Staying Alive: Why the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears
It was a wild game with multiple twists and turns, but in the end the Green Bay Packers came away with an exhilarating 30-27 victory to get to 8-6.
There was plenty of bad to remember from this game, but despite the negatives these Packers sit in prime position to get back into the playoffs even after their 4-6 start to the season.
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What did they do to bring about their fourth straight win?
Let’s take a look.
Dec 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (21) intercepts a pass against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field. Green Bay defeats Chicago 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Another slew of turnovers
I took an in-depth look last week at the way turnovers have dried up over the years for Green Bay, but just as the turnover margin fell drastically in their favor against the Seahawks it did so again against Chicago.
Before that game the Packers generated just 12 turnovers in the first 12 games of the season, putting them on pace for only 16 on the year — by far their lowest output with since Aaron Rodgers became their starting quarterback.
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They had six in the Seattle game to put themselves onto a much better path; against the Bears, they came up with another four.
These turnovers came in a giant bunch, ending four straight Chicago drives. With the score tied 10-10 right before halftime, Micah Hyde ruined a Hail Mary attempt with an interception. To start the second half, Julius Peppers got through for his only major play of the game, forcing a fumble on a sack and also recovering it. With Green Bay in the lead to start the next Chicago drive, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix picked off Barkley; on the following drive, he repeated the act.
The turnovers made on those drives constantly put Green Bay’s offense in prime position to put up points of their own — and they did so. The Packers scored 17 points off these turnovers; the only one they didn’t score off was the half-ending INT by Hyde, and that directly saved points in the other direction.
With a defensive collapse soon to follow — one that would see Green Bay give up 17 points in three drives themselves — this string of turnovers was much-needed to put up the necessary points to win this contest.
More of this will likely be needed this coming week. Minnesota has been a team that’s turnover-averse in 2016 (13 giveaways; tied for 6th lowest in the league), but they did just have a -3 showing against Indianapolis. Based on where those turnovers came from, it can be done again; Adrian Peterson (1 fumble) has had that be his fatal flaw during large swaths of his career, while Sam Bradford (1 INT, 1 Fumble) has continued to get hit and harassed by defenders busting through the putrid Minnesota offensive line all season.
Another 4+ turnover day is difficult to expect, but winning the battle in that regard would go a long way to getting this team to 9-6.
Dec 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Ty Montgomery (88) eludes Chicago Bears cornerback Tracy Porter (21) for a four yard touchdown run during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Ty breaks through
For the majority of 2016, the running game remained a vast pit of despair for the Packers and their fans.
The expected top option Eddie Lacy made it only five games before injuries ended his year. His planned backup James Starks dealt with his own injuries, and has had little positive consistency when he has been on the field. Don Jackson and Knile Davis did nothing before they were put on IR and cut, respectively.
With those issues, the balance of the offense leaned heavier towards the passing game than ever before (for certain stretches, more than three-quarters of Green Bay’s offensive plays were passes), and for thirteen weeks Green Bay’s top two leading rushers were Lacy (360 yards) and Rodgers (295).
Little did we know, Green Bay had an actual lead option waiting to get his chance to shine.
Ty Montgomery had been seeing some usage at running back across the season due to the injury/ineffectiveness problems plaguing the position, but until the past few weeks it was mostly as a last-ditch option. Many people have taken their hand at diving into this subject in the aftermath of this game (including Danny Kelly of The Ringer, Matt Bowen of ESPN, and Pro Football Focus in a variety of articles), and it’s no wonder why.
Montgomery had run well in a few games this season (since Week 7, Montgomery had four games with at least 40 rushing yards at a 4.6 yard per carry clip) but in none of those outings did he reach 10 carries. Despite the strong production, he was still being used as a complimentary piece and not the lead guy (outside of that Week 7 Chicago game — where the running back injuries hit their peak — he had not seen a single contest with more than 36 offensive snaps).
He may have finally forced the Packers’ hands now however.
Against Chicago, Montgomery carried the ball 16 times; on those, he picked up a ridiculous 162 yards. This is even more incredible when you consider how he picked those up. Of those yards, 156 came after initial contact, with Montgomery making a habit of not only busting past arm tackles down the field but breaking through defenders who had gotten through his offensive line. Of his runs, five of them went at least 13 yards — of those, four went at least 26 yards, with his 61 yarder in the first half being his best showing. He also blasted into the endzone twice on short-yardage carries.
I don’t know if I’m as sold as others have become on Montgomery being a bonafide high-workload rusher like this every week just yet, but I definitely think seeing him get about 15-20 chances per game between rushing and receiving (coupled with a steady dose of Christine Michael) is the sort of gameplan which will help this team succeed the rest of this year.
Dec 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers tight end Jared Cook (89) catches a pass over Chicago Bears cornerback Demontre Hurst (30) during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Veterans make an impact
We all know by now that the Packers are a team built through the draft; with that comes a focus on young talent to build up their talent base. With a glut of young players comes a deficit in experience however, making the contributions of the few veteran options on the team even more important.
In this contest, we saw a bundle of said veterans stepping up to make those key plays to supplement (and overcome) the efforts of those young players.
Rodgers of course is as veteran as they come on this roster, and though he didn’t have any touchdown passes he made an assortment of throws to keep the ball moving and take advantage of the turnovers his defense provided to lead his offense to scores — with none bigger than his final throw of the game. This was despite facing some of the worst pressure his offensive line allowed all season (4 sacks) and myriad injuries sapping his trademark mobility and elusiveness.
Jordy Nelson hasn’t been quite his old self this year as he returns from the ACL injury which stole his 2015 season, but despite lacking some of that past explosiveness he’s managed to stay productive with short-to-midrange gains and catching touchdowns in cramped spaces (12 on the year). No touchdowns in this one, but with fellow receiver Davante Adams struggling with drops (including two possible TD drops on one of Green Bay’s drives) Nelson was the steady pair of hands his team needed. He caught 7 of 10 targets for 124 yards, being the one on the receiving end of Rodgers’ late toss to secure the game-winning field goal attempt.
Jared Cook may be new to Green Bay this year, and his season hasn’t quite gone as hoped, but his towering presence on the field makes him the sort of player offenses crave. He had one of his best showings with Green Bay in this game, grabbing 6 catches for 85 yards; three of those were at least 15 yards, coming on early drives which allowed the Packers to take the lead (two on the Packers’ first drive to put Green Bay up 7-0) and tie the game (one on Green Bay’s early field goal drive to tie the game at 10-10).
Micah Hyde has been the embodiment of the struggles at cornerback for Green Bay in 2016, but without the caveat of inexperience to fall back on. He showed up in a major way against the Bears, however. He allowed only 2 catches on 5 targeted passes; they went for 12 yards. He made an interception on a Matt Barkley Hail Mary before the half, saving a possible score to keep things tied 10-10 at the half. He also made the most important defensive play of the game to save another touchdown, this time on Chicago’s final offensive drive.
Julius Peppers was relatively quiet for most of this outing, but it was his sack/forced fumble/fumble recovery combo which started of what became a 17-0 Green Bay run to begin the third quarter.
And of course, the man who officially sealed the win deserves a mention. Crosby has had some struggles this season, but had a perfect scoring game. He made all three of his extra points, but his field goals were the main focus. He tied the game up before halftime, helped Green Bay take the lead soon after the half, and then pushed through the game-winning attempt with no time remaining.
Young players will be what builds this team as long as Ted Thompson is running things at Lambeau, but the contributions of their veterans is what makes the difference between wins and losses in close games like this.
Dec 18, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Green Bay Packers strong safety Micah Hyde (33) is congratulated by free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (21) for breaking up a pass during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Green Bay won 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Slowing the onslaught at best possible time
The defense had been looking really good for nearly a month, and through most of this contest appeared to be on a similar path.
After Green Bay had gotten up 27-10, few people had to expect this would still be struggle for them.
Then, the fourth quarter happened.
Following four straight drives which ended in a Chicago turnover, the Bears began to find their way to the endzone. Barkley found Alshon Jeffery three times for 58 yards, the final on an 8 yard touchdown; the lead was cut to 27-17. Following a Green Bay punt Chicago again reached the endzone, this time having 7 plays go for at least 5 yards and ending on a Jordan Howard touchdown run; 27-24 Green Bay lead. Green Bay punted again, giving the Bears 5:42 to drive for at least a field goal.
Chicago kept up their recent success for most of the drive. Starting from their own 21, Barkley hit Deonte Thompson for 15 yards. Short plays kept them chewing up field: 4 and 3 yards by Howard, Thompson for 6, Meredith for 8 and 4, 5 yards on a hold by LaDarius Gunter. A couple big plays (16 yards by Jeremy Langford,13 yards by Howard) put them at the Green Bay 3. Based on the past quarter, it seemed like Rodgers and Co were going to need a quick touchdown really soon to prevent a frustrating lost.
When it all seemed lost though, the defense finally stepped up when it meant the most.
From 1st & goal at the 3, the Bears committed a hold, pushing them back by 10 yards; they got most of it back on a 9 yard pass from Barkley to Meredith. Second down at the 4, Howard got the ball; Kentrell Brice stopped him for no gain.
Third down now, four yards to go, the game hanging in the balance. Barkley dropped back, and looked for Meredith again. He threw it, but instead of the expected completion, Hyde stepped in to prevent it.
The Bears would go on to score a short field goal, but with the touchdown averted all Green Bay would need was a field goal to win, with the possible fallback of overtime still available if they were to come up short.
That was all made possible by the defense finally stopping the bleeding here.
60 yards of glory
After the defensive stand to hold the Bears to a field goal — keeping the score tied at 27-all rather than a 31-27 deficit — Green Bay got the ball back. Surely if they were to not score here, they would have a chance at overtime, but anything can happen depending on the coin flip; if their defense were to be forced to stop Chicago, there’s no guarantee they could keep them out of the end zone again. With that in mind, finding a way to quickly get a score of some kind to prevent that possibility was paramount.
The start of this drive didn’t look promising for those hopes, however. Rodgers missed Cook on first down. Montgomery was immediately snapped up on a second down screen. With a third and long now being faced, overtime felt imminent.
All it took was one play to change everything.
On third down, Rodgers dropped back to pass. With excellent blocking ahead of him (nobody within 5 yards of him), he calmly dropped back, slowly strafing to his left. Eyes downfield, he found a target: Nelson, who had stepped inside of the coverage of Crevon LeBlanc, angling towards the deep middle of the field. Nelson waved to Rodgers to signal he had his guy beat, and Rodgers flung it deep. Nelson ran deep, located it perfectly, and came down with the ball with zero issue.
Following a hasty run-up to spike the ball, we had just 5 seconds remaining. Crosby booted through the kick, giving Green Bay the victory.
The kick was the official sealing moment, but it was this trademark Rodgers-Nelson deep ball connection which brought it to fruition. Without it, we might not be talking about a Green Bay victory, and those playoff hopes would be perilously thin.
Instead, this is the fourth win in a row or Green Bay, and the dreams of running the table survive for another week.
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