How much of an impact does Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Ryan Pickett have on the Packers’ run defense? We’re about to find out.

Pickett had missed the past two games (Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears) after he suffered his second concussion of the 2011-12 NFL season. This injury occurred when Pickett’s head smashed into the knee of Oakland Raiders running back Michael Bush. Pickett had experienced headaches, dizziness and a lack of concentration for the past two weeks.

Pickett returned to the practice field on December 28, 2011. Pickett claims that he “Feels great.” He’s also grateful that the organization was looking out for his long-term health. There’s a possibility that Pickett will play in the Packers’ regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions on January 1, 2012. He should definitely be available for the NFC divisional playoff game that comes two weeks after that.

The Packers’ run defense has struggled without Pickett. The Packers lost their only game of the season when the Chiefs rushed for 139 yards. That was without Jamaal Charles, who was previously lost for the season with a torn ACL. Kyle Orton used a strong running game to his advantage as he had 299 passing yards, many of which came off play-action passing.

The run defense was worse on Christmas night. The Bears rushed for 199 yards despite having a third-string quarterback who hadn’t started a game since 2007 and a third-string running back. The Packers couldn’t contain the Bears’ ground game even with eight-in-the-box. Kahlil Bell and Armando Allen were both running wild on the Packers’ defense.

The combination of B.J. Raji and Pickett will hopefully protect the linebackers and allow them to make plays and control their gaps. The Bears were often picking linebackers up with their offensive lineman. Raji and Pickett must keep the opposing offensive line preoccupied.

If at all possible, Pickett shouldn’t play more than a half. He does need some playing time so he isn’t completely raw as he enters the playoffs. It’s probably better to exude caution on this injury since it’s a concussion. Concussions are unpredictable.

The Packers may be without Jermichael Finley in the regular-season finale. Finley missed practice on December 28 because his left knee has started bothering him. Finley sounds like he wouldn’t be against being benched for this game as it has no playoff implications. That would give him additional time to recover for the divisional playoff matchup.

Greg Jennings will also rest his knee for another week. However, there’s nothing to suggest that he won’t be ready for the playoffs.

Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. His favorite Packer moments include Super Bowl XXXI, XLV, and Al Harris interception return following Matt Hasselbeck’s “We’re gonna score” comments. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and “4th & 26″ in a span of three months.

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CHICAGO (CBS) — The struggling Bears say they have to “take a stand” against the Green Bay Packers when they head up to Wisconsin on Christmas Day.

“Green Bay is our rival, but lately, we haven’t been holding up our end of the deal. It’s kind of simple as that,” said Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith. They’ve dominated the rivalry here lately, and we have to take a stand. A great ball club – whenever you go that many games without losing, you’re saying a lot about what type of football you’re playing.”

The Packers are 13-1 this season. But the Bears have gone 0-4 since quarterback Jay Cutler had to leave with a broken thumb.

The Bears announced earlier this week that Josh McCown will start as quarterback against the Packers Sunday night, rather than the struggling Caleb Hanie.

McCown signed with the Bears after the injury. He hasn’t started a game since 2007 when he was with the Oakland Raiders.

But linebacker Brian Urlacher said the Bears can be competitive against the Packers regardless of the teams’ respective records.

“There have been times when they’ve been terrible and we’ve been good; we beat them. We’ve been good, they’ve been bad, they beat us. It doesn’t really matter; I hope it doesn’t matter this week either. It’s a big game for us going on there on Christmas Day, which will be the main focus of everyone’s game. It should be fun,” Urlacher said.

Linebacker Lance Briggs emphasized that the game is more about the team’s ability to salvage this season than the Bears-Packers rivalry.

“Even though we split during the season last year – they went ahead and won the championship game and went on to win the Super Bowl – I look at it as a big game. It’s a huge game,” Briggs said. We’re driving up to Wisconsin to play our rival, so I think it’s more than just taking a stand in the rivalry. It’s more taking a stand in the season.”

In the final game of the 2010 regular season, the Green Bay Packers hosted the Chicago Bears in a game crucial to the Packers’ playoff hopes. Green Bay had battled through a devastating series of injuries and needed a win to advance as the NFC’s sixth playoff seed.

The Bears, having already clinched the NFC North and a first-round bye, had nothing to play for and were expected to rest their regulars. Instead, Chicago played its stars throughout, and the Pack were lucky to escape with a 10-3 win.

Today, the roles are reversed. The Packers won the NFC North around Thanksgiving, and are on the verge of wrapping up home field throughout the NFC playoffs. It is the Bears who are battling injury, their postseason hanging by a thread, and they can expect no mercy from their traditional rival.

Green Bay is favored by 13 points in the Christmas night showdown, and gets our call over a Bears team that has lost four straight and starts journeyman Josh McCown at quarterback.

In other games:

TOMORROW

KANSAS CITY (-2) over Oakland -— The Chiefs looked ecstatic to be playing for Romeo Crennel and they’d like nothing better than to knock the hated Raiders out of playoff contention.

Denver (-3) over BUFFALO — We have a Denver team that’s won six of its last seven to surge ahead in the AFC West, while the reeling Bills have lost seven in a row. Go Broncos.

TENNESSEE (-71⁄2) over Jacksonville — One team’s in the postseason chase and the other can’t wait for the season to end. Factor in the Titans’ embarrassing loss to the Colts, and Tennessee should be too hard to handle.

CINCINNATI (-4) over Arizona — The Bengals are thisclose to a playoff berth, but need a win here and over Baltimore next week to make it. The Cards have won several close games down the stretch, but their luck runs out here.

Miami (+91⁄2) over PATRIOTS — The Pats are in the driver’s seat for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, but their always shaky defense makes the near double-digit spread overly generous.

BALTIMORE (-121⁄2) over Cleveland — Locked in a close AFC North race with the Steelers, and after being outplayed in all facets in San Diego, look for one snarling flock of Ravens to descend on the Browns.

N.Y. Giants (+3) over N.Y. JETS — Too bad both these teams couldn’t lose, so we’d be rid of New York football for the season. The Jints’ strength along the defensive line dovetails nicely with the Jets’ shaky offensive line, so take Big Blue.

WASHINGTON (-61⁄2) over Minnesota — With Rex Grossman at QB the past two weeks, the Skins almost upset the Pats and beat the Giants. They’ll have no trouble with the 2-12 Vikes, who threw in the towel early last week against New Orleans.

CAROLINA (-71⁄2) over Tampa Bay — Carolina has won three of its last four and is laying the groundwork for a successful 2012. The same can’t be said of the Bucs, who have lost eight straight, the last three by 19, 27 and 16 points.

PITTSBURGH (off) over St. Louis — This game is off the board due to the uncertain playing status of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.

The business at hand for the unbeaten Green Bay Packers is a chance to lock up the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs Sunday and ensure the road to Super Bowl XVLI travels through Lambeau Field. But quarterback Aaron Rodgers can’t resist looking ahead to the Christmas night showdown against the Chicago Bears.

With a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, the Packers (13-0) will ensure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. After that, they would love to make sure the Bears are home for the playoffs.

“I’ll just say that I think, as players, we would probably like to finish this thing out if we get a chance,” Rodgers said Wednesday of the team’s goals for the stretch run, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “And (have) a chance to maybe keep the Bears and the Lions out of the playoffs like the Bears tried to do to us last year.”

The talk in Green Bay is about a run at 16-0 and then 19-0. Green Bay can become the first defending Super Bowl champion to start the next season 14-0 if it beats a reeling Kansas City Chiefs team Sunday. The debate after that is how to handle playing time in the final two games that will have no impact on playoff seeding.

The Bears went to Lambeau Field for the regular-season finale last year. When the game began, Lovie Smith’s team already was locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Bears played their starters throughout and went for the victory. The Packers, who had to win to get into the playoffs, prevailed 10-3. That loss came back to haunt the Bears three weeks later when Green Bay beat them again in the NFC title game at Soldier Field.

For the Bears (7-6) to keep their fading playoff hopes alive, they need to defeat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday before they can worry about the Packers.

bmbiggs@tribune.com

Twitter @BradBiggs

In week 9, I correctly predicted that both the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears would win their games. As we head into week 10, here is how I think the NFC North teams will fare in their match-ups.

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears:

When these teams met a few weeks ago, it was difficult to pick the Lions over the Bears, but at that point in time, they were the better team. Thanks in large to big plays from Calvin Johnson(notes) and Jahvid Best(notes), Detroit had their way against Chicago’s defense. This time around, things are different for both teams. The Lions dropped two straight at home before beating up on the Denver Broncos while the Bears have won three straight.

Chicago’s offensive line resembled a train wreck in the teams’ previous meeting as Jay Cutler(notes) spent most of the game scrambling for his life due to the pocket protection breaking down repeatedly. Since that last game, this unit has played very well. Not only are they creating open lanes for Matt Forte(notes), but they have only surrendered three sacks over the last three games. The strategy here is simple. if the Bears control the line of scrimmage, they should come out on top in this one.

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers:

The last time these teams met in Minnesota, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead before the Packers were able to come back to win the game 33-27. I realize that Christian Ponder(notes) played well in that game for the most part and that Adrian Peterson is always a game-changing threat, but it is difficult to foresee the Vikings beating the Packers on the road.

While the Packers are undefeated at 8-0, their one flaw is their secondary. Green Bay is ranked near the bottom of the league in passing yards allowed per game, but I highly doubt the Vikings have the weapons on offense that can attack the Packers’ defense. I expect to see another close contest between these two teams. In the end though, Green Bay will remain perfect when it’s all said and done.

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been an NFL fan for over 20 seasons. For interesting discussions about the NFL, NBA and MLB, follow on him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

Sources:

Packers-Vikings Preview

Bears-Lions Preview

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