Thursday, September 13, 2012

Thursday Night Football: League's Most-Storied Rivalry Renewed

Yet another first for the 2012 NFL season tonight, as tonight marks the first Thursday Night Football matchup of the season. And it's only Week 2.

One of the great moves, in my opinion, for this season is the fact that primetime Thursday football takes place throughout the entire season rather than mid-to-late in the season like previous seasons.

The 0-1 Green Bay Packers, led by reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, will play host to the 1-0 Chicago Bears tonight (on NFL Network) as the National Football League's fiercest and most-storied rivalry renews.
In 182 all-time regular season meetings, the Bears currently hold a 91-85-6 series lead. The teams have only met twice in the postseason, however, and that series is tied at 1-1. The first-ever meeting between the two teams came on November 21, 1921, back when the Bears were named the Chicago Staleys. According to pro-football-reference.com, the "Staleys" won that game 20-0 and virtually owned the rivalry early on, winning seven of the first 10 match-ups.

As of late, the Chicago/Green Bay rival has been dominated by the green and gold, posting a 7-2 head-to-head record, including a 21-14 NFC Championship victory, since the start of the 2008 regular season.

Now that we have a bit of background information on the league's oldest rivalry, it's time to get on with business. Chicago defeated the Indianapolis Colts 41-21 on Sunday in rookie Andrew Luck's pro debut. The Packers on the other hand, were shocked at home by the NFC runner-ups from last season in San Francisco, 30-22.
Green Bay lost just one regular season game all of last year, but all of a sudden in the first week of play they find themselves sitting at 0-1. Clearly no one is going to be panicking after one week of a 16-game season, but if anyone wants this game more, it's the Packers.

Despite the news that Pro Bowl wideout Greg Jennings (groin) will not be active tonight, I believe the Packers will win on its home turf at Lambeau Field. My prediction: Chicago 21, Green Bay 35

Enjoy tonight's game!

Note: I do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

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