What a game last night in the NFC North. Vandy grad Jay Cutler played a heckuva game, and Brian Urlacher and the Bears defense stepped up when they had to in the Bears’ huge 20-17 victory over an outstanding Green Bay Packers team.
Cutler was 16-for-27 for 221 yards one td to tight end Greg Olsen for nine yards, another that could have been a better throw and could have been caught by Desmond Clark in the end zone on fourth and goal at the one (though it was a tough catch), and one int. Aaron Rodgers was everything we thought he was. He was 34-for-45 for 316 yards, one td and one meaningless int at the end of the first half on a Hail Mary pass. Rodgers is unbelievable.
The Bears struggled at first to get in sync offensively and the Pack moved it right down the field on their opening possession scoring on a seven-yard td pass from Rodgers to Greg Jennings with 4:26 left in the first. Mason Crosby kicked a 38-yard field goal to put Pack up 10-0 with 4:41 left in second quarter. After a nice 20 yard Hester punt return, the Bears took it in with 26 seconds left in the half. Cutler had hooked up with Johnny Knox for a 35 yard gain with Knox using nifty footwork to get both feet inbounds before going out of bounds at GB 17. A couple of plays later, Cutler hooked up with tight end Greg Olsen for a nine-yard td pass to cut the lead to 10-7 going into the half.
The Bears were still trailing 10-7 in the third quarter when Cutler led them on a drive that reached the Packers’ one where they faced fourth and goal late in the third period. Lovie Smith decided to go for it. Ron Jaworski of the Monday Night football crew said Lovie should have taken the field goal and tied it up, but I kind of liked Lovie going for it. I always like it when coaches are aggressive. OC Mike Martz had the perfect play called and Cutler threw a semi roll out pass to Clark. The ball was behind Clark and he couldn’t haul it in. The Pack had the ball at the one with the lead as the quarter wound down. That’s when the real drama took place.
The Pack couldn’t move the ball and punted. That’s when lightning struck at Soldier Field. Devin Hester, the Bears electrifying punt returner, fielded the Packer punt at his own 38, and jetted down the right side of the field field for a 62 yard td. Hester is one of the five fastest guys in the league–he has to be–and he turned on his amazing jets to race through the Packers punt coverage unit. He jumped into the ecstatic crowd much like the Packers do when they score tds. It was kind of a dig at the Packers. These teams don’t like each other. When Rodgers got a first down running the ball he cocked his arm forward for the first down signal. Both these teams wanted this badly. It was a very important game particularly for the Bears as they needed to beat the Pack at home.
Rodgers led his team on another drive hitting quick hitches to his receivers (he did that all night) and ran it in from three yards to put the Pack ahead 17-14 with 6:52 left.
Cutler led his team back aided by a roughing the passer call and a personal foul by the Pack. The Pack were flagged 18 times for 152 yards. Pretty amazing stat there. Gould kicked a 25-yarder to tie the game at 17.
Rodgers got the ball back, and, after a run, set the Packers up first and ten at around their 42-yard line. Rodgers connected with James Jones on the sideline. As Jones was running at the Pack 47 ready to pick up a good gain, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs tackled him and Urlacher punched the ball out of Jones’ arms. It was right on the sidelines and, amazingly, the ball stayed in bounds and Tim Jennings pounced on it to put the Bears at the Packers’ 44 yard line with just over three minutes left and a chance to take the lead.
After a holding penalty moved the ball back 10 yards, Cutler threw it up for Olsen at the Pack 35. Olsen jumped up and pulled it in; it was a beautiful catch. Then Cutler threw it deep for Earl Bennett. Bennett tried to go get the ball but was interfered with. The Packers safety intercepted the ball, but the ref threw the flag for interference. The Bears had it inside the 10 and rolled the clock down to four seconds. Gould came in and kicked it through from 19 yards for the game winner.
Cutler doesn’t have the greatest mechanics sometimes, but he is getting it done under Mike Martz, a brilliant offensive coordinator. He has such a strong arm that even when his mechanics are shaky he can still get the ball in there. He’s pretty similar to Brett Favre though he probably throws off his back foot even more. But he is getting it done this year and leading this team on what could be a magical season.Urlacher and Briggs had nine solo tackles. Urlacher is a superb player, one of the best if not the best linebackers in the NFL. This could be a special Bears team. The Packers are pretty special, too. Rodgers is phenomenal.
Next up: Chicago @ NY Giants, 7:20 p.m., Sunday, NBC
Detroit @ Green Bay, noon, Sunday, FOX (probably not televised in B’ham) and DirectTV 708
(Jay Cutler and Brian Urlacher lead Bears to huge win over Packers Monday Night.)