The Chicago Bears come off their bye week to prepare to take on their arch-rival, the Green Bay Packers. This is the matchup that has made Bears fans cringe the past decade because of the Packers' dominance over them during Aaron Rodger's time as quarterback. Not only have the Packers beat up on the Bears, they also have been heavy favorites in most games.

This Sunday's game at Soldier Field between the old foes is featuring something rare, the Chicago Bears are favorited to win. The main factor is Aaron Rogers is out with a broken collarbone and the Packers are on a three-game losing streak.

It cannot be taken away from the Bears that their team (3-5) has played much-improved ball, including one of the best defensive units in the NFL the past few weeks, but not facing Rodgers can really make or break a game. Right now on the ESPN mobile app, the Bears are 5.5 favorites.

One-sided rivalry

The Bears are 2-10 against Green Bay going back to 2011, not to mention losing to them in the 2010 NFC Championship game at Soldier Field. In fact, the 2010 regular season was the last time the Bears defeated the Packers at Soldier Field. Both wins for the Bears going back to 2011 were major upsets at Lambeau Field, and only one of those games featured a fully healthy Aaron Rodgers. There have been a number of gut-wrenching losses for the Bears against the Packers, including week 17 in 2013 when Rodgers threw the game-winning touchdown to Randall Cobb with less than a minute to go and the historical 55-14 blowout in 2014.

Those are listing just a few bad Bears' losses against Green Bay.

It may also be worth noting that former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who has faced Aaron Rodgers more than any other Bears quarterback, threw 22 total interceptions against the Packers in 12 games. This rivalry has not been fun for the Bears, or their fans.

Favorites but no guarantee

This upcoming game in Chicago this Sunday is the first time the Bears are favored in a game against Green Bay since 12/22/08. Back then, Kyle Orton was the quarterback, Lovie Smith was the head coach, and Rodgers was in his first year as a starter. It was a cold Monday night which saw the Bears win on a Robbie Gould overtime field goal.

The first time as favorites in 17 Bears-Packers games, Chicago will see rookie Mitchell Trubisky face their arch-nemesis for the first time in his career. WR Dontrelle Inman is set to make his Bears debut which will give the young quarterback a reliable target downfield. The defense has held opponents down all season long, and if they get plenty of pressure on Brett Hundley they can keep them off the score sheet. This is a game which the Packers come on short rest, while the Bears have had a bye week.

And yet, there are no guarantees whatsoever. The Packers have been snakes biting the Bears for so long, seems like anything could happen. But regardless of the past, this is a game the Bears would feel pretty awful if they lost considering the circumstances.
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