Green Bay @ Chicago: Matchups To Watch On Monday Night

This may very well set the pace at which the NFC North is won.

Two 2-0 teams facing off, trying to prove something to the rest of the league, oh yeah... this also happens to be the greatest rivalry of all time!

I think this will be a great game, and it will be won depending on who wins in the key matchups

Chicago and Green Bay definitely have their fair share of weaknesses, so now it's time to break them down and see who has the upper hand

Matchup 1: Clay Matthews and Co. Vs. Bears O-Line

This one is a blowout...

Bears fans are kind of wanting that Chris Williams pick back right now

The Bears seem to have a lot of no names like Lance Louis trying their best to protect their diabetic dynamo Jay Cutler. But when you have to stop the Claymaker, good luck

The favorite so far for DPOY is playing like he is possessed by his football ancestors to make that Brian Cushing re-vote look like a waste of time

I also feel sorry for Olin Kruetz for finally going up against a NT more massive than him in B.J. Raji, who is looking like a rhino in a stampede when that ball is snapped

No contest

Advantage: Green Bay

Matchup 2: Julius Peppers Vs. Chad Clifton

This is easily the closest, but most boring matchup of them all

As pedestrian as Chad Clifton can be, he knows when he has a handful.

But Julius Peppers looks like he's worth every penny. Peppers is starting to play like he finally has some will to win.

Remember that Week 1 game last year when Alex Brown made Allen Barbre look like he was still on J.V., and made Aaron Rodgers look like a confused turtle trying to out run a cheetah - yeah, that's what this could become on Monday night.

I believe Peppers will collapse A-Rod's pocket regularly, which I'm sure A-Rod doesn't mind seeing how he's quite the scrambler...

But c'mon... who's faster?

Advantage: Chi-town

Matchup 3: Bears LB's Or DB's Vs. Jermichael Finley

This is quite a player

Finley is too strong for DB's, but too fast for LB's, so what do you do?

What the Bears have to do here is jam Finley on the line of scrimmage as much as possible - otherwise, the middle of the field will become open season for the Packers.

You also never know when he'll line up for a 3-yard fade for a TD

Finley, Gates, Clark, and Davis are the only TE's who can bring this kind of talent to the table when it comes to mismatches.

It could be a long night for the Bears defense

Advantage: Pack

Matchup 4: Matt Forte Vs. Whoever Is In The Tackling Vicinity

See him run, see him catch; whatever works with offensive coordinator Mike Martz will work on the field if you have a player as dynamic as Forte.

Forte had success in his rookie season by lining up basically everywhere on the field, then they tried to make him a workload runner which isn't really his "Forte." (see what I did there?)

Now that Martz is in town, Forte seems to be the biggest beneficiary of the new game plan.

You don't know who is gonna have to cover him or stop him or whatever, but keeping Forte from going bananas needs to be part of the game plan for the Pack

Advantage: Da Bears

Matchup 5: Jay Cutler Vs. Aaron Rodgers

These guys are shaping up to be highlighted on the schedule every time they play each other in the next couple years

At the pace they're going at right now, Jay and A-Rod will both be top 5 QB's by season's end

The reason they are matched up is because the winner will most likely be whoever plays better in this matchup.

Obviously Cutler is the more surprising of the two so far, so we know he'll be more of an x-factor

However, if you remember Week 1 last year, Cutler had four interceptions.

Not good, especially with Charles Woodson and Nick Collins on the other side of the ball

Rodgers has been less than stellar as of late. That said, we all know he'll kick it into gear eventually, but will it be on Monday?

He is facing a mediocre secondary this week, but they made Tony Romo look awful last week, so who knows?

Advantage: Packers

The Verdict

Okay if you see that the Packers won 3 of 5 matchups, it's not like I'm gonna say the Bears will pull it off.

But seriously, I think this will be somewhat of a shootout. The Packers have too much of a pass rush for Cutler to be able to blink before he's on the run. And I believe that is the biggest difference maker here

Packers: 24

Aaron Rodgers: 2 TD's 275yds

Brandon Jackson: 18 car. 65 yds

Greg Jennings: 5 rec. 105 yds

Donald Driver: 3 rec. 30 yds TD

Jermichael Finley: 8 rec. 125 yds TD

Mason Crosby: FG

Clay Matthews: Fumble recovery TD

Bears: 17

Jay Cutler: 2 TD's 1 INT 300 yds

Matt Forte: 15 car. 100 yds, 4 rec. 55 yds TD

Johnny Knox: 9 rec. 175 yds TD

Devin Hester: 3 rec. 45 yds

Greg Olsen: 1 rec. 25 yds

Robbie Gould: FG

Julius Peppers: 2 sacks