In a game between the two basement dwellers in the NFC North division, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears faced off to earn the crown of being the winningest franchise in NFL history. With their 28-19 victory, Green Bay was able to extend their winning streak to eight consecutive games over the Bears in what potentially is Aaron Rodgers’ last time playing at Soldier Field.
Facing an early deficit, the Packers were able to claw their way back into it, relying on the defense forcing key turnovers from Justin Fields and a certain rookie wide receiver continuing his torrid scoring streak. With their fifth win of the season now in the books, the Packers get to enjoy their Week 14 bye before facing the struggling Los Angeles Rams in their Week 15 matchup.
Offense
While still looking far from his former MVP self, Aaron Rodgers was able to do just enough to win. Throwing for under 200 yards and less than 2 TDs have seemingly become the norm for Rodgers as of late, and his 185-yard, 1-TD performance met those low expectations Sunday.
Aaron Jones was plagued with some injuries during the game, handing a heavier workload to AJ Dillon, who responded with 93 rushing yards and a score. Allen Lazard led all receivers with five receptions for 67 yards (on six targets), looking like the Lazard of last year as the top target for Rodgers.
The ascension of Christian Watson into the spotlight has been miraculous for the Packers – his two total TDs (receiving and rushing) Sunday raised his total to nine on the year, a meteoric rise for the North Dakota state rookie.
As a whole, the offense looked competent on Sunday, even though they earned fewer yards than the Bears did on offense.
Defense
Joe Barry’s job security has got to be a negative number at this point, seeing as how his unit continuously gets destroyed by running threats, and Sunday was no different. Justin Fields took off for a 55-yard scoring run, and Field and David Montgomery combined for over 130 yards and 2 scores on the ground.
Through the air, Fields did not have a ton of opportunities (25 attempts) but still was able to throw for 254 yards, connecting on far too many deep balls down the field. Jaire Alexander was exposed by Equanimeous St. Brown and N’Keal Harry on a few occasions but was able to step in front of a Chicago receiver and pick off Fields.
Keisean Nixon was able to put the game on ice with a late-game INT of Fields on an ill-advised throw, helping salvage a disappointing finish for the Green Bay defense. Needing a strong performance to try and stay afloat in the NFC postseason race, the Packers were able to earn a victory, even though it hurt their draft standing for the 2023 NFL Draft.
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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