NFC North

The Green Bay Packers will have to make due for the time being without wide receiver Randall Cobb. 

Head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters on Thursday that Cobb is going to be out "for awhile" with a "pretty significant" core-muscle injury he suffered in the Packers' Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams. 

According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, Cobb's season is "in jeopardy" after he underwent surgery. 

Cobb didn't play in the second half against the Rams because of a groin injury.

Per Christopher Kuhagen of PackersNews.com, Cobb appeared to suffer the injury during the first quarter when he was seen getting treatment on the sidelines. He was able to return to the game and had a productive first half, recording a season-high 95 yards on four receptions. 

Since the Packers had a bye last week, it's unclear when Cobb injured his core muscle or if the injury is related to the groin injury. He didn't take part in Wednesday's practice, per the team's official report. 

Losing Cobb leaves a significant void on Green Bay's offense. He is tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions (five), ranks second in receiving yards (375), and third in targets (39) and receptions (28). 

Davante Adams is, by far, Aaron Rodgers' favorite target in the passing game. He has more receiving yards (1,083) than the next three players on the Packers' roster combined (982). 

Allen Lazard will likely move into Cobb's role as the primary slot receiver. The four-year veteran has 223 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games this season. 

Running back Aaron Jones could also see an increased role in the passing game. He ranks second on the team in targets (48) and receptions (37). The 27-year-old has already set a career high with four touchdown catches. 

The Packers are hosting the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football. They will clinch the NFC North title with a win and a loss by the Minnesota Vikings against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.     

Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook reportedly will be in the lineup Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Cook will play with a brace on his injured shoulder. 

 NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Cook is trending toward playing after suffering a dislocated shoulder against the San Francisco 49ers less than two weeks ago. Cook reportedly has gotten first-team reps in practice and "wants to give it a go" Thursday.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler later reported that Cook "will play barring pregame setback."

Pelissero also reported that while the Vikes initially didn't expect Cook back until Dec. 20 against the Chicago Bears, Cook underwent "intense" rehab to regain strength and range of motion in his shoulder.

In addition to the shoulder keeping him out this week, an ankle injury cost Cook two games earlier this season.

Cook has struggled with injuries dating back to his rookie season. He appeared in just four games during the 2017 campaign before tearing his ACL, and he missed five games in 2018 with a hamstring injury. He also missed two games in 2019 with a shoulder ailment. 

When healthy, Cook is dominant. In nine games this season, he has rushed for 773 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to 27 catches for 202 yards. 

He was also fantastic last season, rushing for 1,557 yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 games.

When Cook is sidelined, Minnesota relies on Alexander Mattison, who is also highly talented. He has rushed for 405 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games this year, including 90 yards and a touchdown in a start against the Detroit Lions last week.

Mattison will get the start against Pittsburgh if something changes with Cook's status, but if Cook does indeed play, he will likely be the bell-cow back as usual.

Cook potentially playing is significant since the Vikings will be without one of their top offensive weapons in Thielen (ankle) and are one game out of a playoff spot in the NFC.

As Aaron Rodgers prepares to play the Chicago Bears for perhaps the final time as a member of the Green Bay Packers, the reigning NFL MVP doesn't regret his memorable moment from their first meeting on Oct. 17. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Rodgers was asked about saying "I own you" to the crowd at Soldier Field after scoring a rushing touchdown in the 24-14 win. 

"I don't know if you can question a whole lot of what I said," he said. "We've had a good record over the years against them and won a lot of games."

Rodgers added "at some point" the comment might be used against him, but "I don't regret saying it at all."

The statement came at a crucial moment late in the fourth quarter when the Bears defense was trying to get a stop to keep the score 17-14 and give the offense a chance. 

On 1st-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Rodgers scrambled out of the pocket and crossed the goal line, much to the chagrin of Bears fans. 

Rodgers did say on Wednesday his comment was specifically directed at a group of fans "who were giving me the bird," not the Bears organization. 

No one could blame Rodgers if he did mean the comment as a dig at the Packers' NFC North rivals. Some of Rodgers' most memorable moments in the NFL have come at the expense of Chicago.

The nine-time Pro Bowler threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with 38 seconds remaining in Week 17 of the 2013 season to give the Packers a 33-28 win in a game that determined the NFC North champion. 

Before beating the Pittsburgh Steelers for his first—and to date, only—Super Bowl title, Rodgers and the Packers beat the Bears 21-14 in the 2010 NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field. 

Rodgers has a 22-5 career record against the Bears, including the playoffs. He hasn't lost to them since Dec. 16, 2018, a streak of five consecutive games.     

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen will miss Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The team listed him as out on its injury report.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters that the 31-year-old suffered a sprained ankle in the Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions. He went down on the team's first offensive drive, injuring his left ankle when he was tackled after catching a screen pass on third down.

Thielen is one of the go-to targets for Viking quarterback Kirk Cousins. Through 12 games, he ranks second on the team with 64 receptions, 686 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Along with Justin Jefferson, he is part of one of the most potent wide receiver tandems in the NFL. Jefferson leads the team with 78 catches for 1,209 yards and seven TDs.

Thielen has spent his entire eight-year career in Minnesota. He emerged in the 2016 season and has recorded 60 or more receptions in a season five times, including this year. He holds the NFL record for most consecutive games with 100 or more receiving yards to start a season with eight. That number is also the overall record for 100-yard receiving games, which he shares with Calvin Johnson.

The Minnesota State product earned back-to-back Pro Bowl selections in 2017 and 2018, and he recorded 91 catches for 1,276 yards and four scores in 2017 and followed with 113 receptions for 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns the following year. He notched a career-high 14 touchdowns in 2020.

Thielen's absence is a blow to Minnesota's playoff hopes. At 5-7, it remains in contention in the NFC but will have a hard time competing without one of its top options on the outside.

Jefferson will remain the Vikings' No. 1 receiver, but defenses will be able to focus on him more while Thielen is out.

Second-year receiver K.J. Osborn will have to fill Thielen's role and take pressure off Jefferson. The Miami product has 35 receptions for 412 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Justin Fields will start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers after being cleared from his rib injury, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The rookie has missed the last two games after suffering the injury during the Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Rapoport reported testing revealed "a few cracked ribs."

Andy Dalton has started the past two games and has made six appearances so far in 2021, but the veteran will return to the bench.

With a 4-8 record entering Week 14, the Bears likely aren't heading to the playoffs no matter who is at quarterback. The team will still use this time to get Fields valuable reps as he tries to reach his potential.

The 2021 No. 11 draft pick has been up and down in the NFL, totaling 1,361 passing yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions in 10 games. He has added 311 rushing yards and two scores, although 103 of those yards came in one game against the San Francisco 49ers.

There have still been bright spots, including his rushing ability in his last four starts before the injury.

Fields set a career high with 291 passing yards in his last full game in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, leading the squad to a season best in points scored despite a 29-27 loss.

More time on the field could allow the former Ohio State star to continue his development and end the season on a high note.

The Packers could still provide problems with a defense that ranks fifth in the NFL in points allowed per game this season.   

Aaron Rodgers, who has guest-hosted Jeopardy in the past, said during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that he didn't think hosting the show on a full-time basis would have worked alongside his schedule as the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.

During his holdout from the team over the spring and parts of the summer, there was speculation Rodgers might consider retirement and hosting Jeopardy full-time if the Packers didn't trade him. He said in April he would love to be the full-time host.

He even admitted in July that he considered retirement before ultimately returning to Green Bay:

"Yeah, it was definitely something I thought about. I talked about how important being a full-timer was for a long time. This is a first time to spend the offseason away without a COVID year or a lockout year, and I enjoyed it. I really did. I took time working on myself and trying to better myself in a number of areas where I feel like I can improve based on my own patterns and conditioning and it was a lot of growth. In that process, I continued to find joy and happiness in things off the field.

"However, there is still a big, competitive hole in my body that I need to fill. As I got back into my workouts, I just realized that I know I can still play and I want to still play and as long as I feel I can give 100 percent to the team, then I should still play."

Perhaps there will be a return to Jeopardy in the future. For now, however, Rodgers is pretty busy trying to quarterback the 9-3 Packers to a Super Bowl title. 

Rest and relaxation appears to have been just the thing for Aaron Rodgers' toe injury.

The Green Bay Packers star said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show he visited a specialist in Los Angeles and hasn't altered his plan to deal with his ailing toe. He said the injury is "improving" and that "the biggest key is rest" (around the 1:50 mark):

The Packers had their bye in Week 13 and last played Nov. 28, which allowed Rodgers to have more time to recuperate.

After initially calling his injury "COVID toe," the reigning MVP clarified in November he had actually suffered a fractured toe on his left foot. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Nov. 29 he wasn't planning to have surgery and remained hopeful the bye week would help.

Rodgers said Tuesday how surgery was "not option No. 1 or 2" because his toe would be immobilized for the remainder of the 2021 season. However, placing a pin in the toe would be a necessary step if the situation worsened over time (around the 1:20 mark below):

The 38-year-old acknowledged (around the 2:10 mark) that the injury is "definitely painful" but that he has "played with much bigger injuries...different parts of my body."

After returning from the reserve/COVID-19 list in Week 10, Rodgers has thrown for 984 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Despite not being at 100 percent and not practicing during the week, the three-time league MVP continues to play at a high level.

Because of that, there's little reason for Rodgers or the Packers to deviate from what they have been doing in recent weeks.

Jordan Love's early returns have also underscored the need for him to remain on the field as much as possible, too. In his first NFL start, the 2020 first-rounder went 19-of-34 for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 13-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

This week, the Packers are likely to be without the second-year quarterback after he landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday. The team doesn't have another QB on its active roster; Kurt Benkert is on the practice squad.