The Packers and the Bears have one of the oldest rivalries in all of football, and they are going to play another classic on Thursday night. We should just get this out of the way: the Green Bay Packers will win this game. That is pretty much a given. The issue is what the Bears do as they develop their team. We never know when Mitchell Trubisky will be put in the game, and we have no idea if the Chicago Bears will get any better. They do not have to win to give us a glimpse of hope, but they need to be sure that they have done something that makes them look better for the future.
The Bears offense
The Bears offense cannot be shut out in this game if they expect to keep putting Mike Glennon in the game. The Bears have to score a little bit if they want to put Glennon back out there next week. This game could be the time where they get embarrassed enough that they think about putting Mitchell Trubisky in the game. If it is going really badly, we could see him on the field.
The Packers offense
The Bears play well on defense, and they have shown that they can give good teams a hard time. It is very hard for us to assume that the Packers will simply score a million points. However, if they do score a million points, we might see the team make a change next week. The Bears are in a position where many things could force them to put Trubisky in.
A bad defensive effort could make them change their defense, bench some starters, and put Trubisky in. They could simply say they are turning over the whole roster, and they would create hope for next year.
Aaron Rodgers for MVP
A strong case can be made that Aaron Rodgers has been the MVP since he became the starter in Green Bay.
We make the same argument for Tom Brady, but Rodgers is actually more important for his team because it is not coached as well as the Patriots are. No one said that Mike McCarthy was a bad coach, but we did say that he is not nearly as good as Bill Belichick. Aaron Rodgers needs to power a very big offensive performance to remind us that we can trust the Packers even if their defense is not elite anymore.
Stay ahead of the Lions
The Packers have to stay ahead of the Lions, and they have to be very aware of the fact that the Lions are actually a pretty good team. The Lions should be 3-0 right now, and it is important the Packers are not allowing the Lions to catch them. The Packers could lose to the Lions in the playoffs because the offense in Detroit is probably better than the Green Bay defense. That is why this is a big game.