NFC North

Aaron Rodgers has become so consistently dominant that excellence has become the baseline expectation on a weekly basis. To hear his star wide receiver tell it, the Green Bay Packers signal-caller has "spoiled everyone" with his play as a result.

"At this point, he kind of got the LeBron effect with everybody," Davante Adams told reporters after Sunday's 37-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings. "He's got to play at an MVP level every week, because he's spoiled everyone."

Adams also said, "what kills me about the way he plays is how easy it is" when discussing his team's quarterback.

The LeBron James comparison is apt because both have been playing so long at such a high level that it is easy to take their excellence for granted as sports fans. That Rodgers is 38 years old and James is 37 only makes what they are doing all the more impressive.

Rodgers appears well on his way to a fourth MVP trophy and added to his case Sunday by completing 29 of his 38 passes for 288 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. 

He was in full control and consistently fit passes through tight windows while giving Green Bay an insurmountable lead in the first half. Minnesota was playing without Kirk Cousins, who was on the COVID-19/reserve list, so any chance of a comeback was simply unrealistic when the Packers jumped out to a 20-0 advantage.

The chemistry between Rodgers and Adams was also on full display.

Adams finished with 11 catches for 136 yards and a score and has looked like the best wide receiver in the league for much of the 2021 campaign. 

While the Packers are rolling, one notable difference between Rodgers and James is the number of championships. LeBron has won four titles in his career, which has helped him establish a case to be considered one of the best basketball players in the sport's history. Rodgers, though, has only won one Super Bowl.

That is a far cry from Tom Brady's seven, and Green Bay has fallen short on the big stage of late with losses in four of the last seven NFC Championship Games.

At least this year's conference title game will be at home if the Packers make it that far. They clinched the No. 1 seed and the NFC's only first-round bye with Sunday's win. Parlaying that into a second Lombardi Trophy will only have Rodgers spoiling Green Bay fans even more.    

The Chicago Bears are reportedly likely to fire head coach Matt Nagy at the end of the 2021 season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The team is reportedly "expected to begin its search for Nagy's successor after Week 18."

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports also reported the Bears are one of three teams—along with the Vikings and Broncos—that have had "internal discussions about their head coaching situations and are preparing to conduct a search at the end of the season."

The Bears have never fired a coach midseason and don't appear ready to start with Nagy, but they still plan to make a change after the regular season.

Nagy has said he is working on the assumption he will coach the final two games of the season, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.

Chicago hosts the New York Giants on Sunday before closing the year with a road game against the Minnesota Vikings. The 5-10 team has already been eliminated from the postseason, however, providing little opportunity to change the organization's mindset.

This will be the first season with a losing record for Nagy, who has a 33-30 overall mark across four seasons with the Bears. He won the NFL's Coach of the Year in 2018 when he led the team to a 12-4 record.

The excitement waned after back-to-back 8-8 seasons, while offensive question marks continued despite several quarterback changes.

Justin Fields has also been inconsistent in his first season after being selected 11th overall in the 2021 draft. 

It's enough for the Bears to seek a fresh start in an attempt to get back into contention.   

The Green Bay Packers are reportedly expected to use their franchise tag on wide receiver Davante Adams this offseason.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the tag is viewed as an "eventuality" before the Packers try re-engaging Adams in long-term contract talks.

The franchise tag would cost roughly $20 million, a more than reasonable number for a player of Adams' caliber but tough to swallow under Green Bay's current cap situation. The Packers are slated to be $37.6 million over the 2022 cap without accounting for Adams' contract.

Interestingly, trading Aaron Rodgers may give Green Bay the best chance at keeping Adams. The Packers would save $19.3 million on their 2022 cap by trading or releasing Rodgers after this season, which is by far their biggest potential source of savings. Green Bay could also greatly lower Rodgers' cap hit by signing him to an extension with several voidable years.

The Packers will also look hard at restructuring the contract of linebacker Za'Darius Smith, who has a $28.1 million cap hit, along with safety Adrian Amos ($12 million). Wide receiver Randall Cobb seems like a mortal lock to be released given his $7.9 million base salary and lack of production.

Adams said Rodgers' status will help determine whether he wants to remain in Green Bay. 

"I mean, I'm sure. ... Naturally. Why wouldn't it? I'm playing with the best quarterback to play the game," Adams told reporters Wednesday. "There's nothing other than having a connection that I built up with my guy, and playing a certain way, so there's that expectation, there's that friendship built up in it. 

"There's a lot that goes into it, so obviously to a certain extent it won't be the end-all, be-all, but it'll definitely be something I'm monitoring and paying attention to, to see where his head is at after all of this."

Adams and Rodgers both hinted the 2021 season could be their last during the offseason when they posted The Last Dance images on social media.

Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy says Andy Dalton will start at quarterback for Sunday's game against the New York Giants.

Dalton gets the nod over Nick Foles, who started Week 16's win over the Seattle Seahawks. Starter Justin Fields remains out with an ankle injury.

Dalton will be making his fifth start of the 2021 season. He began the campaign as the starter but gave way to Fields after being injured in Week 2's win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Fields has started 10 games, with Dalton mixing back in when the rookie missed Weeks 12 and 13 with injuries. 

Injuries to Dalton and Fields paved the way for Foles last week, who responded with 250 yards and a touchdown without an interception in the Bears' 25-24 win in Seattle.

It's unclear why Dalton will get the nod over Foles this week, other than some strict adherence to a preseason depth chart. Foles' performance against the Seahawks was arguably better than any effort Dalton has put forth in what's been a wildly disappointing campaign for the Bears offense.

With Nagy likely playing out the string on his final two games as Bears coach, it's perhaps one final head-scratching decision to leave on. 

A pair of NFL MVP award winners in Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers were selected as the NFL Offensive Players of the Month for December in their respective conferences.

With Mahomes at the helm, the Kansas City Chiefs went a perfect 4-0 in December and catapulted themselves into first place in the AFC. In those four games, Mahomes completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 1,110 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions, and he also rushed for a score. 

Rodgers started and won all three games he played in during the month of December, completing 74.5 percent of his passing attempts for 811 yards with 10 touchdowns and no picks. His performance also helped Green Bay move into the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC.

Of course, this is nothing new for Mahomes and Rodgers, two of the NFL's best and most accomplished quarterbacks.

In three seasons as a starter entering 2021, Mahomes won an MVP award and reached two Super Bowls, winning one. Meanwhile, Rodgers is a one-time Super Bowl winner and three-time MVP, most recently winning the award last season.

With no clear and obvious choice for MVP this season, Mahomes and Rodgers are both undoubtedly in the mix along with Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

The NFL also named the Defensive Players of the Month for December, with Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald taking NFC honors and Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker winning the award in the AFC.

Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, dominated during a 4-0 run by the Rams, registering 21 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks and two forced fumbles.

Winning awards is old hat for Donald, but Baker is a first-time winner of the Defensive Player of the Month after racking up 12 tackles, six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in three games, all of which were Miami victories.

Two of the NFL's most outstanding rookies were recognized as well, with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons getting named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month and Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown winning the offensive award.

Parsons, a virtual lock to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and a strong contender for Defensive Player of the Year, had 12 tackles, four sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble in December.

Meanwhile, St. Brown shook off a slow start to his rookie campaign, as the fourth-round pick piled up 35 receptions for 340 yards and three touchdowns during a month in which the Lions won their first two games of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month, and Atlanta Falcons veteran punter Thomas Morstead took home NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors.

As speculation continues about Aaron Rodgers' future with the Green Bay Packers, Davante Adams is keeping an eye on how things play out between the star quarterback and the organization.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings, Adams said he is "monitoring" what's going on with Rodgers.

"Naturally," Adams explained. "Why wouldn't it? I'm playing with the best quarterback to play the game. There's a lot that goes into it, so it won't be the end-all, be-all, but it'll definitely be something I'm monitoring and paying attention to, to see where his head is at."

After spending last offseason trying to get traded by the Packers, Rodgers agreed to terms on a revised contract in July that will void his deal before the start of the 2023 league year.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported in August the Packers have agreed they will trade Rodgers after this season if he still wants to leave the organization.

Rodgers told reporters Wednesday he won't take long after the season to make a decision about his future.

"It won't be something where I'll drag it out for months and months," Rodgers said.

Amid all of the offseason drama, Rodgers and Adams posted matching images on Instagram Live of Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan that were used as promotional material for The Last Dance documentary that traced the final season of the Chicago Bulls' dynasty:

Appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd in May, Adams said that Rodgers' status with the Packers could "potentially" impact his future:

Adams can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, but the Packers do have the ability to place the franchise tag on the five-time Pro Bowler if the two sides don't agree to a long-term deal.

Per CBS Sports' Joel Corry, the franchise tender for wide receivers in 2022 is estimated to be $18.42 million based on a $208.2 million salary cap.

Adams, a second-round pick out of Fresno State in 2014, has spent his entire career in Green Bay.

Since the start of 2016, he has averaged 94 receptions, 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns per season. The 29-year-old ranks second in the NFL in receptions (106), third in receiving yards (1,362) and is tied for third in touchdown catches (10) this season.

Green Bay has already clinched its third straight NFC North title. The Packers can clinch the No. 1 overall seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs Sunday with a win over the Vikings and a loss by the Dallas Cowboys.   

Minnesota Vikings receiver Adam Thielen will miss the remainder of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery on his ankle.

Chad Graff of The Athletic reported Thielen reaggravated his nagging ankle injury in last week's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Thielen was later placed on injured reserve by the Vikings.

Thielen missed two games because of the ankle injury suffered in Week 13, although injuries rarely cause him to miss games.

The two-time Pro Bowler played every possible game in his first five seasons before a hamstring injury cost him six games in 2019. The wideout then spent one game on the reserve/COVID-19 list in 2020.

Thielen has otherwise stayed healthy and been a reliable contributor for the Vikings, especially in the red zone.

After scoring a career-high 14 touchdowns last year, Thielen has followed it up with 10 touchdown receptions in 2021. He has 67 receptions for 726 yards overall on the season.

The Vikings offense will miss his production if he's unavailable, but Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn can help pick up the slack in the passing attack.