Bears: Two underrated players are key to beating Packers

The Chicago Bears have to get the ball to these guys in order to beat Green Bay.

This weekend, things get more real than ever. The 7-6 Chicago Bears may be staring their playoff lives in the face as they travel to Lambeau Field to clash with the Green Bay Packers.

A cold weather game, late in the season, featuring the league’s most historic rivalry? Sign me up. Let’s do this.

For the Bears to come away with this crucial victory against Green Bay, a few things will have to go their way. Obviously, the big storyline is the fact that quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is playing much more comfortable as of late and head coach Matt Nagy has done a lot to make the most of his capabilities.

Trubisky has been a highlight and will surely be the most closely-watched player on the Bears this weekend. But, that seems to always be the case. It’s a given.

The two offensive players fans will want to watch for most, though, are not who you might think.

In order for the Bears to beat this Green Bay defense, it could come down to J.P. Holtz and Jesper Horsted being big-time keys for Trubisky.

Last week against the Dallas Cowboys, the Bears were of course without Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen. Not only that, but Ben Braunecker was out with a concussion. That left both Holtz and Horsted (this year’s preseason standout) as the team’s primary targets at the tight end position.

Against the Cowboys, Holtz and Horsted were fantastic. They both ran solid, crisp routes and caught the ball when targeted. The two combined for seven receptions and 92 receiving yards. Holtz was the standout of the group, who averaged a whopping 18.7 yards per catch.

Prior to this last week’s game against the Washington Redskins, the Packers were on an absolutely horrific stretch against tight ends. In the six games leading up to Week 14, Green Bay had given up 42 receptions for 616 yards and five touchdowns to the tight end position.

The reason I’m omitting the Redskins from having any impact on this discussion? It’s Dwayne Haskins — he’s been, well, bad.

Chicago’s first order of business, offensively, is to get the ground game going. Along with that, Nagy’s creativity with the pre/post snap movement will be big. But, once those two things get established, play action comes into play.

Both Horsted and Holtz have performed when called upon, and might end up having big games against the Packers defense. I’m sure Nagy has done his homework and knows just how bad Green Bay has been against tight ends this year, so watch for these two under-the-radar studs to make key plays as the Bears fight for another win this weekend.