I have gone back and forth on the meaning of day’s division title contest for Jay Cutler. Part of me thinks it’s the game that will define his Bears tenure to this point and set the tone of his relationship with the fans moving forward. Part of me thinks while it’s an important game, it is only Cutler’s eleventh start in this new system and Cutler should not be expected to be Aaron Rodgers…yet. As the game has gotten closer I am leaning towards the former. I think the folks saying today is the biggest regular season of Jay Cutler’s career are dead right. I hope his play, his intensity, his decision making, reflect that.

Enjoy sixty minutes for the division crown.

Photo from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

While the national media wanted to turn Sunday night’s debacle into a Jay Cutler debate (they failed), those of us who’ve watched every snap of this Chicago Bears season know better. The Bears as currently constructed and currently performing can’t beat an opponent they trail by 14-21 points. Why? Because two things have to happen for a team to eradicate a deficit that wide: they have to stop the run and they have to create turnovers. But the Bears are so bad at stopping the run the opponent never needs to throw the ball and thus the opportunity for turnovers does not present itself.

So with a defense so incapable of stopping the run…and the pass, for that matter…

Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

FIRST, A RODGERS THOUGHT OR TWO…

• I know he’s a remarkable player but his playing Sunday does not drastically impact my opinion on the game. I thought Matt Flynn and the Packers offense would have continual success moving the ball down the field on the Bears defense. How many more points does Rodgers create? 7-10? At most? Well I’ve got them in the 30s already…

BUT WHAT FOOTBALL REASONS, JEFF?

• Bears defense since the bye week (and the Briggs/Tillman injuries that proceeded it) has not been bad at home in the least. They lost to Detroit, giving up only 21 points. They beat Baltimore, giving up only 20 points. They thrashed Dallas, giving up 28 points and 7 of those on a last-minute Kyle Orton drive that seemed to define garbage time. Their road form has been abysmal but this contest is at Soldier Field.
• Packers are 1-2 on the road since the Rodgers injury, beating only the Cowboys in one of the NFL’s greatest collapses. In those three road games they’ve allowed 103 points.

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“I think this is almost the perfect scenario to find out once and for all if Cutler is our QB.”

-4ever85 (AKA Butch Deadlift)

The Bears turned in their worst performance of the 2013 campaign, a three-phase meltdown in the City Where Santa was Booed. Soon after the players made it to the locker room and Tribune beat Rich Campbell made it to his smart phone, word began circulating that the focus had already shifted to the Green Bay Packers.

Just back from the Bears’ locker room. Those guys have already moved on to next Sunday’s game against the Packers.

Bears HC Marc Trestman said this game tape is going “in the trash can” after coaches watch it.

Bears DT Jay Ratliff: “We’ve got to put this game behind us & focus on next week because next week is really what matters.”

Make no mistake about it. Everything the Bears have achieved on the offensive side of the ball and failed to achieve on the defensive side will be forgotten at 3:25 PM CT Sunday. All the Alshon Jeffery catches, Chris Conte poor angles and Adam Podlesh shanks will be considered prologue. Those sixty minutes at Soldier Field will now be how the 2013 season is remembered. A victory will give Marc Trestman a division title in his rookie season and the Bears a home playoff game the following week. A loss will give the Bears a book of questions that require answering before they report to Bourbonnais next summer.

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I am not writing a single word about this Bears v Eagles contest. One team played well. The other didn’t show up. Done.

Now we enter the most important Packers Week in years.

We’re putting up one post for the entire day of games, including tonight’s Bears at Eagles contest. To follow me throughout the day, you can check the Twitter feed or on the right rail of this page or just go and FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER BY CLICKING HERE.

Here’s what you need to know about today’s games.

• If Detroit wins and Green Bay wins, status quo. Bears must win.
• If Detroit wins and Green Bay loses, status quo. Bears must win.
• If Detroit loses and Green Bay loses, the Bears have two cracks at the division title over the next two weeks.
• If Detroit loses and Green Bay wins, Sunday night’s game is effectively meaningless (outside seeding) as Week 17 v. Green Bay will be for the division title.

Enjoy a day and night of football.

Relevant games in mid-to-late December are the most fun time to operate this site for two reasons: (1) Traffic numbers go through the roof and (2) Fans barely need the final whistle of Sunday’s game to begin thinking about the following Sunday’s game. Once the Detroit Lions pulled a Detroit Lions and lost to Baltimore, Bears fans became ravenously obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles in primetime. And it is the most difficult match-up as the Bears defense will face all season.

So…

Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

• Here is the statistic I think will tell the story Sunday: touchdown percentage. That’s not a stat, you say? Sure it is. Philadelphia will have every opportunity to keep the ball away from Chicago by merely handing the thing to LeSean McCoy over and over again. Whichever team scores more touchdowns per possession wins. (I think no less than 4 TDs wins game.)
• There are two possible approaches for Trestman Sunday night. (1) Spread the Eagles out and attack a terrible secondary. (2) Rely on the run game and boys up front to keep the ball away from Chip Kelly’s offense. I would put the ball in the hands of Marshall, Jeffery and the Bennetts quickly to force these weak tacklers to tackle. Once that approach finds some success the run lanes will be girthy.

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Always fun to join my friends in Des Moines and talk Bears. Listen to the end, where I get the hook! The played me off!

I never doubted the Lions ability to lose. Monday night, at home against the Baltimore Ravens, they put on a losing clinic. The best wide receiver on the planet did his best David Terrell impression, dropping first down after first down and prompting Robert Klemko to explain his humanity to fans. Penalties were committed on what seemed like every opposing pass play. New ways to turn the ball over were invented on the spot. It became evident early Monday night the Detroit Lions had no chance to overcome the Detroit Lions.

What I did doubt – and still doubt – is the ability of the Bears to win enough. Because Sunday night in Philadelphia the league’s top rushing attack will face the league’s doormat rush defense. Because the week after, the Bears will need to complete a season sweep of the Green Bay Packers for the first time in what feels like ten generations. Can the Bears win their final two games and the NFC North? Absolutely. But Bears fans should understand that if Aaron Rodgers returns for the finale, the Bears will more than likely be underdogs in both contests.

How did they get here? How does a team with an historically poor defense find themselves controlling their own playoff destiny? (Side note: this is one of the dumbest phrases in existence. Destiny – by definition – assumes a lack of individual control.)

They got here because of Marc Trestman.

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“Whenever there’s nothing to do, yes there is. Throw it up to Alshon.”

-Michael Irvin, NFL Network

11:08 remaining in the 4th quarter. 24-17 Browns. After a pair of dud plays on first and second downs the Bears were facing third-and-eleven. If they fail to convert they’ll be punting the ball and the momentum to Cleveland. They might also be punting away their 2013 season. Cutler takes the snap, meanders in a pocket for a few seconds…

There’s nothing to do.

Yes there is!

Throw it up to Alshon!

Touchdown.

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