Yes, Rodgers and Packers Still Own Bears
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears.
Yawn, right?
Aaron Rodgers improved his career record against Chicago to an overwhelming 23-5 on Sunday night as the Packers rolled in the second half to a 45-30 victory at Lambeau Field.
But was a different script than many of the other wins. Rodgers was brilliant, as always, throwing four touchdowns. They needed every bit of it. The Bears led 24-14 late in the first half, landing haymakers against Green Bay’s defense and shoddy special teams. A 46-yard touchdown catch by Jakeem Grant, a 54-yard touchdown catch by Damiere Byrd and a 97-yard punt return by Grant had the Bears smelling revenge after Rodgers' boastful victory at Chicago two months ago.
But Green Bay regained its footing and dominated the second half to earn a sixth consecutive win vs. Chicago. Aaron Jones’ 3-yard touchdown run put the Packers in front 28-27 and, moments after Preston Smith forced a critical turnover, Jones’ 23-yard touchdown catch made it 35-27.
“That was not where the ball was supposed to go and that was not the play at all,” Rodgers said of the pass to Jones. It was a new play, one set up for Marcedes Lewis or Davante Adams. Instead, they were covered but Jones was not. “We laughed about it on the sideline, for sure, and glad it worked out like that.”
When Rodgers hit Adams for a 3-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, it not only put the game away but it made history. It was Rodgers’ 61st touchdown pass against Chicago, most by any quarterback against the Bears. Brett Favre threw 60, which included his two seasons with Minnesota.
That was more than enough for a defense that gave up some big plays but was as stout as always during the second half. The pass rush was terrific and Rasul Douglas became the first Packers defender with two pick-sixes in a season since Julius Peppers in 2014.
“I was proud of our guys,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “There was no panic at halftime, and I thought we kind of got back to who we were in the second half, and I think that was pretty evident. There’s a lot to clean up, obviously, in all three phases. Certainly, the special teams was not good enough, and there were moments offensively that weren’t good enough, as well as defensively. But anytime you win the turnover battle three to nothing, I think that’s a pretty big deal.”
The victory allowed the Packers to improve to 10-3 and keep pace in the NFC. Tampa Bay improved to 10-3 by beating Buffalo in overtime and Dallas moved to 9-4 by winning at Washington. Arizona, which is leading the way at 10-2, will host the Los Angeles Rams on Monday.
Who will do the blocking as the Packers continue their final push in pursuit of the No. 1 seed? With left tackle David Bakhtiari trying to come back from last year’s torn ACL, left guard Elgton Jenkins out with this year’s torn ACL and center Josh Myers out following knee surgery, veteran right tackle – hailed as possible Pro Bowler by Rodgers – suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter. Veteran Dennis Kelly stepped in the lineup. Still, how much can one unit take?
And how much longer can the Packers win games in spite of their special teams? Those units were brutal, with a punt-return touchdown lowlighting the seven big plays yielded by that beleaguered unit.
Key moment: Late in the first half, the Packers were staring at a 24-14 deficit. In need of a score, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams produced. Rodgers went deep up the left sideline. Adams caught the ball, Bears defensive backs James Crawford and Eddie Jackson played pinball with each other, and Adams trotted the final 9 yards into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown. Chicago closed the half with a field goal to lead 27-21 but the Rodgers-to-Adams connection stemmed the tide.
Key stats: Maybe defensive players will stop mocking Aaron Rodgers’ “championship belt” celebration. On his first-quarter sack, defensive tackle Bilal Nichols did “the belt.” Rodgers wound up torching the Bears – as usual. He finished 29-of-37 passing for 341 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions, good for a 141.1 passer rating.
The teams combined for 45 points in the second quarter. It was the highest-scoring second quarter of the season.
The Bears scored 27 points in the first half, as many points as they scored all season. Green Bay held them without a first down on each of the first four possessions of the second half to turn the tables.
What it means: The Packers are right where they need to be in the NFC playoff race and the chase for the No. 1 seed. The Arizona Cardinals lead the NFC race with a 10-2 record. They’ll lost the Los Angeles Rams (8-4) on Monday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who started the day tied with Green Bay for No. 2 in the NFC, beat the Buffalo Bills 33-27 in overtime. The Dallas Cowboys improved to 9-4 by winning at Washington 27-20.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers was magnificent. He is 6-0 against Chicago under coach Matt LaFleur with 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions in those games. But the nod goes to Preston Smith. With Green Bay leading 28-27 in the third quarter, his sack/strip of Justin Fields set up the 23-yard touchdown pass to Jones that put the Packers up by eight. And all of that came on the heels of his fiery halftime speech.
What’s next: The Packers will play at the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The Ravens fell to 8-5 with a 24-22 loss at the Cleveland Browns. More meaningful than the outcome was the ankle injury that star quarterback Lamar Jackson suffered in the first quarter.
"We'll look at it more [Monday] and we'll see where we're at," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
Tyler Huntley played well off the bench, connecting on 27-of-38 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown. Including 45 rushing yards, he accounted for 315 yards. Star tight end Mark Andrews caught 11-of-11 targets for 115 yards and one touchdown and rookie receiver Rashad Bateman caught 7-of-8 balls for 103 yards. However, Huntley fumbled twice and lost both.
“Tyler showed a lot of grit, and I felt like the whole team did that," Harbaugh said. "That's who we are and that's why we have a chance to still win the championship in the AFC North and go on from there. That's what we'll be fighting to do in the next four weeks.”
