The Chicago Bears have an opportunity to clinch their first division title since 2010 with a win against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. But according to Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, that’s not happening because of his team’s past success at Soldier Field.
Nope, we didn’t forget about Rodgers having the gall to predict his team would run the table after suffering a loss on Sunday Night Football to the Minnesota Vikings. Apparently, neither did Akiem Hicks or his teammates on the defensive side of the ball:
#Bears’ Akiem Hicks says he and his teammates didn’t forget Aaron Rodgers mentioning weeks back the Packers having confidence to win out in part because of their past success at Soldier Field: “I’m real excited for Aaron to come here and play this game.”
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 11, 2018
Mic. Dropped.
Hicks throwing down the gauntlet at the feet of a future Hall of Fame quarterback is one of those things that tempts fate, but also laughs in the face of fear. In previous years, a defensive player challenging Rodgers in this manner would worry Bears fans. But their recent destruction of Jared Goff and a potent Rams offense has Chicago’s defenders feeling some type of way. And it should because that was a defensive clinic. Then again, doing that two weeks in a row and against the long-time nemesis and someone who has tortured your soul for years on end is a horse of a different color.
In the end, I love that the Bears are openly and publicly up for a showdown. Defense is all about attitude and the Bears have an abundance of it. That leaves us with a good old-fashioned duel between the gunslinger quarterback and a defense primed to stop him in a potential clinching game featuring the NFL’s longest-running rivalry. Bring it on!