Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers: Five players to watch

3. Jordan Howard

Something tells me that Howard not being on the injury report Monday was probably a bit dishonest by John Fox.

We all know there’s no way Howard’s shoulder is healthy after that game he just played. As such, even though he’ll do his best to suit up, Howard’s status will be worth watching Thursday.

Of course, he’ll also bear watching because his re-emergence on Sunday essentially won the Chicago Bears that game Sunday. And if they want to keep winning in this pitiful Glennon-led offense, they’re going to need him to keep chewing up the clock.

After all, while the 23 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns were impressive enough, it was the strategy of his production that arguably made the biggest difference Sunday (and could again tomorrow).

A week after struggling to sustain drives, the Bears flipped the script and dominated time of possession (33+ minutes). Doing this kept Ben Roethlisberger off the field and made getting into a rhythm tougher for the Pittsburgh Steeler offense. And that same key will apply to Aaron Rodgers: keep him off the field.

Plus, the Packers will be missing the dominant Mike Daniels in their defensive interior, which hopefully will make running the football easier. If they can establish Howard, and later Tarik Cohen, they can give themselves a fighting chance in this one.