The Green Bay Packers continued their winning ways in 2011 as they go into Soldier Field and knock off the archrival Chicago Bears 27-17. The Packers continued their recent winning success at Soldier Field, having beaten the Bears there in the NFC Title game last season.
QB Aaron Rodgers was a key reason for this victory, as he completed 28 of 38 passes (73.7% completion rate) for 297 yards. Rodgers said that he feels more comfortable playing this season, probably due to the way he played during the postseason last year, helping lead the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl Championship.
Along with Rodgers’ solid play, TE Jermichael Finley was another key reason for the Packers’ victory, as he caught 7 passes for 85 yards and 3 TDs. Additionally, WR Greg Jennings caught 9 passes for 119 yards, RB Ryan Grant ran 17 times for 92 yards, and S Morgan Burnett intercepted Bears QB Jay Cutler twice on passes that were intended for WR Roy Williams.
Rodgers hit Jennings for a 6-yard TD on the game’s first drive to get the Green Bay Packers out to the quick 7-0 lead. Rodgers found Jennings again early in the second quarter on a 7-yard pass to make it 14-0. The Chicago Bears got on the board with 8:12 left in the first half, as Cutler found WR Dane Sanzenbacher for a 4-yard TD pass, making the score 14-7. The two teams traded field goals to give the Packers a 17-10 lead at the half.
With a lone 28-yard field goal by Packers kicker Mason Crosby accounting for all of the third quarter scoring, Rodgers found Finley again for a 10-yard TD pass and a 27-10 Green Bay lead early in the fourth quarter. The Bears cut the lead to 27-17 when Cutler threw a touchdown pass to TE Kellen Davis.
The Bears had a chance to get much closer after LB Brian Urlacher intercepted Rodgers, the first interception Rodgers has thrown in the 2011 season. However, despite starting at their own 45, two penalties on the Bears – a holding call on C Chris Spencer and an unnecessary roughness penalty against WR Devin Hester for getting into a confrontation with Packers’ CB Sam Shields – prevented any further comeback.
For the second straight week, the Bears’ running attack was non-existent, as RB Matt Forte was held to just 2 yards on 9 carries (0.2 yard average). The passing game was hardly stellar either, as Cutler was 21 of 37 for 302 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. In addition, Cutler threw 6 straight incompletions to begin the second half.
This is even more discouraging to Bears’ fans because the Packers’ defense had given up back-to-back 400-yard passing performances against New Orleans’ QB Drew Brees and Carolina Rookie QB Cam Newton the past 2 weeks. Additionally, Packers’ Pro Bowl S Nick Collins was not playing, and won’t be playing the rest of this season, as he suffered a season-ending neck injury during the win at Carolina last week.
With the win, the Green Bay Packers improve to 3-0 and stay tied atop the NFC Central Division with the surprising Detroit Lions, who also moved to 3-0 with a 26-23 overtime win at Minnesota earlier Sunday. The loss drops the Chicago Bears to just 1-2 on the season, keeping them in third place in the NFC Central.
The Packers head home to Lambeau Field to host the 1-2 Denver Broncos at 4:15 P.M. EDT/3:15 P.M. CDT next Sunday, October 2, 2011.
