The Green Bay Packers once again face the Chicago Bears in a playoff showdown. These three players must deliver clutch performances for the Packers to advance.
This is the biggest matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears in ages. Both teams are trying to make a run to the Super Bowl, but that path starts at Soldier Field on Saturday evening in the NFC's Wild Card round.
One of these bitter rivals will get massive bragging rights, while the other will head into the offseason with potentially one of the most bitter tastes in their mouths that you could imagine.
This is already the NFL's longest and most heated rivalry. Now throw in the pageantry of this being the first playoff matchup between these two historic franchises since the Packers beat the Bears to advance to the Super Bowl in 2011 -- and this is absolutely a big deal.
The Packers want to come away with a win. Heck, for head coach Matt LaFleur's sake, they need to.
These three players must step up in order for that to become a reality for Green Bay.
Jordan Love must be the star that the Packers believe that he is
It's time for Jordan Love to make a statement. His first foray into the playoffs, a massive Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys, is now a few years in the rear-view mirror. He's since lost two-straight playoff games, though (to the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles) and some of the shine has come off that 272 yards, three touchdown and no performance in Jerry World.
The Pack gave Love a four-year, $220 million contract extension in July 2024 because they believe in him as their franchise quarterback.
Now is the time for him to back up that belief and once again earn his rising-star status.
This is Edgerrin Cooper's time to shine
Edgerrin Cooper is only in his second season as a second-round pick out of Texas A&M, but his rookie year was so good that the expecations are so high.
The Packers believe they have an All-Pro on their hands in Cooper, but his numbers have been a bit quieter this season.
He hasn't hit a sophomore slump. He just hasn't made as many game-changing plays.
He'll be needed against a very good Bears offense, though. Not only will he have to play strong between the tackles against rookie bruiser Kyle Monangai, but Cooper's speed will be needed to match both D'Andre Swift and quarterback Caleb Williams on the edges.
If Cooper has a big game, the Packers will win.
Romeo Doubs can make the ultimate comeback
Frankly, the Packers should have been 2-0 against the Bears this season. They were the better team for all of 58 minutes in their matchup a few weekends ago in Chicago, but Romeo Doubs botched an onside-kick return and the rest is bad Packers' history.
It may not have been a Brandon Bostick-level mistake, but it was right there.
Christian Watson has clearly become Love's go-to target and he's becoming a worthy WR1 for the Packers. This offense goes from good to great when the secondary pieces get involved and start making plays, though, so Doubs has a chance to really make up for his mistake a few weeks ago by having a big game here.
Doubs is set to be a free agent this offseason, so this might be his last chance to make a big impact on the Packers, or any other team that is considering paying him.