The Chicago Bears are all that stand between the Green Bay Packers and a playoff berth, and Bears safety Eddie Jackson is ready to embrace the role of spoiler.
“You have to beat Green Bay. You have to beat them,” Jackson said, via Zack Pearson of 247 Sports. “Especially, the first game of the season, everybody still has that taste in their mouth. So we know this has to be a statement game for us.”
Jackson was referring to Week 1, when the Packers hammered the Bears by a score of 38-20 at Soldier Field. Now, he and his teammates have a chance at some payback.
Remember: last year, the Detroit Lions were the NFC North club that spoiled Green Bay’s playoff chances, beating the Packers in Week 18 to ruin their postseason hopes. That Lions team won of their last 10 games after starting the season 1-6. That sounds somewhat similar to this Bears club, which began 0-4 and has gone a very respectable 7-5 since. It has won four of its last five contests.
Injuries have limited Jackson to 11 games this season. During his time on the field, he has registered 31 tackles, an interception and four passes defended.
The 30-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Alabama, was selected by Chicago in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
After an impressive rookie campaign, Jackson made back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances in his second and third seasons, which included a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2018. That year, Jackson racked up 51 tackles, a sack, six interceptions, a couple of forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, 15 passes defended and a pair of defensive touchdowns.
That 2018 campaign also represented the last time the Bears made the playoffs, as they won the NFC North division title that season.
Jackson has not made a Pro Bowl since.
The Packers are 8-8 and are coming off of a blowout win over the Minnesota Vikings.
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