The Packers-Bears rivalry is the NFL's oldest. Yet, this will be just the third time these two teams have met in the playoffs.
The Packers beat the Bears 21-14 in the NFC Championship Game in January 2011. The Bears beat the Packers 33-14 in the Divisional Round in December 1941.
Saturday night's game in Chicago should be a tight, fun game. Green Bay was a 1-point favorite as of this writing, and there was snow in the forecast for Chicago.
Before we dig in, a quick recap of Week 18:
Wins: Jalen McMillan under 33.5 receiving yards, Kenneth Gainwell over 27.5 receiving yards
Losses: Riley Leonard under 174.5 passing yards, Lamar Jackson over 24.5 rushing yards, Drake London under 67.5 receiving yards
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The Packers-Bears rivalry is the NFL's oldest. Yet, this will be just the third time these two teams have met in the playoffs.
The Packers beat the Bears 21-14 in the NFC Championship Game in January 2011. The Bears beat the Packers 33-14 in the Divisional Round in December 1941.
Saturday night's game in Chicago should be a tight, fun game. Green Bay was a 1-point favorite as of this writing, and there was snow in the forecast for Chicago.
Before we dig in, a quick recap of Week 18:
Wins: Jalen McMillan under 33.5 receiving yards, Kenneth Gainwell over 27.5 receiving yards
Losses: Riley Leonard under 174.5 passing yards, Lamar Jackson over 24.5 rushing yards, Drake London under 67.5 receiving yards
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
Bears vs. Packers Wild Card Weekend Props
Last week: 2-3 | Season record: 73-50 | All odds are from Hard Rock Bet.
Here are a few NFL Wild Card Weekend props from this game I like.
The Packers lost star edge rusher Micah Parsons to a torn ACL in Week 15. Without Parsons, the Green Bay pass defense isn't the same.
The Packers faced the Bears in Chicago the week after Parsons' injury, and Williams completed 19-of-34 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns in Chicago's overtime victory. When the Bears and Packers met in Week 13, with Parsons still healthy, Williams went 19-of-35 for 186 yards.
That first meeting with the Packers was the last time Williams threw for fewer than 200 yards. In the four games since, he's averaged 258.5 passing yards per game and 7.5 yards per attempt.
Williams is on a roll, and the Packers' pass defense has been compromised. I think Williams clears this number with ease.
I like both quarterbacks to go over their yardage totals in this game.
A note about the weather: The forecast calls for snowy and breezy conditions in Chicago on Saturday night. The 16 miles per hour (MPH) winds shouldn't be too big a problem for the quarterbacks, and I think the snow could work to their advantage. If the snow is enough to make the field slippery, it could slow down the pass rush and make it harder for cover men to stick with the pass-catchers. The pass-catchers know where they're going, while the cover men have to react.
Love has averaged 225.4 passing yards per game and 7.7 yards per attempt this season. In the first of his two starts against the Bears this season, Love threw only 25 passes but still had 234 yards and three touchdowns against the Chicago defense.
More on Love's second start against the Bears in a moment.
The Chicago pass defense has been wretched of late. The 49ers' Brock Purdy had 303 yards and three touchdown passes against them in Week 17. The Lions' Jared Goff had 331 yards and a touchdown against them in Week 18.
And if you want to get into intangibles, Love was knocked out of the Packers' second game against the Bears when he sustained a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit midway through the second quarter. He might have revenge on his mind.
I really like the over here.
Luther Burden has come alive of late.
Before Week 14, Burden hadn't played more than 51% of the Bears' offensive snaps in any game this season. He's played at least 57% of the offensive snaps in three of the four games since, and he's averaging 5.3 catches and 81 yards a game over that stretch.
Burden played in only one of Chicago's two games against Green Bay this season. He had four catches for 67 yards against the Packers in Week 14.
A star in the making, Burden is averaging 2.69 yards per route run. Odell Beckham Jr. is the only rookie receiver to have averaged more yards per route run since the advent of that statistic. Burden ranks No. 1 among wide receivers in average yards of separation, according to NFL Next Gen Stats (4.6 yards). He ranks third in yards after catch per reception (7.4 yards).
And if the snow makes the Soldier Field playing surface slippery... can you imagine trying to cover Burden when the footing is uncertain?
Bet the over on Burden's receiving yardage.
