NFC North: Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers Is Great for NFC North and NFL

By the time the New England Patriots and New York Jets kicked off, the Bears had wrapped up a win against the 7-9, fourth-seeded Seattle Seahawks, 35-24, at home.

Now the NFC title game features two NFC North teams, Chicago and Green Bay. Two teams that have already faced each other twice this year and split the series.

This is what football is about. Smash-mouth football played in deplorable conditions between two of the more historical NFL franchises.

It's one of the older rivalries in the NFC and in the NFL. Both teams hate each other and what the other team's jersey stands for.

You can be rest assured that Sunday, when these two meet at Soldier Field there will be more then enough taunts to go around and a loud stadium that will shake the Earth as we know it.

The last time these two met, their stout defenses systematically shut each other down. The Packers' special teams unit shut down the great Devin Hester. The Bears' defense shut down every conceivable play that Green Bay threw at them. Green Bay did the same picking off Jay Cutler twice. That all amounted to a final score of 10-3.

This was the final game of the season, too. The Bears had their seed all locked up and could have rested their starters. But no. Lovie Smith made it known when he was hired that beating the Packers was of up-most priority. 

"I don’t care where you are, there is a team that is your No. 1 rival. You need to beat them," Smith said.

In their two games this season, the Packers have outscored the Bears, 27-23. The time they played in Chicago you may be asking yourself? Way back, Week 3, the last week of September, Chicago won, 20-17.

No matter what this rivalry is a historical matchup. This will be only the second time these two teams have met in the playoffs.

The last time they met? The United States was just bombed by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, December of 1941.

This is going to be great football. If it snows and makes for deplorable weather conditions it will amount to an even better game. That's NFC North football, games in snow with defense making every conceivable stop.

It's going to be the Packers high-powered offense vs. the Bears tough-nosed defense. Who will win the epic showdown in Chicago? The fans will most certainly be winners themselves.