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CAROLINA PANTHERS @ CHICAGO BEARS -2.5
Carolina (11-5, 6-2 away) at Chicago (11-5, 7-1 home) @ 4:30 PM. EST *FOX
The last time the Chicago Bears won a playoff game, their opponent in Sunday's NFC Divisional Playoff, the Carolina Panthers, did not exist.
The National Football League was a different entity on Jan. 1st, 1995, when the Bears took down the Vikings, 35-18, in an NFC Wild Card game at the Metrodome. There were four fewer teams in the league, the Rams still played in Los Angeles, the Seahawks were a part of the AFC West, and the Bears were part of something called the NFC Central.
Chicago is 0-2 in the postseason since defeating the Vikings that day, and Sunday's matchup with the Panthers is just the second playoff game to kick off in the Windy City since 1991. The Bears, who won the NFC North and earned the conference's No. 2 seed, are in the postseason for the first time since 2001, when they squandered the No. 2 slot by losing to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles, 33-19.
The Bears' opponent this week will be a Panthers team looking to continue its road success following last Sunday's 23-0 blanking of the Giants at the Meadowlands. John Fox's squad is 7-2 away from Charlotte this season, with one of the losses coming in the form of a 13-3 setback at Soldier Field in Week 11.
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers and Bears will be meeting for the first time in postseason play.
Chicago owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time regular season series, breaking a deadlock with the aforementioned 13-3 home victory in Week 11. The Bears also earned a 31-27 home victory over the Panthers in 1995, and Carolina's lone win in the series came in the form of a 24-14 triumph in Charlotte during the 2002 campaign.
Fox is 1-1 all-time against Chicago. The Bears' Lovie Smith is 1-0 against both Fox and the Panthers as a head coach.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Defense will rule the day in this game, meaning the winner of the contest will likely be the one that makes one or two big plays on either offense or special teams. There is reason to believe that team will be the Bears, who have the more consistent running back in Thomas Jones and a couple of playmakers in Azumah and Berrian within the return game. Beating the Giants and Bears on the road in back-to-back weeks seems like too tall an order for Carolina, which hasn't always been at its best in big games this season.
Carolina (11-5, 6-2 away) at Chicago (11-5, 7-1 home) @ 4:30 PM. EST *FOX
The last time the Chicago Bears won a playoff game, their opponent in Sunday's NFC Divisional Playoff, the Carolina Panthers, did not exist.
The National Football League was a different entity on Jan. 1st, 1995, when the Bears took down the Vikings, 35-18, in an NFC Wild Card game at the Metrodome. There were four fewer teams in the league, the Rams still played in Los Angeles, the Seahawks were a part of the AFC West, and the Bears were part of something called the NFC Central.
Chicago is 0-2 in the postseason since defeating the Vikings that day, and Sunday's matchup with the Panthers is just the second playoff game to kick off in the Windy City since 1991. The Bears, who won the NFC North and earned the conference's No. 2 seed, are in the postseason for the first time since 2001, when they squandered the No. 2 slot by losing to the visiting Philadelphia Eagles, 33-19.
The Bears' opponent this week will be a Panthers team looking to continue its road success following last Sunday's 23-0 blanking of the Giants at the Meadowlands. John Fox's squad is 7-2 away from Charlotte this season, with one of the losses coming in the form of a 13-3 setback at Soldier Field in Week 11.
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers and Bears will be meeting for the first time in postseason play.
Chicago owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time regular season series, breaking a deadlock with the aforementioned 13-3 home victory in Week 11. The Bears also earned a 31-27 home victory over the Panthers in 1995, and Carolina's lone win in the series came in the form of a 24-14 triumph in Charlotte during the 2002 campaign.
Fox is 1-1 all-time against Chicago. The Bears' Lovie Smith is 1-0 against both Fox and the Panthers as a head coach.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
Defense will rule the day in this game, meaning the winner of the contest will likely be the one that makes one or two big plays on either offense or special teams. There is reason to believe that team will be the Bears, who have the more consistent running back in Thomas Jones and a couple of playmakers in Azumah and Berrian within the return game. Beating the Giants and Bears on the road in back-to-back weeks seems like too tall an order for Carolina, which hasn't always been at its best in big games this season.
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