Most people expected the Green Bay Packers to get the win against the Chicago Bears especially since they were at home but not many would have predicted how poorly the Bears would play. Silly penalties and bad offensive plays made sure that Aaron Rodgers and company did not have to do too much in order to see out a 35-14 win on Thursday night, putting them on top of the NFC North.
Mike Glennon has a 'terrible day at the office'
Mike Glennon came into this season knowing that he had short leash so to speak after Chicago had drafted Mitchell Trubisky as the second overall pick in this season's draft. As of right now, Glennon is the starting quarterback of this team but another performance like tonight's could see him spend the rest of the season on the sidelines. Glennon picked up a passing touchdown but he finished the night with two interceptions and two fumbles that ultimately turned the tide of the game. He wasn't helped by drops from his receivers at key moments in the Bears' drives but his overall performance will not have quietened the voices that wanted him removed from the starting role this season.
On the other side of the ball, the Chicago defense gave up penalties that will have John Fox fuming for the next couple of days. The most egregious one was a very late and awful hit by Danny Trevathan which resulted in Packers' receiver Davante Adams leaving the game in the fourth quarter. Overall, the Bears gave up eight penalties for 62 yards throughout the game. This allowed the Packers to work with short fields for most of their offensive drives.
After a big OT win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend, it looks like the Bears have been brought down to earth again tonight and will have to look somewhere else for answers before their game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Packers defense drive the team to another win
The Green Bay defense had been having a tough time of it over the last two games but tonight they showed up and performed very well. They managed to pressure Glennon all game long and picked up a sack, two fumbles and two interceptions through their pass rush. They also limited the Bears to roughly 3 yards per carry in the running game which forced Glennon to throw more than the coaching staff would have liked.
Rodgers took what his defense gave him and had another stellar night behind center. He completed 18 of 26 throws for 179 yards and four touchdowns. Even with injuries to his running backs throughout the game, Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, still found ways to keep the chains moving and score every time they reached the red zone (five attempts).
Aaron Jones, who has number three on the depth chart, came into the game tonight and filled in admirably for the Packers. Jones also picked up his first National Football League touchdown in the process. The Packers will now head into a ten day break before they have to play again and they will be hoping that some of their unavailable players will have recovered well enough to travel when they face the Dallas Cowboys.