By Scott Garbarini, NFL Editor

(Sports Network) - Though the Green Bay Packers fell short in their quest for
ultimate immortality, the reigning world champions still have the opportunity
to achieve their No. 1 objective.

For the Chicago Bears, their dreams of competing for a Super Bowl title have
just about vanished due to an injury-induced long losing streak.

For the first time in nearly a full calendar year, the Packers will attempt to
bounce back from a loss when the NFC front-runners host the fading Bears in a
Christmas night clash between bitter old rivals from Lambeau Field.

These two NFC North inhabitants squared off in the 2010 conference championship
game back in January, but only the Packers seem to have a reasonable shot at
making a repeat trip due to a crippling stretch of four consecutive defeats by
the Bears that coincided with the sidelining of both starting quarterback Jay
Cutler and star running back Matt Forte. The winless run has placed Chicago at
7-7 on the season and two games behind both Atlanta and Detroit for the NFC's
two Wild Card berths with two to play.

For the Bears to return to this year's postseason, they'll have to prevail both
this week and in the Jan. 1 finale at Minnesota, while both the Falcons and
Lions must fall in their remaining contests.

Green Bay still remains in the conference's catbird seat despite last Sunday's
startling 19-14 road setback to sub-.500 Kansas City, ending a sequence of 19
straight victories dating back to last season that ranks as the second-longest
run in NFL history. The Packers would wrap up the NFC's top overall seed by
prevailing in one of their final two bouts, or if San Francisco loses once in
the final two weeks.

"I've viewed the undefeated season as gravy," Green Bay head coach Mike
McCarthy remarked after last week's result. "The goal is to get the home-field
advantage and win the Super Bowl. We still have the primary goal in front of
us."

Prior to the Chiefs' upset, the Packers had not been knocked off since a 31-27
ousting by New England on Dec. 19, 2010.

It's only seemed like a year since the Bears last tasted victory, and a lack of
offensive production has been mainly to blame for the team's present rut.
Chicago has averaged a paltry 11.8 points in the four tests Cutler has missed
due a broken thumb, and has been held to 245 total yards or less in replacement
Caleb Hanie's last three starts.

Hanie threw nine interceptions and posted a lowly 41.8 passer rating in four
fill-in outings, prompting head coach Lovie Smith to turn to journeyman Josh
McCown for Sunday's showdown. The 32-year-old does have experience, having
started a total of 31 times for four different in a nomadic nine-year career,
but hasn't made one since 2007. He spent the 2010 season in the United Football
League and spent the fall coaching high school football in North Carolina prior
to being signed by the Bears in late November.

"Right now, we're disappointed in our quarterback play," said Smith. It hasn't
been as good as we would like it to be, but you can say that about other
positions."

Forte, who was averaging 123.9 yards from scrimmage prior to spraining his knee
in a 10-3 home loss to Kansas City in Week 13, will sit out a third straight
game with his injury. Backup Marion Barber is also expected to be inactive with
a calf strain suffered in this past Sunday's 38-14 defeat to Seattle, while
leading receiver Johnny Knox sustained a serious back injury in that matchup
and was placed on injured reserve on Monday.

The Bears, who haven't dropped five in a row in the same season since an eight-
game skid from Sept. 22-Nov. 18, 2002, were handed a 27-17 loss by the Packers
in Chicago back in Week 3 and have been bested in each of their last three
trips to Lambeau Field as well.

SERIES HISTORY

Chicago and Green Bay have met 181 times previously during the regular-season
in the NFL's most-played series, which dates all the way back to the 1921
season, with the Bears owning a 91-84-6 overall advantage. The Packers have won
four of the last five meetings in the set, however, including a 10-3 home
triumph in Week 17 of the 2010 campaign that vaulted the team into the
postseason. Green Bay took both of its two encounters with Chicago in 2009,
scoring a 21-15 verdict at Lambeau Field that year, with the Bears' last road
win over the Packers coming in 2007. Chicago did top Green Bay by a 20-17 count
at Soldier Field in September of the 2010 season.

Last January's NFC Championship marked only the second head-to-head meeting
between the storied franchises in the postseason. The other came in 1941, when
George Halas' Bears recorded a 33-14 victory over Curly Lambeau's Packers in a
Division Playoff.

Including last season's playoff loss, Smith is 8-8 against the Packers during
his reign as the Bears' head coach. McCarthy sports a 7-5 record versus both
Chicago and Smith over his five-year tenure in Green Bay.

WHEN THE BEARS HAVE THE BALL

Chicago will try its best to make do with a bunch of spare parts in this one.
McCown hadn't thrown a pass in an NFL game since 2009 before attempting two in
relief of Hanie last week, and his most recent extended action came during a
nine-start stint in Oakland in 2007 in which he compiled 1,151 passing yards
with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and went 2-7. The well-traveled veteran
does have a knowledge of coordinator Mike Martz's complex offense, however,
with the two having worked together in Detroit in 2006. With Forte out and
Barber doubtful, rushing duties will fall on third-year pro Kahlil Bell (162
rushing yards, 5 receptions, 1 TD), who did his best Forte impression by
amassing 108 yards from scrimmage (65 rushing, 43 receiving) and hauling in a
Hanie touchdown strike in the Seattle loss, with undrafted rookie Armando Allen
just promoted from the practice squad to work in reserve. The injury to Knox,
who was averaging nearly 20 yards per catch this year, robs the Bears of their
best big-play threat in the passing game and places additional responsibilities
on Earl Bennett (20 receptions, 1 TD), noted underachiever Roy Williams (27
receptions, 1 TD) and rookie Dane Sanzenbacher (21 receptions, 3 TD), the trio
that will serve as McCown's main targets.

Defense hasn't been the Packers' strong suit this season, as the defending
champs have surrendered the second-most total yards (397.8 ypg) and passing
yards (289.4 ypg) in the NFL and were gashed for 438 total yards last week by a
Kansas City offense that had been struggling. The unit is highly adept at
creating turnovers, however, with Green Bay's 27 interceptions the most in the
league and its 32 overall takeaways second only to San Francisco for top
honors. The Packers are well-stocked in the secondary with the cornerback trio
of perennial All-Pro Charles Woodson (72 tackles, 2 sacks, 7 INT), Tramon
Williams (53 tackles, 4 INT, 16 PD) and nickel specialist Sam Shields (38
tackles, 3 INT, 10 PD), while ferocious outside linebacker Clay Matthews (44
tackles, 6 sacks, 2 INT) rates as one of the game's premier pass rushers and is
a player who's given Chicago's suspect group of protectors plenty of trouble in
the past. The Packers have been generally solid against the run and outstanding
in that department in their earlier meeting with the Bears, limiting Forte to a
minuscule two yards on two attempts in that game, and are expected to have
inside linebacker and leading tackler Desmond Bishop (97 tackles, 5 sacks) back
from a three-week absence caused by a calf injury for Sunday's test. Veteran
end Ryan Pickett (32 tackles) has been ruled out, however, after incurring a
concussion against the Chiefs.

WHEN THE PACKERS HAVE THE BALL

A usually-deadly Green Bay offense that helped the club lead the NFL in points
(34.3 ypg) and ranks fourth overall in both total yards (397.8 ypg) and passing
yards (298.1 ypg) will try to rebound from an uncharacteristically ho-hum
showing against Kansas City. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (4360 passing yards, 40
TD, 6 INT) finished an off-target 17-of-35 for 235 yards in the loss while
under constant duress from a persistent Chiefs pass rush, and a couple of key
injuries along the front line have turned a constant strength into an area of
concern for Sunday. Stalwart right tackle Bryan Bulaga will miss the game with
a knee sprain, with regular left guard T.J. Lang sliding into that post, while
veteran left tackle Chad Clifton still hasn't fully recovered from a hamstring
tear suffered in October. The Packers will also be without Pro Bowl wide
receiver Greg Jennings for a second straight week due to a sprained knee, but
there's still plenty of weapons in reserve for Rodgers. Fellow wideout Jordy
Nelson (53 receptions, 10 TD) is averaging 18.6 yards per catch in a breakout
2011 season, while tight end Jermichael Finley (45 receptions, 6 TD) is a
dangerous field stretcher who burned the Bears for three touchdown catches back
in September. And the receiving corps still has the ever-reliable Donald Driver
(33 receptions, 5 TD), the owner of 731 career receptions over a distinguished
13-year tenure. Green Bay did get good news on the injury front at the running
back position this week, with leading rusher James Starks (565 rushing yards, 1
TD, 28 receptions) due back from a two-game sit-out from an ankle sprain to
split ball-carrying duties with steady vet Ryan Grant (467 rushing yards, 2 TD,
16 receptions).

Chicago's damaging slide has been in no part due to the work of the defense, as
the seasoned has continued to play at a high level in spite of the team's
overall woes. The Bears held Seattle to just 286 total yards last week and
successfully kept red-hot running back Marshawn Lynch in check, with the
Seahawks' offensive centerpiece managing a harmless 42 yards on 20 carries.
Chicago is allowing a noteworthy 78.2 rushing yards over its last nine games,
with the decorated linebacker duo of seven-time Pro Bowler Brian Urlacher (89
tackles, 3 INT) and six-time honoree Lance Briggs (97 tackles, 1 INT) once
again leading the charge. The team could be minus a couple of key contributors
in a game where it'll need all hands on deck, however, with rookie free safety
Chris Conte placed on injured reserve Monday after spraining his foot in the
Seattle game and pass-rushing tackle Henry Melton (19 tackles, 7 sacks)
questionable with a bruised shin. Starting safety Major Wright (41 tackles, 3
INT) is expected back after missing the last two weeks with a sprained
shoulder, however, and standout end Julius Peppers (36 tackles, 10 sacks) will
be on the field to potentially create problems for Rogers. The accomplished
veteran has racked up six sacks and forced three fumbles over his last seven
assignments.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Since there's little chance of Chicago's offense matching the Packers score-
for-score, the Bears are going to have to explore alternative avenues to come
up with ways to create scoring opportunities. Peppers is going to have to be at
his havoc-wreaking best to disrupt Rodgers and neutralize Green Bay's power-
packed passing attack like the Chiefs were able to do last week, and the
defense must stand its ground in the red zone and force turnovers. It'll be a
task easier said than done, however, as the Packers' 12 giveaways are the
second-fewest in the league and they're third in the NFL in red-zone touchdown
percentage (62.7 percent).

McCown. Chicago's dependable defense is capable of preventing the Packers, who
are dealing with a few big injuries on the offensive side, from lighting up the
scoreboard at will. It still won't matter, however, unless the Bears receive
the competent play under center that Hanie wasn't equipped to provide from
their new substitute quarterback. With such a long layoff between NFL starts,
he's really an unknown quantity at this point, but does have the luxury of
facing a defense that's had its issues in stopping the pass.

How much will the Packers' starters play? The only real drama concerning this
contest is whether Green Bay will be able to cover the double-digit spread. If
the Packers do get out to a comfortable lead, it wouldn't be surprising to see
McCarthy pull Rodgers and some other regulars for much of the second half and
make the final outcome appear a little closer than it actually was.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

With virtually all of its best skill players hurt and forced to start a stopgap
quarterback who's barely taken a snap in four years, not to mention having to
take on the league's most successful team on the road with it stewing over a
loss, it's hard to imagine Chicago being in a worse scenario. While the Bears
may be able to take a page out of Kansas City's blueprint for slowing down
Rodgers and his cast of playmakers, the McCown-led offense still isn't going to
be able to keep up. Look for the Packers to set the tone and build a sizeable
advantage on their beaten and battered rivals before playing it safe the rest
of the way.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Packers 27, Bears 10