GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers knows the Bears’ record. And he knows how the NFC North will shape up if his Packers can hand their rivals their sixth loss Sunday.
“When you’re 3-5, there’s gotta be a little desperation in there,” the quarterback said Wednesday after practicing in full with the hamstring he injured in Week 8. “And we’re going to expect them to come in and play with that urgency the rivalry game allows you to play with. But also knowing where they’re at in the season.
“They need to turn things around and get back in the race, and we’d like to put some more distance between us and them.”
Rodgers can recognize the drumbeat of desperation. The Saints were 2-4, playing for their season, when they beat the Packers, 44-23, on Oct. 26.
“Your record tells you who you are, but your play style dictates how the game’s going to go,” he said. “And we have to match the intensity of the Bears.”
Coach Mike McCarthy, who received a contract extension Monday, said he gave little thought to the Bears’ record.
“It’s all good conversation,” he said. “It’s not conversation that I take part in.”
