Sunday night produced another impressive game for Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers in win over the Chicago Bears. So impressive that after his final touchdown throw of the night, he would become the 11th player in NFL history with at least 50,000 career yards passing, making a second straight NFC title look more and more favorable.
Bears would be at two major losses between offense and defense as Nick Foles had just injured his glute and hip in last week’s loss to Minnesota. The defense would also be missing their chief Akiem Hick due to a hamstring injury.
Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky would be elected to replace Foles. To say Trubisky would have a lot to prove would be an understatement as he had been benched since Week 3. In large part, the game would soon prove why…
Rodgers was running off of one of his best years to date, already ahead in passing of his entire 2019 season with five games still remaining!
However, everything wasn’t looking all good for the Packers, who were coming off of a 34-31 overtime loss to the Colts. Green Bay had gotten off to a good start but seemed to run out of steam as time went on. They would hope to have no repeat against their biggest rivals.
The matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears would be the two teams’ 199th meeting, the most in NFL history.
This famous matchup that would typically bring in the biggest crowds of the year would look exceptionally different due to Covid-19. The regular thousands of fans would be swapped for a few hundred team employees and their family members, who were simply invited to assess the stadium’s Covid-19 protocols.
Their homemade signs reading sayings like ‘Go Pack Go’ would hardly be a replacement for the normal high energy screaming cheese heads, but it would at least be a start.
The Packers would open the ball game at Lambeau Field.
Wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Aaron Jones would be returning from injuries and ready to create some offensive magic.
Rodgers would quickly enroll Jones, who would be Rodgers’ primary target on the drive. Wide receiver Allen Lazard and running back Jamaal Williams would be added to play to get Green Bay into the red zone.
On 3rd& 12, under defensive pressure, and with the timeclock expiring, Aaron Rodgers would perform as only he can to connect to Adams. Adams would make the 12-yard catch in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game!
This would be Adams 500thcareer catch as he celebrated with his own little shoulder shake.
What a welcome back for Adams!
The kick from Crosby would be no good, but that wouldn’t be enough to dampen the spirits of a successful seven-minute Pack drive.
The Bears were ready to respond… or so they thought.
Running back David Montgomery would explode from the pocket on the second play of the drive in a dramatic 57-yard run, stunning all defenders around him!
His efforts, however, would unfortunately only aid in a 27-yard field goal as Trubisky wasn’t able to make the necessary connections to follow. All things considered, some might say Bears were doing good to have even managed to get on the board so early.
The Packers took their next drive into the 2ndquarter with promise. Tight end Marcedes Lewis would bank in Green Bay’s 2nd touchdown to begin the new quarter. This time Crosby would be good for the extra point, extending the Packers lead 13-3.
A Bear’s drive that appeared to hold potential was soon silenced by Packers safety Darnell Savage.
Trubisky’s intended receiver, Darnell Mooney, stood confused as the ball was thrown directly to Savage as if it were meant for him. If Mooney had gotten a new teammate, he had definitely missed the memo.
If the Packs didn’t have enough juice before, they certainly did then! Green Bay would use their next eight minutes to ensure a third TD. They took their time on every down with no play, even gaining more than 15 yards. Lazard would be awarded the touchdown at the 2 with a little over four to play in the 2nd quarter.
Packers defense wanted in and would offer Trubisky no solace. Instead, they would offer him such a hit that they forced a fumble. Preston Smith, the 6’5 265 lbs, Linebacker from Mississippi State, would scoop up the loose ball for the 14-yard fumble return and Green Bay’s 4thTD of the game!
With just over three minutes to play in the half, Chicago would have to dig deep. The Bears’ QB would do just that. Almost completely switching gears from his prior performance, Trubisky would deliver back to back perfect targets, allowing for a series of crucial first downs that would lead his team to the red zone.
At the 3rd& goal with twenty-six seconds left & no timeouts remaining, Trubisky would connect to wide receiver Allen Robinson II for Chicago’s first touchdown of the game! This was the Trubisky Bears had desperately needed all game as the score now sat at 27-10.
Chicago would have first possession to open the second half, but it would prove meaningless as the Bears were able to produce nothing more than a brief failed drive. Packers would follow suit as the Bears defense would offer their aid and produce Green Bay’s first punt of the game.
The previous steadiness Trubisky offered to end the first half had again left the chat. Just 50 seconds into the drive, he would throw yet another interception and allow for yet another takeaway by Savage… who had been so far just that.
One turnover… okay. His second? Not so much if head coach Matt Nagy had anything to say about it.
In just 2 minutes and 15 seconds, Rodgers would take the Packers from the Green Bay 47 to the end zone, all from one key play. Rogers would find tight end Robert Tonyan from the Chicago 39 and release a 39-yard bullet for the touchdown!
Bears would have no answer, only questions of when Hick would be back as the Packs continued to unleash havoc on their rivals. Green Bay would use a 24-yard pass to wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown and a combined 42 yards from Williams to rack up yet another TD.
Being down 31 points, with the score 41-10, Chicago would keep fighting. Bears would take their drive into the 4thquarter. Trubisky would make the necessary conversions on 3rdand even 4thdown. Completing crucial yardage, Trubisky would connect to Robinson II in the red zone for the touchdown. His accurate passing and successful drive would slowly chip away at his poor mistakes tab.
Packers would follow up with no TD of their own thanks to the Bears defense, who would force Green Bay’s second punt of the game and give possession back to their colleagues.
Trubisky would use 15 plays, 82 yards, and 5 minutes and 16 seconds to put up another seven for his team, at least narrowing down to a 16-point deficit. I mean, hey, if I’m at a bar, I’d much rather my tab $16 tab than $24.
Chicago’s defense and Nagy’s final two timeouts would offer aid to Trubisky’s efforts as they collectively were at least able to stop another Rodgers touchdown to close out the game.
The final score would be sealed at 41-25, marking Green Bay’s 100thwin in the legendary Packers-Bears rivalry, and furthering Aaron Rodgers track to lead his team to the 2020 NFC title.
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