The biggest game of the season before Super Bowl XLV and the oldest rivalry will take place on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game between the Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears. FOX Sports will televise the game from Solider Field in Chicago with a kick-off time set for 3:05pm EST. Online sportsbooks have listed Green Bay as a 3.5-point road favorite in NFL odds vs the Bears with an over/under betting total of 42.5. The money line at sportsbooks has opened with Green Bay at -190 and the Bears at +160 in NFC championship predictions.
Green Bay is coming off back to back road playoff wins at NFC East champion Philadelphia 21-16 as 1-point underdogs in NFL odds and at the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons 48-21 also as 1-point underdogs. Last week's game at Atlanta was a near perfect performance for QB Aaron Rodgers who was 31-36 for 366 yards and 3 TD's. The Packers defense is just as big of a story however as they took control of the game against the potent Falcons attack and destroyed Atlanta's hopes with Tramon Williams ran back an interception 70 yards for a TD to end the 2nd quarter. Heading into 2011 NFC championship predictions as betting favorites, Green Bay finished 2nd in the NFL for scoring defense.
The Bears are coming off a 35-24 home payout as 10-point favorites in NFL odds last week against the Seattle Seahawks in a game that was not as close as that final score indicated. Defense is also what makes the Bears go as they ranked 4th for scoring defense although 20th against the pass, which is a concern against Rodgers. QB Jay Cutler was sharp last week with 274 yards and 2 TD's. Chicago has a strong edge in special teams over Green Bay. These two teams split the regular season series straight up in NFL odds but the Bears got the money both times with both games going UNDER the total.
NFC Championship Predictions: Chicago Bears +3.5