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Kyle Long Jerseys Stitched , Ill. (AP) — Clinch the NFC North championship and beat a heated rival to do it? The Chicago Bears couldn’t have asked for a sweeter scenario.That’s exactly the opportunity they’re staring at when they host Aaron Rodgers and the fading Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon.“It would be very exciting,” quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said. “We know this is a big week for us, and a lot comes with it.”Article continues below ...With six wins in the past seven games, the division championship and a playoff spot are just about in hand.A win over the Packers (5-7-1) would clinch the North for the Bears (9-4). So would a loss by Minnesota to Miami. And ties by both the Bears and the Vikings would do the trick, too.Even if they don’t clinch the division, they could still secure a playoff spot on Sunday. In that case, a tie against Green Bay — or a tie or loss by Washington against Jacksonville — would send Chicago to the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 team won the NFC North.Of course, with a victory comes this added bonus: beating Green Bay. It would also give the Bears a measure of revenge for that season-opening gut punch at Lambeau Field, when Rodgers got carted off the field with a left knee injury and came back to lead the Packers from 20 down to a 24-23 victory.“It’s a special moment in my career,” Rodgers said. “It is the Bears Youth Anthony Miller Jerseys , and the injury I was dealing with and the pain and 20-0 and coming back and winning that game. It seems a long time ago, standing here in Week 15, but that was a good moment for us. It’s a better moment when you parlay those into big-time winning seasons and championship runs, but it was a special moment for sure.”The teams’ fortunes sure have changed since.The Bears have emerged as a force in the NFC in their first season under coach Matt Nagy after four straight last-place finishes. The Packers fired Mike McCarthy in his 13th season two weeks ago and made offensive coordinator Joe Philbin the interim head coach, hoping to jolt a team in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year.The Packers won his debut , beating the Atlanta Falcons 34-20. The Bears beat the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams 15-6 last week, with their defense squashing one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses.Here are some things to know with Chicago on the verge of securing a playoff spot and Green Bay’s hopes fading:STREAK VS. STRENGTHIt’s a case of a streak vs. strength when Rodgers faces Chicago’s turnover-happy defense. The Bears are first in the NFL in turnover margin at plus-13. Rodgers hasn’t thrown a pick since Week 4, when his pass over the middle for Jimmy Graham was deflected twice before being intercepted by Bills safety Jordan Poyer on second-and-4 from the Packers 49. It’s the only interception this season for Rodgers. Since then he’s had 368 straight attempts without an interception to set an NFL record.“Yeah, you know hopefully it stays that way,” Philbin said as he knocked on a wooden podium for good luck. The Packers are plus-2 in turnover margin Anthony Miller Jerseys Stitched , tied for 14th in the league.ROAD WOESWith an 0-6 road record and eight straight losses dating to last season, the Packers sure have experienced difficulties away from Lambeau Field. That’s something they hope to change against Chicago.The Packers have won nine of the past 10 meetings overall. They also have an eight-game winning streak at Soldier Field, counting the postseason.COMFORT AT HOMEWhile the Packers have struggled on the road, the Bears are 6-1 at Soldier Field.That gives them their highest win total at home since going 6-2 in 2008. And if they beat Green Bay, the Bears would finish 7-1 at home for the first time since 2005.Also, Nagy’s nine victories are the most by a coach in his first season with the Bears since Paddy Driscoll led the 1956 team to a 9-2-1 mark.TURNOVER TIMESpeaking of turnovers, the Packers’ defense has been hit or miss when it comes to takeaways. Cornerback Bashaud Breeland accounted for both of Green Bay’s takeaways last week with an interception return for a touchdown and fumble recovery, though the latter came on a botched shotgun snap. Still, the win over the Falcons ended a two-week stretch without a takeaway.OFFENSIVE OUTPUTThe Bears would certainly welcome a better showing from Trubisky. He struggled against Los Angeles after missing back-to-back games because of a right shoulder injury, with a season-high three interceptions and a 33.3 rating that was his lowest of the year.One positive for the Bears’ offense: Jordan Howard running for a season-high 101 yards. Former head coaches haven’t gotten much traction for second chances lately Youth Sherrick McManis Jerseys , at least ones who weren’t considered offensive specialists.But for former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, it runs deeper than that.Now the defensive coordinator of the Bears, Pagano said he’s not interested in being in ever being in charge again.“I’m not. I’ve done it,” Pagano said, via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com. “I’m motivated to just help coach Matt Nagy be successful. Help this organization be successful. Help these kids grow and develop. That’s my motivation is to be the best I can be for this organization, for the McCaskey family, for coach Nagy and for these players and for these coaches and help develop these guys. That’s the only thing I want to do.”Pagano also interviewed for an assistant role in Carolina, but despite Bruce Arians pushing his name out there early in the cycle, he didn’t get any interviews for top jobs.But his record as a head coach was strong, with the Colts posting 11-5 records his first three years (including 2012 Sherrick McManis Jerseys Stitched , when he was out for three months getting cancer treatments and Arians worked as his interim coach). When Andrew Luck played just six games in 2015 because of injuries, the Colts sagged to 8-8. Luck was back and perhaps not himself the following year and they went 8-8 again, and when the quarterback missed the entire 2017 season they went 4-12 and Pagano was fired.“I am better, not bitter,” Pagano said. “We had a great run, great experiences together. I was a lot better coach when No. 12 [Luck] was under center than I was when he wasn’t, you know, and that’s well documented. He probably got me a few more years than I may have deserved. I always say that. My wife is going to kill me for saying that, ‘just don’t say that.’ I just keep it real. But it was great to see Andrew back.“There was a time there that he thought he was never going to play again and we had a lot of tough, critical conversations Youth Mitchell Trubisky Jerseys , you know, because he is such a great teammate and such a great competitor. The NFL is better when he is on the field, and I think we all saw that. It’s great for the game, it’s great for him, it’s great for that organization.”Of course, Pagano isn’t the first coach whose career hinged directly on the health of his quarterback, but the experience of not having one was clearly enough for him to enjoy exactly once.