CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- How high your interest is in this game depends on which of these buckets you fall into:
• I'm a Bears fan, and I'm invested in their history and this storied rivalry: Well, this is clearly the game for you. Edition number 204 of a legacy that began more than a century ago (the first meeting was on Nov. 27, 1921, when the Chicago Staleys blanked the Green Bay Packers 20-0) and has been contested at least once in every season since 1923. You probably already know that the Packers lead the all-time series by seven wins, and you're probably very interested in vengeance for Aaron Rodgers' little "I Own You" outburst during Green Bay's 24-14 win at Soldier Field earlier this season.
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• I like pretty pictures on my television set: You don't get much prettier than Lambeau Field, at night, in the winter time, with the Packers' green and gold clashing against the Bears' blue and orange. The TV executives know this, by the way - there's a reason that nine of the last 10 Bears-Packers games in Green Bay have come at night. It's not supposed to snow Sunday, but there should be healthy piles of white pushed to the side of the field, with as many as five inches accumulating in the days leading up to the game. And incidentally, there's no one better at describing the colors of a packed Lambeau Field during a Bears-Packers game than Jeff Joniak, so if you can't watch the game, you can certainly listen in on WBBM, the Home of the Bears - 780 AM, 105.9 FM, and on the Audacy app. Pregame starts at 4 p.m.
• I like competitive sporting events: May I interest you in the 'Any Given Sunday' corollary? Because even though Green Bay is the better team by record, and even though the aforementioned Rodgers has only lost five times in his career against the Bears, and even though Matt Nagy is 1-and-6 against the Packers in his coaching tenure, anything really could happen. Especially with the dynamic Justin Fields returning from cracked ribs to start at quarterback. It's not hard to imagine a scenario where the Bears run out as much clock as they can on offense, prevent big plays on defense, and control the ball enough to keep things close. It's also not hard to imagine Rodgers throwing four touchdown passes against a Bears secondary that's shown holes as the season has gone along.
Bottom line: This is the most important game left on the schedule for the Bears, who certainly have to run the table in order to keep very slim playoff hopes alive (and even that might not be enough). It might be the toughest of their remaining games - two with the Vikings sandwiched around meetings with Seattle and the Giants. And it's an easy pick for our Game of the Week.
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