Rodgers Wins Potential Final Trip to Chicago

In a tale as old as time, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers made all the important plays to rally past the Chicago Bears.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Dec 5, 2022 11:04 AM EST
Original:
Dec 5, 2022

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

CHICAGO – Another day, another victory over the Chicago Bears for Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

But perhaps the last?

Rodgers has had better days against the Bears but the results were the same as always: a 28-19 victory on Sunday that kept Green Bay’s playoff flame flickering just a bit. Rodgers improved his regular-season record against the Bears to a staggering 24-5. If you include the 2010 NFC Championship Game won at Soldier Field and discard the loss at Lambeau Field in 2013 in which he suffered a broken collarbone on the opening possession, his record would be a preposterous 25-4.

“A win against the Bears is always a little more special,” Rodgers said. “There were other things involved: the all-time win total was cool, another fourth-quarter comeback. I told the guys in the locker room we’ve played good enough to beat anybody in the league and at times played poor enough to lose to just about anybody. Our highs have been pretty solid.”

Rodgers is no fool. The Packers are 5-8. In the grand scheme of things, a win over a team that played without four-fifths of its starting secondary, its top receiver, its explosive No. 2 running back and two marquee defenders dealt before the trade deadline might not mean a hill of beans. The Packers needed an 18-0 fourth quarter to beat the worst team in the NFL located north of Houston. But Rodgers relished the team’s 11th win in its last 12 trips to Soldier Field.

“Definitely didn't want to be walking in here losing to the Bears. It’s been a nice eight straight for us,” he said.

Rodgers turned 39 on Friday. Even while savoring a win, Rodgers acknowledged his personal realities. Does he want to play in 2023? Without Davante Adams, this season has been a struggle. With Christian Watson, the future looks bright.

“I left Cal and I could have came back with Desean Jackson at receiver and Marshawn Lynch in the backfield,” Rodgers said. “I don’t regret it because things have turned out pretty well. But that would have been interesting playing with those two guys; played with Marshawn for a year.

“But I say that because the way Christian’s developed, definitely you’ve got to feel good for the organization with his development. It’s a rapid, wild development, and it’s hard to think about another player who goes from being kind of a here and there, minimal production to go-to type player, home run player. I mean, he had two, what, 60-plus-yard touchdowns it seems like – last week catch and run on a short one and end-around. Pretty special.”

Then came the last sentence.

“So, it’ll all factor into it, but there’s got be mutual desire on both sides.”

Rodgers’ desires, Jordan Love’s future and the salary cap will all be part of those conversations.

At this point, the Bears might offer the Packers infinite first-round draft picks just to not take two automatic losses against Rodgers. He has thrown 64 touchdown passes against Chicago in 29 games. That would rank fourth on the Bears' all-time list.

Through three quarters, Chicago looked like it was about to slay the dragon in the No. 12 jersey. The Bears led 19-10. They had an 84-yard advantage, averaged 6.3 yards per carry and had limited Rodgers to 137 passing yards.

And then, in a tale as old as time, the Packers took over. In 2013, it was Randall Cobb with the winning touchdown. In 2016, it was Jordy Nelson for 60 to set up the winning field goal. Last year, it was Adams for 41 to set up Rodgers’ famous scramble. On Sunday, it was Watson. He caught a pass for 15 yards on third-and-7 and drew an interference penalty for 38 to set up one touchdown, then looked like Usain Bolt on a jet-sweep 46-yard touchdown.

“You definitely draw a lot of confidence and good memories off of this matchup,” Rodgers said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of success during my time against them. I’ve enjoyed playing here, lot of great memories here over the years. It’s been a special rivalry that I’ve been able to be a part of.

“There was probably a lot of people that felt good at 19-10. So did I.”