The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears began the season on
Sunday Night Football this past weekend, clashing in what will go down as one
of the most memorable football games played since Aaron Rodgers took over for
Brett Favre. Coming into this game, Bears fans were thrilled to have
Khalil Mack join the team, just in time for the opener. Would he make an impact right
out of the gate? The Bears had so much more to prove, with a new head coach, a second year Quarterback, one of the top pass rushers in the league, all going against
one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. This was to take place under the
spotlight of a Sunday Night NFL game that was sure to draw fans from across the
country. When it was over, records were broken, both teams performed at a level
that surpassed expectations, and once again, Aaron Rodgers added another “instant
classic” to his already storied career, in a game that will surely be mentioned
during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
It was a three-hour rollercoaster of emotions for Packers
fans everywhere. First, the Packers
offense stalls out of the gate, looking completely lost. Seeing that he led
just one short drive in the preseason, many fans wondered if Rodgers would play
very well in this game. At worst, Rodgers might need the first few weeks to
shake off the rust. Fans didn’t get a chance to see what he could do, because the
offensive line turned out to be “soft butter” for the hot knife that was the
Bears pass rush. In fact, it was a complete stall on both sides of the ball
that surprised Packers fans. What happened to that revamped and rebuilt defense,
with their new coordinator? During the first 30 minutes of play, they looked like
the same old Packers defense that couldn’t get off the field to save their
life. They made the Bears offense look as good as it has in years. With all due
credit, Trubisky was 11 of 14 with a 99.1 passer rating in the first half, and
followed his team into the locker room with all the confidence that they would
come out for the third quarter and put the Packers away. The fans at Lambeau
saw Rodgers get carted off the field, DeShone Kizer get his butt handed to him
by the Bears defense, and nobody thought that the Packers would win, much less
see Rodgers back under center in the third quarter.
The original fear was a torn ACL for Rodgers, with the season
over, again. The energy in the building was gone. Was it time for Packers fans
to admit that we had an injury prone, and permanently diminished quarterback? He
has already had three major injuries, two of them being broken collarbones. He
has had two concussions, along with a history of hamstring problems. This would
have been his fourth major injury, and at age 34, he may finally have run out
of lives, so to speak.
But yet again, Aaron showed us why he is one of the best we’ve ever
seen. When he came walking out of the tunnel on a sprained knee at the start of
the second half, Lambeau came unglued. Did his return inspire the lagging
Packers defense? Well, they did manage to hold the Bears to a field goal on the
next drive, but now it was 20-0.
What transpired over the next 24 minutes and 14 seconds of
the
game time defied pretty much every
rule of logic in the book. Aaron Rodgers got the ball, and on one leg he led
one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of the franchise. He first
took the team down the field for a solid drive, coming up short, but showing us
that he could manage to stay on the field. The Packers got a field goal to
start. The defense pulled off a stop, and there was a glimmer of hope. Things
were looking up when the Packers got the ball back and scored a touchdown. The
defense pulled off a three and out. Aaron gets the ball back and three minutes
later, touchdown. It’s now 20-17. The Bears march down the field and finish the
drive with a field goal. 23-17. All this time, we’re watching Aaron Rodgers
play the short game, aside from that first 39 yard touchdown strike to Allison.
The short passing game was the only remedy for a hobbled quarterback, going up
against a not stop pass rush. He was connecting, his
passer rating hit +154 at
one point, but could he lead a winning drive and could the Packers defense then
stop the Bears from scoring a mere field goal to pull off a win on the road? Rodgers
got the ball back one more time with three minutes to go, and needing a touchdown
to pull ahead for the first time of the night. We’ve seen this all before.
When Randall Cobb got away from the Bears defense and
crossed the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown, Lambeau field erupted. Still,
there was too much time on the clock, the Bears had all of their time outs, and
they just needed to chew up enough yardage and time to kick one for the win. We’ve
seen this one before too, and we know just how this one has ended before. Not this time.
That new-look defense showed us how good they can be, pretty much throughout
the second half. Now with the lead, Mike Pettine could finally dial up the
exotic stuff he couldn’t earlier in the game. In fact, they forced the Bears off the field,
twice. The first time the stopped them on fourth down, Clay Matthews hit
Trubisky way too late, and the Bears got fifteen yards and a second chance. A few moments later, the Packers defense got
the Bears to fourth down again, and this time they got off the field.
In one hundred years of football, the Packers have only come
back one other time from such a deficit. Aaron
Rodgers did what was nearly impossible, did it with ony good leg, showing us
why he is currently the best quarterback in football. Sorry Patriots fans,
Rodgers has never had the offensive line that Brady has year after year. This
one will be rememberd for years to come.
