The Green Bay Packers have the playoffs right in front of them after the Chicago Bears lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night and now in Week 17 the NFC North division is on the line and Aaron Rodgers could get the start over Matt Flynn after he was knocked out of the starting job with an injury sustained against the Bears of course.
The Packers have been operating without Rodgers for weeks and it has been seven games since he has started and that first game he was knocked out of it happened very quickly. The game was in Lambeau Field and that means the Packers need to win on the road at Soldier Field. The Bears defense did not look sharp to say the least against the Eagles and now the Packers will be looking to pile it on as well. According to ESPN.com, head coach Mike McCarthy said that this week he is planning to make a decision faster on Rodgers and if he is cleared to go, he likely will play on Sunday and it will also be a decision involving the front office.
Rodgers had not been hurt much in his career until he suffered the collarbone injury against the Bears and while he was able to return for practice, he has not fully been cleared for play yet by the team medical staff. Matt Flynn has been announced as the starter on Friday of each of the past two weeks and it is likely that a starter will be named sooner than that this week. The Packers still have time to decide before Friday and even with the team taking off for Christmas, Rodger could get the call after that.
The Packers also have an injury to Clay Matthews to deal with after he suffered a right thumb injury and he may miss time as well. The Packers have won three of four games after losing to the Steelers in a wild game on Sunday and that kept the teams in play for the playoffs in their respective divisions and now the Packers have to win against the Bears to take the NFC North.
