Oak Park Newspaper

September 26, 2010

Prime Time Bears.. Win 20-17 at home in a thriller against the Packers
by Dan Peters

The Bears were stopped short on the final drive…But Gould connected on the game winner.
Photo by Scott Krause

The Chicago Bears improved to 3-0 for the first time since they went to the Super Bowl in 2006. The Bears, who wore throwback uniforms to honor the Monsters of the Midway teams of the 1940s. It was also the third different jersey they have worn in three different games. Change they say is good.

“On a night when we honored the Monsters of the Midway, it was good to see a team play 60 minutes of ball,” Smith said. “When you’re down a little bit, you have a chance to show your character. We have great leadership on our football team and the guys weren’t going to be denied.”

The 180th meeting between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers proved to be one of the most memorable finishes in Pro Football's oldest rivalry. Brian Urlacher and the Bears defeated the Green Bay Packers 20-17, and also claimed first place in the NFC North at 3-0.

“I thought our guys played hard for 60 minutes,” said head coach Lovie Smith. “I know that’s coach talk, but they did. We got off to a rough start. They had momentum early on, but the guys just kept fighting.”

The Chicago Bears have proved again… “What do the experts know?” For the second straight game, the Bears rose up to the challenge and beat a team that the so-called experts said would beat them. After nearly losing their home opener to the Lions 19-14, the Bears beat the Cowboys 27-20 and now the Packers 20-17.

The battle of the two franchise quarterbacks

Jay Cutler was again under pressure, sacked three times early in the game. But as he has done in the past two games, rose to the occasion. He connected with Johnny Knox for 31 yards to the 13 and then hit a diving Olsen for a nine-yard TD on third-and-six, cutting the deficit to 10-7 with :26 left in the half.

Cutler made some key throws, but he didn’t perform after compiling an NFL-best 121.2 passer rating in the first two games. Against the Packers, he completed 16 of 27 passes for 221 yards with one TD, one interception and an 82.5 passer rating.

“I didn’t play very well,” Cutler said. “I thought we were out of sync, missing throws I should have made. We didn’t play our best game and we won. That’s got to be a good sign. Offensively, we’ve got to get a lot better. I’ve got to play better. The defense did a good job of keeping us in there.”

Aaron Rodgers had plenty of time to pass… and was not sacked all night
Photo by Scott Krause

Aaron Rodgers was on top of his game, completing 34 of 45 for 316 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in the loss. The same cannot be said of rest of the team. The team’s sloppy play can be blamed for losing this game. A team record 18 penalties, some on key drives and plays cost them the game, and will haunt them all season. They won’t get to see these “Monsters of the Midway” until the final game of the season in Green Bay on January 2, 2011. By then they may be playing for pride as the Bears continue to find ways to win games when they are the underdog.

Devin Hester is off and Running… for a touchdown..
Photo By Scott Krause

He’s back..

Devin Hester finally looks like the old Devin Hester. In what could be considered the key play of the game, Hester returned a kickoff 62 yards for a go ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The score to gave the Bears a 14-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. It was the 12th return TD of Hester’s career, but his first since the 2007 season finale

“We’ve been waiting for Devin to come back and he was back tonight,” Smith said. “He was outstanding on that one touchdown run, but even before that it just felt like every time he went back there he had a chance to score. We’re tough when we have all three phases working like that.”

Brain Urlacher made his presence known
Photo By Scott Krause

The defense rises to the occasion, again

Brian Urlacher stripped Packers WR James Jones of the ball late in the fourth quarter, leading to a game-winning kick by Robbie Gould.

The Bears defense as a whole allowed 379 total yards and failed to record a sack for the second straight week. But the unit delivered when the game was on the line.

Brian Urlacher stripped Packers WR James Jones of the ball late in the fourth quarter, leading to a game-winning kick by Robbie Gould.

“We needed a play,” said linebacker Lance Briggs. “In situations like this, against teams like this, big-time players play big. They’ve got to play big.”

Smith also agreed with Briggs

“On the defensive side of the ball, guys hung in there,” Smith said. “We need to be able to get the quarterback down. But Aaron Rodgers is a good player. It’s hard to get him down. We kept the ball in front of us for the most part most of the game and came through with a big takeaway at the end.”

Julius Peppers also delivered Monday night. On the opening possession of the second half, Peppers drew a holding penalty on right tackle Mark Tauscher that nullified Rodgers’ apparent 15-yard TD pass to tight end Jermichael Finley and then blocked Mason Crosby’s 37-yard field goal attempt. These Packer mistakes cost them this game.

The Bears again will play in “Prime Time” again this Sunday when they travel to New York to play the Giants on Sunday night.