Game 14 - Chicago

Aye -yi-yi-yi-YI!

Those were my first words after Mason Crosby put the ball between the uprights for a hard-won Green Bay victory, 30 - 27 over Chicago.

Lots of heroes in this one:  Aaron Rodgers, Ty Montgomery, the offensive line, Micah Hyde, Jordy Nelson, Jared Cook, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Julius Peppers, and players who persevered on a cold day.

Rodgers, playing with two injuries, went without a touchdown completion for the first time in a long time,  But his 60 yard bomb with time running out to Jordy Nelson put the Packers within a chip-shot field goal of victory.

Ty Montgomery, the receiver turned running back, was outstanding - with more carries and more yards rushing than he's ever had in the NFL.  Two long runs helped the offense.

The Packer's offensive line opened holes for Montgomery to run through and kept Rodgers clean most of the game.  Rodgers was sacked four times, but they came after he had a long time to throw and didn't want to force any passes.

Free agent tight end Jared Cook had the best hands in the first half, making several crucial catches.

Micah Hyde picked off the Bear's "Hail Mary" at the end of the first half when Clinton-Dix tried to knock it down.  But the game-saving play was his break-up of a Bears' pass at the goal line Green Bay was defending.  If he doesn't tap it away, the Bears would have been up 7 with less than 2 minutes to play.

Julius Peppers made a sack and stripped the ball on the first play of the second half.  Green Bay turned it into a 13 - 10 lead.

As it was, Chicago tied it with a field goal.  (That surprised me.  I thought going for the touchdown and the win was the way to go.)

The Bears tied the score at 27 with 1:19 to play.

Green Bay started it's drive at their 27 yard line with 1:13 to play.  1st down was incomplete, 2nd down a pass to Montgomery that lost yardage.  Third down and 11 to go, 46 seconds left.

Rodgers finds Nelson way down field and connects on a 60 yard completion.  No time-outs, Nelson alertly gets down fast.  The team gets down to the 15 and Rodgers downs the ball with 3 seconds remaining.

Mason Crosby makes the 32 yarder twice (Chicago tried to ice him - calling time just before he kicked the first time - so he had to do it again.  The time to run the play ran out the clock.

Packers Win!  It was an exhilarating victory.  If the Bear's had won, it would have been a soul-crushing defeat.

These games are never easy.  It was tied at half.  Green Bay scored 17 points in the third quarter. Chicago answered in the final quarter.

Everything is harder when it's cold.  Breathing, grabbing, and thinking.  Both teams played hard and left it on the field.

It was the Packers' final defensive stand in the shadow of their goalpost and the heroics of a Rodger's led offense which stretched the winning streak to four games and one game behind Detroit for the NFC North title.

The Giants beat the Lions and Indianapolis destroyed Minnesota - so Green Bay picked up games on both teams.

Two games left to play, Green Bay has a one game lead on Minnesota and play the Vikings in Lambeau Christmas Eve.  Detroit plays in Dallas with a one game lead on the Packers.

Wins by Green Bay and Detroit set up the final game in Ford Field for the divisional championship.

It's still one game at a time.  Green Bay needs to beat Minnesota on Saturday.

It's a season for the record books with some Death Valley quality lows (a four game losing streak and deflating defeats) and Mountaintop highs (an all-around win over Seattle and yesterday's incredibly joyous victory).

The path to the play-offs is there for Green Bay... next up, a win over the Vikings.

Speaking of records, I think it's pretty cool that Sunday's win tied the all-time series between Chicago and Green Bay at 94 wins for each team and 6 ties.  Their first game was November 27, 1921 (a Bear's win).  

The last time the series was tied was September 24, 1933 - which gives you an idea how good the Bears were for a very long time.  The Pack's climb back to even started when Brett Favre won his first rivalry match in 1992.

Go Pack, Go!

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