Packers Rout Bears, 38-17
CHICAGO (AP) — There was no stopping Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Rodgers threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and the Packers shook off one of their worst offensive performances in years with a 38-17 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon.
The Packers (2-2) scored on their first six possessions to build a 38-17 lead. They racked up 358 yards after being held to 223, their lowest total since 2008, a week earlier in a 19-7 loss at Detroit.
They intercepted Jay Cutler twice in the third quarter to pull away from the Bears (2-2). That gave Green Bay five straight wins at Soldier Field, including the NFC title game four years ago and a playoffs-or-bust finale for both teams last season.
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Rodgers completed 22 of 28 passes and had all the time he needed with five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen missing the game because of an illness.
Randall Cobb had seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Jordy Nelson had 10 receptions for 108 yards and two TDs, and the Packers came away with the win despite allowing 496 yards.
The offenses were so effective — or the defenses struggled so badly — that neither team punted. That happened only once before in a regular-season NFL game, 22 years ago.
The Bears basically matched Green Bay score for score before Cutler threw those interceptions. He wound up passing for 256 yards and two TDs but fell to 1-10 lifetime against Green Bay, counting the postseason.
Matt Forte ran for 122 yards on 22 carries. Martellus Bennett had nine catches for a career-high 134 yards, but Chicago came up short after back-to-back wins at San Francisco and the New York Jets.
Mason Crosby kicked a 53-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half to extend the Packers' lead to 24-17, and things unraveled for the Bears after that.
Chicago had the ball on the Green Bay 24 when Cutler hit cornerback Tramon Williams in the chest with a pass. The ball ricocheted to Clay Matthews, who returned it 45 yards. That led to an 11-yard scoring pass from Rodgers to Nelson, making it 31-17.
Another bad interception by Cutler set up another TD for the Packers. This time, he threw one right to Sam Shields, who crossed the field on a 62-yard return to put the ball at the 11. Chicago's Jonathan Bostic got called for a hold, negating a field goal by Crosby to start the fourth quarter, and Rodgers hit Cobb from the 3 to make it 38-17.
The Packers and Bears combined for 508 yards in the first half. Chicago outgained Green Bay 303-205, but the Packers led 21-17 after reaching the end zone on all three possessions.
The Bears scored on their first three drives, but missed a touchdown by a few inches as the half ended.
Green Bay went up 21-17 lead with just over a minute left when Randall Cobb caught a 22-yard pass from Rodgers, but the way the offenses were moving, it clearly was not safe.
Martellus Bennett got stopped just short of the end zone on an 8-yard catch as time expired. Chicago seemed to think he reached across the goal line before getting taken down, but a replay review upheld the call.
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