Don't let the records fool you. The Chicago Bears are no slouch. 

In fact, just throw records and playoff stipulations out of the window right now. Although the Bears will want to play spoiler to a 7-6 Packers team clinging to their playoff lives at a possibly sub-zero degree Soldier Field this Sunday, they'll need to pull out all of the stops to do so.

They just got back starting wide receiver Alshon Jeffery on Monday, who is set to return from his four-game suspension in time for the Bears' second and final meeting with the Packers this season. He'll be another factor for Packers' defensive coordinator Dom Capers to scheme for outside of the rising star in their backfield, Jordan Howard, who just needs 31 more yards to eclipse 1,000 on the season.

Outside of their 17 players on injured reserve, the Packers will look to overcome injuries of their own on a much more minor scale.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is dealing with an ailing hamstring that was tweaked in the Monday night win in Philadelphia. On top of that, another calf injury that happened on just the third play from scrimmage on Sunday against the Seahawks. He won't miss a game through the remainder of the season when his team needs him the most, and that's coming from the man himself.

Not that Rodgers would miss an opportunity to fit into his usual assailant role that he seems to embrace yearly against the Bears. In 17 career games against Chicago, he's thrown more touchdown passes (38) against them than any other franchise. He also has 13 wins under his belt when commandeering the Packers' offense against the Bears. A win on Sunday would complete the fifth season sweep of the Bears in eight years.

Unfortunately for Chicago, they'll get to face a quarterback who has been putting together one of the best stretches of his career through his last eight games. A silver lining to that, however, is how quietly efficient their defense has been all season.

The Bears rank 8th in total yards allowed, 7th in average yards allowed per game, 15th in total points allowed and 15th in average points allowed per game. They sport one of the league's premier front seven groupings, a unit that has defensed the middle of the field at an impressive rate. They've allowed a completion percentage of just 59.09% when opposing quarterbacks target the middle of the field. The defensive backs, however, allow 43.67% of deep completions but account for five of the defense's seven interceptions this season.

Just when the Packers are beginning to find their niche in their own passing attack, their 62.50 completion percentage at the middle of the field should provide a relatively easy task for the Bears' linebackers in shutting down. Despite the low completion rate, the Packers have averaged 7.59 yards per play at that spot.

In correlation to how well the Bears have been defensively, Rodgers will likely be limited to becoming, for the most part, strictly a pocket passer. In order to keep him upright, expect the re-emergence of the pistol formation much like at the end of 2014, preventing Rodgers from doing many three or five-step drops and put more emphasis on both his wounded calf and hamstring. The offensive line will be in for another critical test to protect the cornerstone of the franchise.

The Packers can win and continue their well-reported goal of "running the table", but all eyes will be on the 9-4 Lions carrying the division lead into New York against the Giants. Detroit losing any one of their next two games (NYG, DAL) and the Packers winning their respective match-ups puts them just one game back of the NFC North lead, setting up another week 17 thriller for the crown. They already own the tie-breaker thanks to their 34-27 win over the Lions at the end of September.