Game Recap: Packers Crush the Bears in 41-25 Win

Sarah Kelliher recaps the Packers’ week twelve win against the Bears.     

The Green Bay Packers (8-3, 3-1 NFC North) crushed their NFC North rival, the Chicago Bears (5-6, 0-3 NFC North) 41-25 Sunday at Lambeau Field. With the win, the Packers now hold a three-game lead in the NFC North with just five games left.

As they have numerous times this season, the Packers looked strong on their opening drive with quarterback Aaron Rodgers leading the way from the start. Green Bay went 75 yards in 14 plays and shaved 7:38 off the clock before Rodgers connected with wide receiver Davante Adams for a 12-yard touchdown. Kicker Mason Crosby missed the extra point, so the Packers took an early 6-0 lead.

The catch marked Adams’ 500th of his career. According to Packers reporter Wes Hodkiewicz, Adams is just the fifth Packers receiver to reach 500 career receptions and is the fastest to do so in 95 games- one game faster than Sterling Sharpe at 96 games.

The Packers defense looked like they may be in for an ugly night after allowing a 57-yard run early, but they quickly got it together. Safeties Kevin King and Raven Greene produced a touchdown-saving play on third and goal and forced the Bears to settle for a 27-yard field goal. The kick was good, and Chicago cut Green Bay’s lead to 6-3.

On their next drive, the Packers didn’t let their foot off the gas one bit. They frolicked down the field with first downs from running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. And, with help from a roughing the passer call, as well as a 10-yard scramble for old man Rodgers, the Packers were back in the “gold zone” in a blink. To open the second quarter, Rodgers connected with tight end Marcedes Lewis for a 5-yard touchdown to make it 13-3 Green Bay.

Then, after Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky launched one deep into the end zone, Packers safety Darnell Savage Jr. was there to make a big play and come up with an interception.  

Green Bay quickly took advantage, marching down the field for yet another touchdown. This time, Rodgers connected with wide receiver Allen Lazard for his third touchdown pass of the half to make it 20-3 Packers. To keep the Packers alive earlier on the drive, LaFleur and Rodgers continued their aggressive approach on fourth down and successfully converted off a pass to tight end Robert Tonyan.  

The defense, however, was not done producing turnovers in this one. On Chicago’s next drive, linebacker Za’Darius Smith sacked Trubisky and forced a fumble and his fellow Smith Bro, Preston, was there to recover it and take it 14-yards to the house for a scoop and score and a 27-3 Packers lead.

The Bears were not completely backing down yet though. Thanks to a defensive pass interference call on Packers linebacker Christian Kirksey on third down, their drive was kept alive and Tribusky connected with Allen Robinson for a 1-yard score to make it 27-10 Packers heading into the half.

After both teams were forced to punt early in the second half, Savage came up with another big play for Green Bay with his second interception of the game. Rodgers and company, once again, took advantage. Rodgers connected with Tonyan for his fourth touchdown pass of the night off a gorgeous 39-yard pass play to make it 34-10 Green Bay.  On the touchdown pass, Rodgers hit the 50,000-career passing yard mark. He is just the 11th player in NFL history to reach this milestone.

Green Bay was not letting their foot off the gas during this one either. They continued to tread on, and on their next offensive drive, saw a pair of strong runs for running back Jamaal Williams before he barreled his way through Chicago’s defense for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 41-10 Green Bay.  

In the fourth quarter, Green Bay allowed Chicago to score two garbage touchdowns (and convert the 2-point conversion on one of them) to give us our final score of 41-25 but, by then, this one was already long over.

 

What we learned: The Bears still suck!

*inhale*

The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck

The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck

They really, really, really, really, really, really, suck

Yes, the Bears…still…suck!

*exhale*

 

What went right: The offense

Matt LaFleur and Nathaniel Hackett did not come to play on Sunday. The game plan on offense was on point from the jump. Green Bay finished the night with 182 rushing yards and 211 receiving yards (ESPN stats). Five different offensive players- Adams, Lewis, Lazard, Tonyan and Williams- found the end zone for Green Bay on Sunday. Jones led the Packers in rushing yards with 17 carries for 90 yards, while Tonyan led them in receiving yards with 5 receptions for 67 yards, according to ESPN stats.

In addition to efficiency with its skill players, Green Bay’s offensive line, despite battling some injuries, also played well on Sunday. The line allowed zero sacks and zero quarterback hits (ESPN stats) which I’m sure made everyone, especially Aaron Rodgers, quite happy.

 

What went wrong: Garbage time touchdowns

There weren’t a lot of negatives in this one, but it would’ve been nice to see the defense finally play a complete game on Sunday. I won’t give them too much of a hard time, after forcing three turnovers, but giving up 15 points in the fourth quarter isn’t exactly the best thing either.

As Green Bay continues to trend toward another playoff run, the defense must sharpen up sooner rather than later. The mistakes they make now against the Bears don’t hurt too much but they could be detrimental in the playoffs if the Packers have their eyes on a potential Super Bowl run.  

 

Offensive MVP: Aaron Rodgers

After writing about Aaron Rodgers for nearly three years now, it’s hard to continue to find new adjectives to describe what he consistently does to the Chicago Bears. On his historic night, Rodgers was 21/29 and threw for 211 yards and 4 touchdowns and finished with a132.3 passer rating (ESPN stats).

 

Defensive MVP: Darnell Savage Jr.

Darnell Savage was an absolute savage on Sunday night. We’ve seen flashes of his talent over the last two seasons, but he really brought it during this one. In addition to his two major interceptions, Savage also had two pass deflections and a tackle (ESPN stats).  

If you weren’t already excited about Savage, you better start to be.

 

A look at some of your takeaways!

  • “OL awesome

          Offense solid

          Special teams improved

          4th down conversions impressive

          Play calling exceptional

         Turnover battle great

         Defense, soft and very mediocre, lacking pride” - @MadtownShane

  • “Stress-free bears beat down on prime time Sunday night? 100 times out of 100” - @chaka_Carlos10

 

Up next, the Green Bay Packers get a visit from the Philadelphia Eagles. Kickoff is set for Sunday, December 6 at 4:25 p.m. EST.   

 

 

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__________________________

Sarah Kelliher is a contributor for CheeseheadTV and a podcaster with Pack-A-Day Podcast. She can be found via Twitter @sarahkelliher4

 

8 points
 

Comments (17)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Crankbait's picture

November 29, 2020 at 11:08 pm

Nice to see the Packers take care of business against a crappy team like they should.
I sure wish the secondary would hit somebody some day though. Very weak back there.

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Demon's picture

November 29, 2020 at 11:27 pm

When was the last rime we saw a Packer defender hit someone like the hit Johnson put on Lazard? Im glad Lazard wasnt hurt but hits like that send a message.

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dblbogey's picture

November 30, 2020 at 12:10 am

Our DB's play soft. I hate Pettine's defense. I realize we lack sufficient talent everywhere, but Pettine isn't getting what he should out of this personnel.

2 points
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SteelyPhil's picture

November 29, 2020 at 11:30 pm

I can't get over just how awesome a find Jenkins was. What a player. Hope Linsley's all right of course, but 74 is already a stud and is only in his second year. The offensive line continues to be outstanding.

7 points
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Mojo's picture

November 29, 2020 at 11:39 pm

I was and still am not thrilled about Gutes 2020 draft. But Runyan has not embarrassed himself filling in for Jenkins at guard.

Rodgers has helped a lot too by not holding onto the ball all day. Makes any o-line look better.

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dblbogey's picture

November 30, 2020 at 12:12 am

Yes, Runyan looks like a keeper, one of those late round guys you're lucky to hit on.

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Mojo's picture

November 29, 2020 at 11:55 pm

I like Sarah's descriptive use of "frolicking" in describing GB's second TD drive.

I just get an image in my head of A. Jones, St Brown and Rodgers holding hands and skipping down the field.

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Vanzummeren@charter.net's picture

November 30, 2020 at 03:38 am

I liked the fact that Sarah brought out the point on Garbage Time TD - yeah it doesn't matter but to me - King's drop on what should have been an interception - just characterizes the whole defense - lack of aggressiveness, lack of focus, bend but don't break, which to me, is just an attitude of "do enough to get by". However, it does matter If the offense didn't score 35 points, remember the Tampa Bay or Minnesota game when the offense was shut down. I can hardly wait until the Tennessee game - I envision Tannehill throwing five passes the entire game and Henry have 250 yards rushing. I like the players on our defense - it is frustrating to watch week in and week out the lack of aggressiveness and focus - Go Pack Go

3 points
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jannes bjornson's picture

November 30, 2020 at 05:40 pm

You have to have the killer instinct if you want to get to the Big Game and Win it. Close them out!

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HankScorpio's picture

November 30, 2020 at 06:07 am

That was sort of a strange game on offense. The stat sheet doesn't show nearly as dominant of a performance as my eyes told me in real-time. They took apart the Bears defense, especially exploiting the absense of Akiem Hicks. Good job by the coaching staff to prepare a game plan and good job by the players to execute.

3 points
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porupack's picture

November 30, 2020 at 06:53 am

I thought the same when reading the stat sheet....couldn't believe AJones didn't have over 100 yards, nor any receiver. But then, it shows how evenly distributed the attack was, including a very solid contribution by TE Lewis and Tuuuuunyon.

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jannes bjornson's picture

November 30, 2020 at 05:43 pm

Use the TEs to keep the LBs occupied, the opposite of McCarthy.

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porupack's picture

November 30, 2020 at 06:50 am

Congrats on game 100 vs 'bears-still-suck'!

The next meeting won't be as easy when AHicks returns, and the run game gets stymied. That will be the better test for the Oline. It would be nice to see a full complement of best players for both teams next time, so wins or losses have no excuses.

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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:55 am

By then the Bears will have an interim coach and will be playing for draft position.

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porupack's picture

November 30, 2020 at 06:57 am

The laundry guys can just refold the jersey's and take the day off.

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jlc1's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:19 am

Nice one. However it does make me wonder about the turf at Lambeau. I feel like I see more guys slipping there than on other fields. I recall at least twice that Adams did and there were a few plays when defensive players, on both sides, lost their footing and left receivers wide open. There surely must be someone, somewhere tracking this stat, right?

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Alberta_Packer's picture

November 30, 2020 at 10:36 am

Ostensibly it may have been a "crush" but if it was not for the Trubisky gifts (turnovers) the outcome may have been quite different. First, enjoyed watching the offense find its rhythm, truly beauty-in-motion. And A.R's mastery was only equaled by the performance of the o-line.

Conversely, there was the defense - who should be registered as a philanthropic organization due to their generous donations of scores and yardage to others. With the exception of the 3 turnovers, the Bears often had their way with the D.

It will be the offense that will bring the team to the playoffs - it will be the defense that provides their exit. However, some entertainment remains until then!

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