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The Chicago Bears will face a true litmus test on Sunday night as they are set to play the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 of the 2022 NFL Regular Season.
After the Chicago Bears’ surprising victory over the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday, the focus has shifted to the Green Bay Packers.
The upcoming Sunday night game between the two teams likely will be the first data sample that can be used for determining where exactly the Bears are as a team under first-year head coach Matt Eberflus.
The Bears’ victory over the 49ers should not be discredited but it can be viewed as a bit of an anomaly on the season considering the monsoon conditions under which the game was played.
Rain is forecasted for the Bears’ primetime game against the Packers on Sunday night but not nearly to the level of what transpired this past weekend at Soldier Field.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has often admitted that he preferred playing against the Bears in poor weather conditions as it slowed down the pass rush and allowed him to make reads while on the field.
Rodgers was monitoring the drama between the Chicago Bears and Roquan Smith.
One of the Bears’ defenders that Rodgers hopes to be slowed down on Sunday is linebacker Roquan Smith. Rodgers had nothing but praise for Smith while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.
“I like the way he goes about his business. He’s kind of low-key classy. . . . Every now and then you hear a little trash talk, which he’s good at. A lot of respect for Roquan.”
Part of the business to which Rodgers was referring to were the rumors surrounding Smith during training camp when the linebacker requested a trade from the Bears.
Rodgers was paying close attention to those rumors and was hoping for a trade that would move Smith out of the NFC North division.
“Wouldn’t have minded if he’d gotten traded,” Rodgers cracked Wednesday, referring to Smith’s contract squabble.
The Bears and Smith have set aside their differences for now with the mutual goal of focusing on the season and the linebacker proved his value to the team in Week 1. Smith was the Bears leading tackler against the 49ers as he had 9 total tackles to go along with half a sack and a pass deflected.
Fortunately for the Bears, Smith was not traded and he remains at the center of the team’s defense. With the goal this season of proving his value to the team in the new defensive system under Eberflus, Smith can make a strong showing for himself on Sunday night with the national audience tuning in.
