Every NFL playoffs, new players step up in big ways for their teams. While the Chicago Bears haven't had any playoff experience as of late, what these playoffs do offer certain players is the chance to put behind them anything that happened in the regular season and rewrite their narrative.
If the Bears can get huge performances out of these players against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, they have a real chance to go far, making this trio worth keeping an eye on this weekend.
1. DJ Moore, WR
DJ Moore is the textbook definition of a playoff X-factor, especially given his circumstances and history against Green Bay this season. In Chicago's first matchup against the Packers, Moore had one catch for minus-four yards in a Bears loss. In the rematch two weeks later, Moore had five catches for 97 yards, which included the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
The outcome of Saturday night's game could largely depend on which version of DJ Moore the Bears are going to get. Leading into the playoffs, he's been in another funk, having only two catches for 18 yards in his last two games. The good news for Bears fans is that Moore has seemed to bounce back this season following multiple dud performances. In games following back-to-back weeks of two or fewer catches, Moore has had stat lines of 5-64-2 and 4-69-2.
The volatility is worrisome, but it's exactly why Moore can step up when the Bears need him the most.
2. Kyler Gordon, CB
Where Moore's main issue has been his performance on the field, Kyler Gordon's has been his lack of being on the field at all. He's dealt with lingering issues all season and has only played in three games. Things are looking up for the Bears and Gordon, however. He's been practicing again, albeit in a limited fashion, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has said that Gordon will be involved against the Packers.
Given Chicago's recent struggles in the secondary, this is amazing news for Bears fans. Gordon being on the field in any capacity should be a positive, but if he can show up at 100%, some of the Bears' secondary issues may be fixed, which would go a long way in beating the Packers and shutting down their deep WR room.
3. Rome Odunze, WR
Rome Odunze's issues fall somewhere in the middle of Moore's and Gordon's. He's been out with a foot injury since the end of November and has had some setbacks along the way. On top of this, the latter half of his season was nowhere near the scorching hot start he had production-wise, and a large part of that was due to drop issues.
Odunze was limited in Chicago's Wednesday practice but will likely be back to face Green Bay (h/t @CourtneyRCronin). If he comes back in his early-season form, Chicago should be in a good position to advance to the divisional round.
If both Moore and Odunze can show out and produce on Saturday, it will easily be the best version of the Bears' passing attack that we've seen. In Odunze's absence, rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III have shown that they can produce at a high level. If all goes right, Caleb Williams can have four elite-level targets in his first playoff game.