Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on September 28, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

For the first time in a long time, both the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers came into a game undefeated. In what was one of the more sloppy games in the series, the Chicago Bears used a mix of offense, defense, and special teams to overcome a more precise passing offense. But the Packers worked hard to give the Bears several chances to win this game.

In the end, the Bears won the game 20-17. 

Green Bay picked up 17 penalties with a majority of them coming at the most inopportune times. The Bears took advantage of most of these miscues. They clearly helped them win this game.

You can’t give all the credit to penalties, though. The Bears had never gave up in their drive to remain undefeated and take over the lead in the NFC North.

The following is an in-depth look at the game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.

Scoring Summary

The Packers got on the scoreboard first following a seven-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings in the first quarter. Green Bay added a Mason Crosby field goal to make it 10-0 in the second quarter, making many think that this game could end up a blowout.  

Before the end of the half Jay Cutler, who finally got a little more time to throw the ball, hit tight end Greg Olsen on a nine-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-7 at the end of the half.

There was no scoring in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth, after waiting over two years, wide receiver/punt returner Devin Hester scored on a punt return. This one for 62 yards to put the Bears up 14-10. 

The Packers didn’t let the Bears lead stand long. Rodgers marched Green Bay down the field and ran into the end zone from three yards out. That put the Packers up 17-14.

After missing one field goal in the game, Gould was money the rest of the way. He  helped Chicago with a 25-yarder to tie it at 17. 

The Packers attempted to get down the field to score. Wide receiver James Jones had the ball stripped from him by linebacker Brian Urlacher and corner back Tim Jennings recovered it in Packers territory. All the Bears had to do was get in field goal range and win the game.

The last drive by the Bears was filled with penalties by the Green Bay Packers including a personal foul and pass interference. Both helped to keep the Bear’s drive alive. The drive culminated in a 19-yard field goal by Gould that ended up being the decisive score in the contest.

Stud of the Game

This week we will split the stud of the game in two. Give half to Hester and the other half to defensive end Julius Peppers. 

Hester not only returned a punt for a touchdown, he also had several nice catches. 

Peppers not only played well on defense, he also blocked a field goal.  Peppers needed a breakout game. He clearly lived up to the challenge.

Dud of the Game

The Bears pass rush failed to put enough pressure on Rodgers despite the fact Peppers was taking up two blockers at times. While they did get near Rodgers and did get him hurried a couple times, they didn’t get to him enough which allowed him to pick apart the secondary for the most part.

The Bears have to get their pass rush working soon.

Analysis

If you have read some of the media reports the most prominent excuse is the Packers beat themselves. It was a hard fought game. The Packers just made more mistakes than the Bears and at critical points in the game.

The Bears weren’t able to do a lot offensively. They allowed Cutler to be rushed several times. This threw him off his game and didn’t allow him to complete too many long throws. When he was given time, Cutler was able to complete some critical passes down the field. 

What the Bears failed to do was run the ball much more. They had some decent runs to start the game, but reverted to the passing game once the Packers got the lead.

Toward the end, as the Bears were driving down for the winning field goal, they used the run successfully on a couple of plays.  If they want to keep winning, they have to get their running game going.

The wide receivers and tight ends had a decent enough game, although, there were some problems running routes again. Olsen had a great game and showed his value in an offense that was said not to utilize the tight end.  

It was clear to see how big of an impact Peppers had on the opposing offensive linemen. His presence caused two false starts. He is definitely the real deal and the Bears are starting to see some return on their investment.

The linebackers played their usual best in this game and didn’t allow the running game to get established. They also helped protect the middle and deep middle of the field. 

Urlacher’s strip of Jones came at the best possible time for the Bears. It’s plays like that that get you into the Pro Bowl and eventually into the Hall of Fame.

The secondary did get picked apart by Rodgers due to a lack of a pass rush. The corner backs and safeties tackled well at times but let the receivers slip out of their grasp and pick up extra yardage at time. It would be interesting to see how many yards after contact Packers receivers had in this game.

The Bears need to tighten up their tackling and get the guy down on the first hit.

In the End

The Packers looked better than the Bears on offense, but they just didn’t make the plays when they had to win this game. Couple that with costly penalties and the Bears ended up being a more disciplined team on Monday night. This could result in more wins this season.

For complete coverage of the game on Monday night, click HERE to go to the live blog during the game.

Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com