The Chicago Bears crafted a strong plan and mostly executed that plan during Sunday’s season finale against the Green Bay Packers.
The Bears ran 74 plays and outgained the Packers, held the ball for almost 11 more minutes of game clock, converted five different fourth downs, created five drives of 10 or more plays and received an extra possession in the first half via special teams turnover. It was the balanced, ball-control style Matt Nagy’s team needed to potentially stun the Packers at Soldier Field.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers still won by three scores, leaving Chicago with a 35-16 victory that clinched the No. 1 seed.
The best-laid plans of mice and men and football teams often go awry.
The Bears ran 30 more plays than the Packers, gained 356 total yards and controlled the ball for nearly 36 minutes, but the Packers claimed victory by 19 points with superior offensive efficiency and crucial stops on defense, trademark aspects of Matt LaFleur’s winning formula in 2020.
Rodgers threw four touchdown passes, completed 19 of 24 attempts and averaged 10.0 yards per attempt. The Packers scored five touchdowns on eight possessions, including touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half and touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay gained 24 yards and punted on back-to-back drives to start the second half, opening the door for the Bears. But Chicago managed nothing more than a field goal and a turnover on downs, allowing the Packers offense to get back on track and take control of the contest.
Mike Pettine’s defense delivered four total stops in the red zone and a critical fourth-down stop at the 25-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Bears settled for three field goals, a death sentence against the Packers in 2020.
The Bears also lost a fumble in the first half, setting up a touchdown, and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw an interception to Adrian Amos in the fourth quarter, setting up the final, game-clinching touchdown drive.
Chicago will wonder how the game got away. Down 21-16 but driving for the go-ahead score, Trubisky converted a pair of fourth downs before failing to find Allen Robinson on 4th-and-1 with 11:22 left. The Packers took over, drove 76 yards in 12 plays, took almost eight minutes off the clock and went up 28-16, turning the game on its head.
The Bears, who came into Sunday potentially needing a win to get into the playoffs, took a big swing at LaFleur’s team in the season finale. Some of the jabs landed, and the Packers were staggered at times. But a resilient bunch that knows how to win eventually found their footing, and when the Bears started looking wobbly, Rodgers, Aaron Jones and Davante Adams delivered the real knockout punches.
Most of the Packers’ warts showed up at one point or another on Sunday. The defense had too much bend. The special teams made a mistake. Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a likely touchdown. The offensive lull hit to start the second half.
The Packers still found a way to beat a playoff team on the road by three scores.