The highly anticipated press conference from Mike McCarthy on the status of Aaron Rodgers opened up with the announcement that Green Bay is preparing for the Bears with Rodgers as their starting quarterback. Matt Flynn has kept the Packers alive since Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone, but the return of Rodgers is huge for their playoff hopes.
Rodgers has played in eight games with the Packers so far this year, throwing for 2,218 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has also thrown just four interceptions, and those numbers will come in handy this week against the Bears in a winner-take-all game.
McCarthy has made it clear that Aaron Rodgers has looked great in practice and has been throwing very well. There will be rust coming off of seven weeks not being on the field, but it doesn’t sound like that will be a huge factor. Perhaps the biggest upgrade over Flynn that Rodgers will bring to the field is his awareness of the defense. Flynn made pivotal mistakes in a couple games by looking past defenders and throwing interceptions. Rodgers is much better at reading defenses and is a more athletic quarterback who is more aggressive with his feet.
This weekend will be one of the most tense games in the history of the Bears vs. Packers rivalry. There is always a good amount of dislike between the Bears and Packers, but adding in a game where the loser goes home and the winner makes the playoffs takes the rivalry to a whole new level. The Packers have been the underdog team thus far in the conversation, but with Rodgers coming back, things are looking much better for Green Bay.
Evan Massey is a Staff Writer for The Inscriber. Follow Evan on Twitter at @Massey_Evan.
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