Packers continue their dominance,
Beat Bears 27-17

It looked like a continuation of the so called epic Championship game played here last January.

The Bears did show a different look this game, but not how they played. The Bears wore their Orange alternate home Jersey early this year.  

The Chicago Bears usually wear this Jersey near Halloween, but this year, The Bears will have their "Bye" week during the scary weekend.

Maybe the Bears figured the color change would throw off their hated rival from the north….Not today or any day, would these Packers be fooled.

The Packers are the team we thought they would be.

Aaron Rodgers threw for 297 yards, including three touchdown passes to Jermichael Finley, and the Packers shut down Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears in a 27-17 victory Sunday.

Rodgers led the Pack, completing 28 of 38 passes in another sharp performance from a quarterback who sees a difference in himself this season.

"More comfortable, definitely," he said. "Going through the postseason like that and feeling good about the way I played, other than maybe the second half here, it gives you a lot of confidence going into the season."

Head Coach Mike McCarthy could hardly agree more.  "He had a lot of success as a player, he won a world championship last year," he said. "I think that would give everybody more confidence once they are involved in that. He has a very good handle week in week out of the plan, how the defense is playing. He is a very good player, he definitely is on path to be recognized as a great player when his career finishes."

The field was scary at times, just like the Bears offense.

On one play, the official made a strange call.. “There is a dangerous situation on the field. What it turned out to be was a staple holding the new turf together. Good thing the caught it before anybody was seriously hurt.

Why would they change the sod just prior to one of the most important games of the season? The Chicago Park district and the Bears should finally stop all of the sod issues and install field turf. Problem solved.

Hello Mr. Urlacher...

If there is one constant bright spot for the Bears, it’s Brian Urlacher. He has not skipped a beat in the first three games, even after the tragic loss of his mother earlier this month. Urlacher seems to bring out the worst in every great quarterback he has faced this season.

Urlacher was there to intercept Rodgers, his first interception of the season. Urlacher picked him off with the Packers leading 27-17 in the fourth quarter. But again the Bears inept offense could not do anything with this gift.

The Bears have much work to do, The running game was in hibernation.

Cutler struggled in a big way and the running game was again nonexistent as Chicago dropped its second straight after an impressive win over Atlanta.

The Bears continue searching for an offensive identity and are now two games back of the defending Super Bowl champion Packers and the surprising Lions in the NFC North.

A week after there were just 12 rushes and 11 running plays called in a thrashing at New

Orleans, the Bears had 12 rushes and called only nine running plays. They managed only 13 yards rushing, the fewest in franchise history since 1960, and 12 more than they had on Oct. 26, 1952, against the Los Angeles Rams. The 12 carries tied for the second-fewest ever.

Have you seen this game plan before? "I don't audible," said quarterback Jay Cutler, who added to the running totals with three scrambles for 11 yards. "You're going to have to ask someone else about that. I don't do the game plan."

Can it work?

"We are 0-2 doing this," Cutler said. "So, it's not looking very good."

The Bears managed just 13 yards rushing — and with only 12 attempts, they matched their second-fewest for the second straight game. Against New Orleans last week, they called 52 pass plays and handed off 11 times, with a scramble by Cutler bringing the run total to 12.

Forte carried nine times for 2 yards. He was stopped in the backfield for a loss on six of the

carries behind the makeshift offensive line that Jerry Angelo said he went to all lengths to upgrade.

"We took a step back," Forte said. "When we first came out the first week, I felt like we made a

couple strides forward in where we are going. Last week, I think we took a little step back and this week we took a major step back."

"We didn't run the ball because we weren't able to," said Forte, who was limited to 80 yards on

Seven receptions. "We just played bad out there.

Still much to improve? For the Bears, yes. The Packers seem just fine.

"I think we have the potential to get better, and I don't know how many wins that means or the playoffs or whatever, but I just think we can play better football," he said. "The standard we've set around Green Bay is excellence, so until we're at that point, there's going to be a lot of hard work during the week." Rodgers said.

A Spectacular Play… almost..

The Bears had a chance to make a game of it when Knox and Hester orchestrated a brilliant play

designed by special teams coordinator Dave Toub.

Johnny Knox lined up to jam a gunner at the line and then sprinted back. He fielded Tim Masthay's punt in the corner while Hester pretended to be catching the ball on the other side of the field. Green Bay's coverage team converged on Hester while Knox had an easy 89-yard run for a touchdown. But hold everything, the great play was wiped out by a holding call against Graham way away from the play. If the touchdown had counted, the Bears would have been an onside kick and a field goal away from overtime.

Rodgers took notice.. "That was the most incredible play I've ever seen," Rodgers said.

A few bright spots, for the Bears.

Jay Cutler took some shots downfield, including a 32-yard touchdown strike to Kellen Davis to bring the Bears within 10 with 11:46 to play, but Martz's offense was out of sync. The Bears converted only 3 of 12 third downs and didn't get it right against a defense that Panthers rookie Cam Newton had a field day with a week earlier. Two passes targeted for Roy Williams were picked off by safety Morgan Burnett.

Coach Smith, as always, sounds like a broken record. "Offensively, we had opportunities," Smith

said. Sure we had opportunities, but what the Bears need to do is fix their offensive line as soon as possible, or this season will be a long one and over before it started.

Maybe the Panthers are just what the Bears need to turn things around..if they can stop Cam Newton. The Packers barely did.