To Beat Aaron Rodgers, the Bears Must Check These Two Boxes

What is Aaron Rodgers to the Chicago Bears? Some will say he's the boogeyman. That creature that crawls out from under your bed to scare you to death. A better way to put it is he's the school bully. That kid who is just bigger and stronger than you and that no matter how many times you try to fight, you always end up walking back home with a black eye and a bleeding lip. When will the nightmare end? What will it take to conquer the beast? The Bears have been searching for those answers for 10 years with little success to show for it. They tried sticking to their classic methods:  run the football, control the clock, and play great defense. It didn't really work. So then they shifted philosophies. They surrounded their quarterback Jay Cutler with a rebuilt offensive line, gave him good weapons and decided to match Rodgers in points. Except that didn't work either. This is where the Bears haven't yet found the sobering reality. To be almost assured of a win over Rodgers? You need both.

Aaron Rodgers is like a telepath: only vulnerable when overloaded

Hall of Fame quarterbacks aren't easy to beat. That's why they're Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Rodgers is no different. I dug into his history over the years, trying to find a common theme in games where he was defeated on a consistent basis. After some numbers crunching, here's what it takes to be 98% guaranteed a win vs. #12.

• They must sack him at least 3 times
• They must score 30 points or more

Sounds like a high demand, right? Of course, it is. The truth is the Bears actually haven't had a hard time sacking Rodgers in the past. They've topped the three-sack mark several times over the years. It's the other criteria that is the elusive unicorn. Ready for a rough historical stat? The last time the Bears scored 30+ points against the Packers was December 23rd of...wait for it...2007. That was the year before Rodgers became starting quarterback. In other words, they've never accomplished that feat stretching across an absurd 21-straight games. It's little wonder Chicago has only won twice in games where Rodgers started and finished the game. Still, the parameters are set for a reason. Since the year he took over in Green Bay, teams have met the two criteria a total of 25 times up until last season. The Packers are a very mortal 1-24 in those games. [video poster="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/16-Week-16_-Packers-at-Bears-Game-Hi-mp4-image.jpg" width="640" height="480" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/16-Week-16_-Packers-at-Bears-Game-Hi.mp4"][/video]

2017

• Atlanta (L)
• Carolina (L)

2016

• Atlanta (L)
• Indianapolis (L)
• Dallas (L)
• Tennessee (L)

2015

• Carolina (L)
• Denver (L)
• Arizona (L)

2014

• New Orleans (L)
• Seattle (L)

2013

• Cincinnati (L)
• San Francisco (L)

2012

• Indianapolis (L)
• Minnesota (L)
• San Francisco (L)
• New York (L)

2011

• New York Giants (L)
• San Diego Chargers (W)

2009

• Minnesota (L)
• Minnesota (L)
• Tampa Bay (L)
• Cincinnati (L)
• Arizona (L)

2008

• Tampa Bay (L)

This reinforces how critical Rodgers has been to their success over the years. The team just isn't built to respond when he's not on his game. This may be the first time in a decade the Bears are actually equipped to do both. Khalil Mack joins a Bears defense that already had over 40 sacks last season, so there should be plenty of pressure. Mitch Trubisky had 297 yards passing against Green Bay the last time he saw them and that was before the arrivals of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller, and Trey Burton. Not to mention a brand new offense constructed by head coach Matt Nagy. It feels like this might be the most complete team they've had in ages. Enough to get that Rodgers monkey off their back.