GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Walter Payton's memory will be inescapable at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Payton, the NFL's leading career rusher and the soul of the Chicago Bears for 13 seasons, died of cancer on Monday. The Bears will wear special football-shaped patches inscribed with Payton's No. 34 on their uniforms when they face the Green Bay Packers in the organization's first game since Payton's passing.

Bears coach Dick Jauron said his team wouldn't trivialize Payton's memory by dedicating a mere game to him.

"His presence and his example should lead us through the future," Jauron said. "I don't think a single game is a worthwhile gesture. You'd like to play with his spirit, with his dedication, with his effort over the course of a whole season."

Chicago and Green Bay have perhaps the league's most storied rivalry, and Payton was a major player in it for years. Payton rushed for 2,922 yards in 24 games against Green Bay, and he also shares the Lambeau Field single-game rushing record of 205 yards with Gale Sayers.

The Bears (3-5) haven't looked much like Payton's later Chicago teams recently, losing three straight and getting crushed 48-22 by the Washington Redskins last week. Moreover, they haven't won at Lambeau since 1992, and the Packers have beaten them 10 straight times.

Normally, Packers fans dedicate the week before a Bears game to gleefully taunting their neighbors to the south about Chicago's sorry recent past. But after the Packers (4-3) got walloped 27-7 by former coach Mike Holmgren's Seattle Seahawks on Monday night, there has been nothing but anger and soul-searching in Green Bay.

The ever-demanding cheeseheads have already begun grumbling about coach Ray Rhodes, who has watched Green Bay take two humbling losses in three weeks. Rhodes, who knew exactly what he was getting into in Green Bay, isn't listening.

"People are disappointed. Hell, I'm disappointed," he said. "We played a game with a lot of emotion in it on Monday night, and we didn't handle it well. But I know this team well enough to know they'll bounce back."

At the root of the Packers' troubles are the problems of Brett Favre, who has been a shadow of his usual self in the last three weeks. Favre, who led the Packers to three last-minute wins in their first three games at Lambeau this season, will break Ron Jaworski's record by starting his 117th straight game as a quarterback on Sunday.

Favre tied the starts record with one of his worst career performances against Seattle. Offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis said he will scale back the Packers' offensive plan in light of his team's inability to execute most of it on Monday.

About the only person who thinks Favre's bruised right thumb isn't hindering his play is Favre himself, who refuses to make any excuses. On Wednesday, he said he had to fight the urge to give his paycheck back to GM Ron Wolf after his atrocious six-turnover performance on Monday night.

The Packers' single biggest adjustment for Sunday will be on defense, where Anthony Davis and Jude Waddy must fill in for Brian Williams, Green Bay's leading tackler. Williams' season was ended by a knee injury against Seattle.

The Bears again will rely on rookie Cade McNown at quarterback after Shane Matthews reinjured his hamstring against the Redskins. McNown sees the game as a chance to assert himself as Chicago's starter as the team begins a stretch of three road games in the next four.

The Bears likely will be without receiver Curtis Conway, still rehabilitating a sprained ankle. But McNown and receiver Marcus Robinson have been developing a rapport this season, and Robinson leads the team with 36 catches for 590 yards.

Because the Bears have yet to rush for more than 115 yards in a game this season and the Packers will have defensive lineman Santana Dotson back at nearly full strength, McNown and Robinson might be the Bears' best offensive option.

"He's a big target, and he gets open," McNown said. "All I'm ever really looking for is the open guy. He gets open a lot, so he's going to get the ball."

Jauron is another coach with deep Packers ties. He spent nine seasons as Green Bay's defensive backs coach, including two (1992-93) when Rhodes was Holmgren's defensive coordinator.

"The fact is we're going to play the Green Bay Packers for the 158th time," Jauron said. "It's the greatest rivalry in professional football and one of the greatest rivalries in professional sports."

CHICAGO Season schedule and results

GREEN BAY Season schedule and results

September 12 Kansas City W 20-17 September 19 Seattle L 13-14 September 26 @Oakland L 17-24 October 3 New Orleans W 14-10 October 10 @Minnesota W 24-22 October 17 Philadelphia L 16-20 October 24 @Tampa Bay L 3-6 October 31 @Washington L 22-48 November 7 @Green Bay 1:00pm ET November 14 Minnesota 1:00pm ET November 21 @San Diego 4:15pm ET November 25 @Detroit 12:40pm ET December 5 Green Bay 1:00pm ET December 19 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 26 @St. Louis 1:00pm ET January 2 Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET

September 12 Oakland W 28-24 September 19 @Detroit L 15-23 September 26 Minnesota W 23-20 October 10 Tampa Bay W 26-23 October 17 @Denver L 10-31 October 24 @San Diego W 31-3 November 1 Seattle L 7-27 November 7 Chicago 1:00pm ET November 14 @Dallas 4:15pm ET November 21 Detroit 1:00pm ET November 29 @San Francisco 9:00pm ET December 5 @Chicago 1:00pm ET December 12 Carolina 1:00pm ET December 20 @Minnesota 9:00pm ET December 26 @Tampa Bay 4:15pm ET January 2 Arizona 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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