Live Updates: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

In a game dripping with playoff ramifications, the Green Bay Packers (12-3) are playing the Chicago Bears (8-7) on Sunday at Soldier Field. Follow along all day for updates.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jan 3, 2021 7:21 PM EST

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers (12-3) are playing the Chicago Bears (8-7) on Sunday at Soldier Field. With a victory, Green Bay will earn the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Follow along all day for updates.

Final Score

The Packers clinched the No. 1 seed with a 35-16 victory.

Fourth Quarter

Packers 35, Bears 16 (2:56 remaining)

The No. 1 seed will belong to the Packers. Adrian Amos intercepted Mitchell Trubisky to essentially end the game. Green Bay put the finishing touches on the victory when Aaron Rodgers hit Davante Adams with a 4-yard touchdown pass. It was touchdown No. 48 for Rodgers, tied with Dan Marino for fifth-most all time, and touchdown No. 18 for Adams, third most of all-time.

Packers 28, Bears 16 (3:47 remaining)

Davante Adams broke Sterling Sharpe’s single-season receptions record with three receptions to jump-start the clinching drive. Aaron Jones put the game away with a 4-yard touchdown. His 17-yard reception – tight end Dominique Dafney had a key block – set up the score.

Packers 21, Bears 16 (11:22 remaining)

For Green Bay’s defense, the fifth time was the charm. The Bears had converted their first four fourth-down plays, including two on this possession. On fourth-and-1 from the 25, Mitchell Trubisky’s pass to Allen Robinson was broken up by cornerback Chandon Sullivan.

End of Third Quarter

Packers 21, Bears 16

The Packers’ hopes for the No. 1 seed will be determined over the final 15 minutes. Green Bay is clinging to its lead. The Bears have a 12-minute edge in time of possession and Mitchell Trubisky is 25-of-28 passing.

Third Quarter

Packers 21, Bears 16 (5:30 remaining)

Cairo Santos’ 20-yard field goal pulled Chicago within five points. The big play was Mitchell Trubisky’s 53-yard bomb to Darnell Mooney, who made a leaping grab over safety Darnell Savage. Green Bay’s defense stiffened, though, to get its third red-zone stop of the evening.

Packers 21, Bears 13 (12:33 remaining)

After a perfect first half, Aaron Rodgers’ first incompletion of the game might wind up being the turning point. What should have been a 53-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling was dropped. Valdes-Scantling had run away from cornerback Duke Shelley and the ball hit Valdes-Scantling in stride at the Bears’ 13. Rodgers was sacked on the next play and threw incomplete on third-and-13. So, Chicago got the stop it needed to keep it a one-score game.

Second Quarter

Packers 21, Bears 13 (3 seconds remaining)

The Bears made it a one-score game just before halftime on Cairo Santos’ 27-yard field goal. The big play was an offside penalty on outside linebacker Preston Smith which erased a vicious strip by safety Adrian Amos. Green Bay lost another takeaway when cornerback Kevin King dropped an end-zone interception. King, who was not covering intended receiver Allen Robinson, didn’t appear to see the ball.

The Packers will get the ball to start the second half.

Packers 21, Bears 10 (3:57 remaining)

It’s been a big day by former Indiana State players. Robert Tonyan scored Green Bay’s first touchdown and Dominique Dafney scored its third. On second-and-goal from the 13, Dafney got behind linebacker Josh Woods for the touchdown. In overcoming offensive holding on left tackle Billy Turner, the league’s top-ranked red-zone offense has scored 19 consecutive touchdowns on goal-to-go situations. The big play was a takeaway by the defense. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander showed he’s more than just a top cover man. On a bootleg to tight end Cole Kmet, Alexander stripped the ball and Rashan Gary recovered at Chicago’s 22.

Rodgers has done nothing to hurt his MVP candidacy. He’s 10-of-10 for 155 yards and three touchdowns. He’s up to 47 touchdowns on the season; Dan Marino ranks fifth all-time with 48.

Packers 14, Bears 10 (8:31 remaining)

Aaron Rodgers found the mismatch. On third-and-4, Marquez Valdes-Scantling ran right past linebacker Danny Trevathan for a 72-yard touchdown. Valdes-Scantling caught the ball at the Bears’ 44 and the official might as well have signaled touchdown at that point. He was targeted once with no receptions the past two weeks combined. Rodgers’ 46th touchdown pass of the season tied Drew Brees for sixth-most in NFL history.

Bears 10, Packers 7 (10:08 remaining)

Cairo Santos booted a 30-yard field goal for his 25th consecutive field goal. It was a win for Green Bay, though, after punt returner Tavon Austin coughed up the punt and set up the Bears at Green Bay’s 20. On third-and-3, defensive tackle Kenny Clark and linebacker Krys Barnes stuffed David Montgomery to force the field goal.

Packers 7, Bears 7 (14:55 remaining)

Aaron Rodgers tied his career high with his 45th touchdown of the season. Working through his progressions, he found tight end Robert Tonyan streaking across the back of the end zone. It was touchdown No. 11 for Tonyan. Two big plays set up the score. On third-and-8, Rodgers felt pressure and checked the ball down to running back Aaron Jones. Jones needed to gain all 8 yards on his own and did it. He broke tackles by safety DeAndre Houston-Carson and linebacker Roquan Smith short of the marker and another past the marker for a gain of 15. Later, on fourth-and-3, Rodgers went deep to Davante Adams against slot corner Duke Shelley. Shelley twice grabbed Adams’ arm, resulting in a gain of 16 on pass interference. That made it first-and-goal at the 7.

First Quarter

Bears 7, Packers 0 (7:31 remaining)

Second-year running back David Montgomery, who’s been at the forefront of Chicago’s longest streak of 30-point games since 1965, was injured on a tackle by Rashan Gary on the opening series but came back in for the opening touchdown. Montgomery moved the chains on a couple of third-and-short runs, then dodged Kamal Martin on the touchdown run. He’s scored in five consecutive games. There were two big plays. On the first, Mason Crosby’s kickoff was ruled out of bounds – it appeared Cordarrelle Patterson touched the ball while in bounds but coach Matt LaFleur lost the challenge – so Chicago started at its 40. The second big play came with Montgomery momentarily out. After the Packers stopped a third-and-2 run Artavis Pierce, receiver Anthony Miller made an excellent catch of Mitchell Trubisky’s pass on fourth-and-3.

2021 Schedule

Most of the blanks have been filled in. What we do know: Mike McCarthy's Dallas Cowboys won't be coming to Lambeau Field.

Inactives

New defensive tackle Damon Harrison is active, as expected. The former All-Pro was claimed off waivers on Thursday from Seattle, where he had played in six games.

“It’s a good move. It’s exciting. I think our defensive line is playing at a really high level right now,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said this week. “Everything’s clicking for us right now and we get an addition like this, a guy that’s seen a lot of football that’s going to be able to talk to us and actually be on the field with us and contribute and a guy that we can learn more stuff from, it’s good.”

Quarterback Jordan Love, cornerback Josh Jackson, outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin, rookie guard Simon Stepaniak, tight end Jace Sternberger and Kingsley Keke are inactive. Keke was ruled out on Friday with a concussion. Sternberger, who was not given an injury designation on Friday, will miss a fourth consecutive game following a concussion sustained early in the Week 13 game vs. Philadelphia.

For Chicago, cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Buster Skrine, who were ruled out on Friday, and safety Deon Bush are among the inactives.

How To Watch

The game, which will start at 3:25 p.m., will be aired by Fox with Kevin Burkhardt (play by play), Daryl Johnston (analyst) and Pam Oliver (sidelines) on the call. Click here for the coverage map. DirecTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 713.

Full-House Backfield

It will be fascinating to see how coach Matt LaFleur divvies up the snaps at running back.

Aaron Jones is set to join the legendary Jim Brown as the only running backs in NFL history with 3,000-plus yards, 35-plus touchdowns and average 5.0-plus yards per carry in their first four seasons.

Rookie AJ Dillon rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns while getting his first heavy workload. That’s more than Jamaal Williams has had in any of 59 career games.

Williams, however, could be an X-factor against the Bears and going forward because of his all-around game in helping the team navigate around David Bakhtiari’s injury.

“I like to look at it as a very positive problem,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “There are a lot of guys that are playing at a high level now. The idea is get more plays. That’s kind of the only way you can help it. Get more first downs. Continually move the chains. Because there are a lot of guys that want the ball. It’s also good from a competition standpoint. When you get your opportunity, you’ve got to come through because there are a lot of different people that are doing a nice job. It’s a positive problem.”