Packers will continue to own the Bears
By GERY WOELFEL
There’s death.
There’s taxes.
And there’s the Green Bay Packers beating the Chicago Bears.
The first two certainties have been around forever, the latter has been around seemingly forever, or for the last three decades.
The Packers have thoroughly dominated their archrival in that span, first with Brett Favre at the helm and then with Aaron Rodgers running the show.
But Sunday, with Jordan Love now the leader of the Pack, the Packers’ domination of the Bears will be tested, severely tested. The oddsmakers are making the Bears a 1-point favorite.
The last time the Bears were predicted to beat the Packers, according to www.BetOnline.ag, was Dec. 6, 2018. The Bears were 5.5-point favorites and won 24-17 in Chicago.
On the surface, the Bears should be the favorites. After all, the Packers will be without their best receiver Christian Watson, who has a hamstring injury, and their best defensive player Rashan Gary is coming back from a serious knee injury and is on a “pitch count’’ today. What’s more, the Bears are playing at home and they are by all accounts a better team than a year ago.
But let’s face it: The Bears didn’t have anywhere to go but up after last season. They were abysmal. They won three games and ranked 28th offensively (out of 32 teams) and 29th defensively.
So, while the Packers won’t be at full strength, and while they are the NFL’s youngest team, they still have one of the premier running back tandems in the league in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon and they have a defense that, while youth laden, is talented and could be poised for a breakout season.
So, yes, the Bears could upend the Packers, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Prediction: Packers 30, Bears 20.
