It is fair to say that most Chicago Bears fans honestly don't know how to feel about the Wild Card matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Having split the regular season series while being outplayed for six out of eight quarters, the Bears definitely have reason to worry.
At the same time, if the Bears are at their best and do what they are supposed to do, then even Packers fans have reason to worry. This game could go a few different ways.
But one particular Packers reporter sees one thing happening for sure, and Bears fans will be happy to know there's a significant fear on the Green Bay end. Zach Kruse of The Packers Wire posted this after acknowledging he didn't want to disparage the Bears in any way this week:
"Bears are going to spam the run. Will probably rush for 200 and dominate TOP. It just is what it is with these DLs. Expecting another shortened game, 8-9 possessions. Packers will HAVE to score TDs in the red zone."
It's interesting to note that a Packers reporter thinks the Bears will run for even more yards than they did in either of the first two matchups.
Logic says the Bears should run all over the Packers in their Wild Card matchup, but will they?
The Bears proved, in both matchups, that when they run the ball consistently, they can do it well against that Packers defensive line. So, Kruse is right, in a way. But, to get 200 yards? That would be a feat.
In the second matchup, Green Bay actually out-rushed the Bears 192-150 and ran it a whopping 44 times to the Bears' 26 carries. Chicago ran for 138 yards in the first matchup, but a lot of that came in the second half.
In the second game, the Bears came out and did exactly what they should have. Seven out of the first 10 plays were runs, and four different players carried the ball: D'Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Caleb Williams, and DJ Moore.
But we know how that drive ended. Because of a bad snap with Monangai in front of Drew Dalman, the Bears turned it over on downs.
If you thought the Bears looked flat for the next three quarters in that game, you aren't wrong. For the rest of that game, the Bears only ran it 17 times before running it twice more in overtime. So, for a large majority of all four quarters, Ben Johnson chose to run the ball just 17 times in a close game.
That's not enough. To put it simply, that's not enough. Period.
In this matchup, at home at Soldier Field, we know what needs to happen. The Bears have to be the more physical team and commit to the run early, but then stick to it. They cannot afford to get cute or too pass-happy, as Johnson has sometimes done.
Read more: Ben Johnson sent a crystal-clear message after Bears' disappointing loss to Lions
If Chicago runs the ball consistently and never strays from it, it can indeed go for over 200 as a team and come away with the win.