away with a victory.
If the Bears want to win, they will need to keep the football out of Aaron Rodgers' hands on Sunday night. In order to do that, they are going to need to run the football with Matt Forte.
"On offense, Matt Forte's got to be the guy. We've got to get the ball to him," former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt told Comcast SportsNet's David Kaplan, via CSNChicago.com. "I don't want to hear—if I'm the head coach—don't tell me about injuries, don't tell me about how many times he's carrying the ball or touching the ball. He's one of the best players on the team; we've got to get the football in his hands."
The Packers are the third-worst team against the run this season, allowing 4.78 yards per carry. In their first matchup, the Bears racked up 235 yards rushing on 41 carries, including 122 yards on 23 carries from Forte.
While Chicago might be able to control the time of possession by running the football, the Packers offense proved to be extremely efficient when the two teams met in September. All five of the Packers' touchdown drives lasted less than four minutes. As a whole, their offense averaged nearly eight yards per play on the afternoon.
Even if the Bears are able to run the football at will on Sunday night, Rodgers and the Green Bay offense should have no problem putting up points against a Bears defense that is allowing an average of 27.8 points per game.
Prediction: Packers 34, Bears 21
Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears or NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
Follow @MattEurich
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