Wednesday, January 7th, 2026, Bears, Packers, wild card round, game preview number two. It's gonna stay big picture here because I just don't think the X's and O's, the little minutiae are what's gonna determine this game. It's gonna stay big picture and gonna stay with a theme, which is it's not necessarily important what plays Dennis Allen calls snap in and snap out. But the Bears have to make a determination with this game. And the determination they have to make is, are they willing to let the Packers have the ball for extensive, extended periods of time over the course of the game? Because any team that wants to, because of the lack of pass rush, because the run defense isn't great, any team that really wants to can keep the ball against this defense. Where teams have gotten in trouble is when they start to take those shots down the field, which is where Bayard, Noshon, these guys have picked them off. Dennis Allen has to make a determination in terms of what is he willing to allow? I made this comparison on Twitter the other day, and I think it's an apt one. If you watch European soccer, Premier League soccer, there are coaches who, and the phrase is absorb pressure. They are more than willing to let you hold the ball, pass the ball around. And their goal is they're going to have a tight back line. They're not going to let you get easy shots off, and they're going to hit you on the counterattack. So you're going to commit so many bodies forward, you'll be vulnerable at the back. They'll be able to hit you in those things. That doesn't quite correlate to the NFL. But what I think Dennis Allen has to decide is, am I willing to let these guys have three play first downs over and over? What I mean by that is five yards on first down, four yards on second down, run first down, and then just drive after drive. The clock goes, the clock goes. I hope early in this game, he is not. I think early in this game, Dennis Allen has to sort of bait the Packers into taking shots. Because I don't think the Bears can line up and stop the long drive. Might they get a penalty? Might they get a mistake? Absolutely. Might they be able to hold them to a field goal here or a field goal there? Absolutely. But the Bears are going to win this game by having the football as many times as they can. That is the one thing I have not heard enough analysts say. The thing that changes in the fourth quarters of these games all year long is the Bears get possessions. And when they get possessions and they have a sense of urgency, they tend to score. So I just don't think the approach to this game is letting the Packers have the ball for six and seven minutes at a time. You've got to get the ball in Caleb Williams' hands as often as you can. And that's why, at least early in the game, I want to see if the Packers can hit home runs against me. I want to bait them into taking some shots. Maybe I take the ball away. Maybe we get a big sack fumble. I do not want to let them have the easy six and seven yard throws up and down the field. I don't think that's the sustainable method to beat this team. So my game preview, second, volume two, that's my focus. How is Dennis Allen going to approach this Packers offense? Because it's in his control. He can take those mid-range throws away and be susceptible over the top. But we've seen a reluctance by him to do that early in games. I think that might change Saturday night because the objective has to be to get Caleb and Ben as many possessions as you possibly can.