Green Bay Packers: Keys to victory vs. Chicago Bears in Week 15
Week 4 of the win out run for the playoff resides in the Windy City on Sunday. What players need to come up big for the Green Bay Packers?We can always look to Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews to be the ones who propel the Packers to a much needed win but let’s look a little bit deeper and point out a few others.The weather in Chicago is supposed to be dreadful. Bitter cold. Windy. Game time temperature just a hair above 0 at 3 degrees. When the conditions are like that it usually favors the run game. That fits right into what the Bears offense is all about. Jordan Howard has hit the ground running (pun intended) this year taking over for RB Jeremy Langford and he’s making the best of his opportunity. Howard has quietly put up five games this year where he has surpassed 100 yards rushing, tied with the likes of Le’Veon Bell, DeMarco Murray and LeSean McCoy and only a game behind league leader Ezekiel Elliott who has six.The Packers won’t necessarily need a 100-yard rusher on Sunday but they will need the combo of Ty Montgomery and Christine Michael to make their presence felt. Green Bay’s run game has looked a little better of late.James Starks is out this week due to being in the concussion protocol after being in a car accident. This will give Montgomery and Michael more opportunities. Both backs have nice bursts out of the backfield which is a change to how Lacy and Starks who tend to pound it. Both backs are ripe for a good game but with the passing game being so in sync it is hard for either of them to get a lot of carries. Look for them to get those desired carries to against Chicago.We know the Packers passing game is hitting on all cylinders right now but for that to continue Montgomery and Michael need to keep the Bears defense honest and not fall back into coverage all day. If they can bring the linebackers up closer to the line of scrimmage, it will allow the Packers receivers to find more room.For the record, Green Bay has had one 100-yard rusher this season: Eddie Lacy in Week 3 versus Detroit.For Green Bay’s defense to contain the red hot Jordan Howard they will need a defensive line push by the interior of the line. The components of that line are Mike Daniels, Letroy Guion and rookie Kenny Clark. Daniels is one of the leaders on Green Bay’s defense but he handles his work in a blue collar way. He has always played that way even when he attended the University of Iowa. Daniels has only three sacks this year along with his 25 tackles but those numbers do not express all the things he does to clog up the line of scrimmage for opposing offenses. For the Packers want to slow down Jordan Howard, Daniels and his line mates will need to push that Bears line in their own backfield. They will need to be able to fill some of the holes the Bears line will try to make. They will need to fluster and move Bears backup QB Matt Barkley into some uncomfortable spots. Force him into making some mistakes.Next: Scouting the Bears ahead of Week 15 meetingThe Packers will be favored in the matchup on Sunday but the running backs and the defensive line will need to make plays to continue their run to the playoffs.More from Lombardi AveHow the Green Bay Packers can defeat the Chicago Bears in Week 1522h agoGreen Bay Packers: Why Ty Montgomery hasn’t carried a big load yet23h agoGreen Bay Packers: Young players to build team around1 d agoGreen Bay Packers: Putting the brakes on Jordan Howard1 d agoGreen Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers for MVP? Why not?1 d agoThis article originally appeared on
