The Green Bay Packers‘ Wild Card round game against the Chicago Bears is not just any ordinary first-round playoff game.
The pair split their divisional games in the regular season, and Saturday night will serve as a sign to see Ben Johnson and Chicago have finally – at least for the moment – overtaken Green Bay in the hierarchy of the NFC North, and can hand the Packers their first NFC North playoff defeat in over 20 years.
The Bears-Packers affairs are not normally cordial ones, and this weekend will likely be no exception. Especially considering that a late hit by Bears defensive end, Austin Booker, resulted in Love having to exit the game and miss the following week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
So All-Pro running back, Josh Jacobs, in speaking to the media on Wednesday, issued a pretty blunt message to Chicago with regards to how the team will play come January 10th.
“I know a lot of guys took that hit that he took a little personal.” Josh Jacobs said , via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “So I’m not saying we gon’ go out there and play dirty or nothing like that, but we definitely gonna defend our brother.”
Josh Jacobs Set to ‘Defend’ Jordan Love vs. Bears
It is not explicitly clear what Jacobs means when he says the Packers will “defend our brother”, Jordan Love . Yet the implication is fairly black and white. Perhaps the word “avenging” – at least in its softer form – is a more accurate template to how Green Bay will approach the game.
Although, as Jacobs says, the intention is not to ‘go out there and play dirty’.
Not that the Packers exactly needed motivation heading into a road playoff game against their biggest historical rivals, who could be on the precipice of superseding them atop the NFC North. But the added axe to grind concerning Booker’s nasty hit will certainly lead to the players hoping to play the weekend’s game about as hard and fast a game as they have done all season.
Could The Bears-Packers Matchup Get Heated?
Green Bay were initially small favorites in the contest between the pair, before the line flipped in Chicago’s direction, and now the Packers are favored at -120 to win the bout.
In games this season, there has been substantial overt tension and aggression between the two teams. And after what happened to Love – in addition to it being a playoff game, and Chicago’s first home one since January 2019 – there is a strong likelihood the temperature could start to escalate quickly from the outset.
Both teams’ players know what is stake this weekend. Indeed, even Matt LaFleur’s future with the organization could end up being predicated on the result of Saturday night’s clash.
It should be a great one.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us .
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Josh Jacobs Sends Message to Bears After ‘Personal’ Week 16 Hit on QB appeared first on Heavy Sports .