Green Bay, a team many expected to contend for the NFC crown, is in Chicago this afternoon to do just that. The Bears, the two seed in the NFC, will host the 2011 NFC Championship Title Game thanks to the Packers ouster of the top seeded Falcons last weekend. Kickoff in this divisional rubber match is scheduled for 3:00pm ET at Solider Field; the game will be broadcast live on FOX. The latest Packers vs Bears Spread has Green Bay listed as a -3.5 road favorite. The Over/Under is presently set at 42.5.
Aaron Rodgers has been a revelation ever since he assumed Brett Favre's throne in Green Bay, but this season he was 
suppose to reach a different level, one that would put him in the same company as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Rodgers played well early on, but he did not live up to the preseason hype. The Cal product threw an uncharacteristic number of interceptions, eight to be exact, in Green Bay's sluggish 4-3 start to the season.
Maybe Rodgers just needed to learn how to survive with a sub-par rushing attack (ranked 24th in the league at 100.4 yards per game), which is what the Packers, a +160 Super Bowl Lines favorite, fielded all year long due to Ryan Grant's week one season ending knee injury.
Rodgers turned the corner in the Packers final nine games (6-3 record), though, throwing 16 touchdowns to two interceptions. Heading into this afternoon's meeting with the Bears, Rodgers is on top of the world, and certainly on the cusp of elite status, if he has not already achieved it, due to his play in Green Bay's two road playoff wins.
Rodgers, who was backed by a rushing threat for the first time in a long time in the form of rookie James Starks, threw for 546 yards and six touchdowns in beating the Eagles and Falcons.
If he can continue that type of play against Chicago today, Rodgers will be the talk of the nation. He will face a far more formidable challenge in the Bears than he did in the Eagles or Falcons, though.
Chicago, which has a penchant for looking ugly but still pulling off wins, fields the best defense that Rodgers and Green Bay have faced in the playoffs. Yes, the Packers seem to be the story of the moment with their explosive offense, golden boy quarterback, and blitzing defense, but the Bears have the ability to erase all of that when the pads go on later today.
Rodgers has shown that he is poised under pressure, and he will need to be today because the run game than helped him produce the gaudy statistics he did against Philly and Atlanta will not be there this afternoon.
Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, and company will make life more difficult on the Packers, just as they did the first two times these division rivals hooked up. Green Bay gets the win, but it will not look anything like last weekend's Divisional round pasting of the Falcons.
NFL Point Spreads Betting Trend: The Packers are 4-0 straight up and against the spread over the last five years playing as a road team that has won three games in a row.
Packers vs Bears Spread 2011 NFC Championship Title Game:
Green Bay Packers -3.5 (-110), Over 42.5 (-110), -190 (Moneyline)
Chicago Bears +3.5 (-110), Under 42.5 (-110), +160 (Moneyline)
