By the time the Green Bay Packers-Atlanta Falcons game kicks off Saturday night, the Chicago Bears will have gathered at a downtown hotel to finish preparations for Sunday’s divisional playoff against the Seahawks.
Most eyes will be glued to the action as the Bears look to see who first will secure a trip to the NFC championship game. Who knows? Maybe even quarterback Jay Cutler will watch.
But will they have a rooting interest? Logic dictates they would like the sixth-seeded Packers to upset the top-seeded Falcons to ensure the road to Super Bowl XLV travels through Soldier Field, provided the Bears take care of business Sunday. No one ever passes on a home game.
The Bears have beaten the Packers at home this season, and considering the teams’ only playoff meeting was in 1941, the buildup would be epic. A Packers’ upset would prevent the Bears from having to face Matt Ryan in the Georgia Dome, where he has a 20-2 record in three seasons.
But if you have listened to the defense this season, those players would pass on Soldier Field any chance they could to play on a fast surface.
Defensive end Julius Peppers blamed the field for costing him a number of sacks. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris said the scheme is predicated on getting upfield, something the linemen can’t do in bad footing.
Use the 36-7 loss to the Patriots as a reminder. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has ripped the surface outright. Before you dismiss the idea of preferring a road game as nuts, consider the Bears are 4-1 away on an artificial surface this season and 5-3 at home on grass. They haven’t allowed more than 20 points in a game on artificial surface.
Plus, Cutler won at Atlanta with the Broncos, the only quarterback to succeed there vs. Ryan until Drew Brees and the Saints pulled off an upset on “Monday Night Football” in Week 16. The Bears also had Ryan beat in 2008 after Rashied Davis scored a touchdown with 11 seconds left before they botched a squib kick and then blew coverage to allow Jason Elam’s winning field goal as time expired.
In a season of redemption, going to Atlanta would give coach Lovie Smith an opportunity to atone for one of the low moments in his tenure here. The Bears have played well in Atlanta and should have confidence.
As they sit down to watch the game, who will they prefer?
“Really it doesn’t matter,” Smith said. “Of course, you would love to play another playoff game at home but if we have to go on the road, you might as well go inside to play. We’re a fast football team so it really doesn’t matter.
The Bears’ last loss came at Green Bay in the Week 17 finale. The offense was awful as Cutler was sacked six times and the Bears squandered an opportunity to knock the Packers out of the postseason.
Now, many experts are calling the Packers the hottest team in the NFC, and if rookie running back James Starks can continue to provide a spark, they’re multidimensional with quarterback Aaron Rodgers leading the way. Plus, the Packers’ secondary has a history of shutting down the Bears’ receivers.
“We’d be lying to say we didn’t want to host it, right?” tight end Greg Olsen said. “In a perfect world, we’d like to see Green Bay win. We can’t root too hard though. We have to take care of ourselves.”
Others don’t care who wins, or if they do they’re not sharing.
“I think we’re a good defense on grass, artificial surface, old school AstroTurf, carpet, ice,” cornerback Charles Tillman said. “I don’t have a preference.”
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