Funny how a season can turn on a dime just like that.
After all the panic following three straight losses, the Green Bay Packers took back control of the NFC North with a road win against the Minnesota Vikings. Up next is a third consecutive division rival, the Chicago Bears.
Lambeau Field certainly will be lively for the first Thanksgiving game there since 1923, not only for the game against the hated Bears but also for the jersey retirement ceremony at halftime for Brett Favre (and an expected appearance by Packers great Bart Starr).
Green Bay has handled Chicago in recent years, winning six of the last seven between the teams at Lambeau and 10 of the last 11 contests overall.
A closer look at Thursday's matchup:
3 THINGS TO WATCH
-- Matt Forte has missed three games due to a medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee. How effective will he be is a key for the Bears. Forte ran for 141 yards in the season opener against Green Bay (for a 5.9 average) and averages over four catchers per game over his career against the Packers.
-- Speaking of injuries, Alshon Jeffrey didn't play last week but is hopeful to make a go of it Thursday. He'll be a game-time decision, but obviously Chicago's offense is more dynamic with him in there. In each of his four full games he has had 11 or more targets.
-- Eddie Lacy returned with a bang last week, rushing for 100 yards on 22 carries (4.5 average). That's good news for the Packers and bad news for the Bears, who are 25th in the NFL in rush yards per game allowed and 29th in rush yards per attempt. A healthy Lacy with a full head of steam could be trouble for a defense, which has already struggled against the run, on a short week.
2 THINGS TO REMEMBER
-- These Packers-Bears games are a tale of two quarterbacks. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is 13-3 (including the postseason) against Chicago, with a passer rating of 108.1. He has 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions vs. the Bears in 15 regular-season games while completing 69.4 percent of his passes. On the flip side, Chicago's Jay Cutler has 22 interceptions compared to 15 touchdowns and a 56.4 percent completion rate in 12 regular-season games. Yes, that is almost two INTs per game. If the QBs have their normal games vs. their opponent, well, no reason to think this one won't end up as most do: a Packers win over the Bears.
-- Third downs could be very interesting. While Green Bay is two points lower than the league average in third-down conversions at 36.5 percent, the Bears are allowing opponents to convert 43.9 percent of their third downs, which is the third worst rate in the NFL. On the other side, Cutler is fourth in the NFL with his third-down production of a 101.5 passer rating, which includes a 63.5 percent completion rate and a very high 9.51 yards per attempt. So don't sit back in your lounge chair thinking any third-down situation is easy.
1 KEY MATCHUP
Aaron Rodgers vs. Chris Prosinski
Prosinski is on his third team in two years and last week, with Andrel Rolle hurt, made his first start since 2013. It was his 10th career start in 63 games. Prosinski is, by most definitions, a career backup. Yet, with Rolle out again this week he'll be back out there with Chicago's starting secondary at one of the safety positions. It is just the type of matchup that Aaron Rodgers lives to exploit. Keep an eye on whoever Prosinski is matched up with Thursday.
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