Pick-Six Preview: Bears At Packers

Here is our first look at Sunday’s game between the Green Bay Packers (10-3) and Chicago Bears (7-6) at Lambeau Field.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Here is our first look at Sunday’s game between the Green Bay Packers (10-3) and Chicago Bears (7-6) at Lambeau Field.

Chicago Bears (7-6) at Green Bay Packers (10-3)

The vitals: Noon Sunday at Lambeau Field.

TV: Fox (Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver)

Series: The Packers lead 97-94-6 in regular-season play. The teams have split two playoff matchups.

The last time: Green Bay kicked off the Matt LaFleur era with a 10-3 victory on Sept. 5 at Soldier Field. Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham for the game’s only touchdown, and fourth-quarter defensive stops by Adrian Amos (interception) and Preston Smith (sack) sealed the deal.

The quarterback

In a prime-time game against the Rams, Mitchell Trubisky either was pulled with a hip injury or benched. Whatever the reason, he was terrible that night by going 24-of-43 passing for just 190 yards and a 65.1 passer rating. The loss sent Chicago to 4-6. Trubisky and the Bears have bounced back, though, with three consecutive wins to keep a pulse in the loaded NFC playoff race. That’s especially true the last two weeks with three touchdowns and a 118.1 passer rating at Detroit and three touchdowns and a 115.5 passer rating against Dallas. Has Trubisky – the second overall pick of the 2018 draft – really turned the corner on his career? Or has Trubisky feasted on bad defenses. The Cowboys are No. 19 in opponent passer rating but have allowed a mark of 103.9 the last games. Detroit is No. 27 with an opponent passer rating of 100.5. Against Dallas, Trubisky became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 70-plus percent of his passes on 30-plus attempts, throw three-plus touchdowns, rush for 50-plus yards yards and have a rushing TD in the same game, according to STATS.

His top weapon

Allen Robinson, who signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Bears in free agency in 2018, has had an excellent second season with Chicago with 76 receptions for 898 yards and three touchdowns. That puts him on track to become the Bears’ first 1,000-yard receiver since Alshon Jeffery in 2014. He’s scored four touchdowns the last three weeks. At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, he has an excellent combination of size, strength and leaping ability. In Week 1 against Green Bay, Robinson was the only threat with seven receptions for 102 yards. Robinson’s not a one-man receiving corps. Anthony Miller, a second-round pick last year, didn’t have any catches against Green Bay and just four receptions for 28 yards in the first four games. The last four weeks, he’s caught 24 passes for 313 yards and one touchdown.

Getting defensive

Chicago has a star-studded defense, a group fortified by the presumed return of Pro Bowl defensive end Akiem Hicks from injured reserve. The unquestioned star, of course, is outside linebacker Khalil Mack. Mack leads the team with 7.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. Since the start of the 2015 season, he is first in the league with 19 forced fumbles and third with 56.5 sacks. Mack rushes almost equally from the left side and the right side, meaning the pressure will be on both of Green Bay’s offensive tackles, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga. In four career games against Green Bay, he has 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception that he returned for a touchdown.

Noteworthy number

200: This will be the 200th game in series history, the most-played rivalry in NFL history. The Packers have the edge, 98-95-6, a mark that includes a split of the playoff games. Green Bay took the lead in the series behind more than a quarter-century of elite quarterback play. Aaron Rodgers is 18-5 against the Bears, with one of those losses coming in 2013 when he was knocked out with a broken collarbone.

The big picture