Packers hand Bears lesson

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — The Green Bay Packers rattled and robbed Jay Cutler while Aaron Rodgers and Co. sputtered at times against the stout Chicago Bears defense.

So with all those stars on the field for the NFL's most storied rivalry, the biggest play of the day was a gutsy call for a perfectly executed fake field goal in Green Bay's 23-10 victory at Lambeau Field on Thursday.

With the Packers lined up for a field goal late in the second quarter, punter Tim Masthay flipped the ball to backup tight end Tom Crabtree, who streaked into the end zone.

Watching from the sideline, Rodgers thought something went wrong.

"I saw Crabby running out the back side, I couldn't believe it," Rodgers said. "That's a gutsy call. A gutsy call. You've got to score on that."

Green Bay's defense did the rest.

Cutler threw four interceptions, including a pair to Tramon Williams. Facing a fierce pass rush all night, Cutler was sacked seven times, including 3? for Clay Matthews. New Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall was held to two catches for 24 yards.

It was an impressive rebound from an unsettling season-opening loss to San Francisco.

"We got kicked in the (rear end) four days ago," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "And we were motivated."

While Green Bay is known for its high-octane offense, McCarthy said he'd rather have his team be known for its defense — and Matthews certainly made an impression.

"I thought Clay was off the charts, just with the energy and production that he brought," McCarthy said.

Thursday's game was a huge step backward for the Bears, who were filled with confidence after steamrolling Indianapolis in their opener.

"Of course it was a disappointing effort," Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. "I thought we would play better. We're better than we showed tonight."

The Bears also lost running back Matt Forte to an ankle injury. Smith said it wasn't clear how severe the injury was.

"Maybe we're not as good as we thought we were," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "We've got a long ways to go."

Rodgers finished the game 22 of 32 for 219 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The touchdown went to Donald Driver, who barely played in the loss to San Francisco. Driver did a celebratory dance in the end zone, recalling his stint on the "Dancing With the Stars" reality television show.

Rodgers got roughed up, too, getting sacked five times. Green Bay got a scare when the NFL MVP appeared to hurt his right arm early in the game, but he stayed in.

Cutler was 11-for-27 for 126 yards, and visibly expressed his frustration throughout the game.

"If they want a quarterback that doesn't care, they can find somebody else," Cutler said.

Cutler threw a late touchdown to Kellen Davis, cutting the lead to 23-10 with 6:49 remaining. But the Bears couldn't mount a comeback as Matthews and the Packers kept turning up the heat.

Earlier in the week, a confident Cutler wished Green Bay's defensive backs "good luck" in trying to match up physically with a new-look wide receiver corps led by Marshall. Stalked by Williams for much of the night, Marshall didn't see much of the ball. And he couldn't convert his one big opportunity, dropping a potential touchdown in the third quarter.

Forte provided much of what little offense the Bears could muster before leaving the game in the third. He appeared to twist his right ankle while being tackled by Charles Woodson.

Mason Crosby hit three field goals for Green Bay, including a 54-yarder in the fourth quarter.

The biggest play of the night, though, came from the unlikely tandem of Masthay and Crabtree.

With the Packers facing fourth-and-26 on the Chicago 27 late in the second quarter, Masthay, the punter who also functions as the holder on field goals, and Crosby appeared to line up for a field goal attempt.

But Masthay took the snap and flipped the ball to Crabtree, who ran through a huge hole and streaked all the way to the end zone.

McCarthy said his club has been working on the fake field goal play for two or three years, although he acknowledged it wasn't the ideal situation to bring it out.

"I was trying to send our team a message when I did call it," McCarthy said. "And, frankly, I would have been fine with the field position."

Cutler then threw an interception to Williams near midfield with just over a minute left and the play was upheld on a replay review, giving the Packers one last chance to score. Rodgers marched the Packers into scoring range, and Crosby hit a 35-yard field goal.

Marshall missed a huge opportunity early in the third, when Cutler found him streaking wide open in the end zone — but the wide receiver couldn't haul it in, and the Bears had to settle for a 45-yard field goal by Robbie Gould that cut the lead to 13-3.

Cutler threw his second interception of the night late in the third, this time to Woodson, and the Packers appeared poised to score when Charles Tillman punched the ball away from Jermichael Finley and recovered the ball for Chicago.

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Bears land Marshall from Dolphins

CHICAGO — Finally, the Chicago Bears can stop looking for a top receiver.

They reeled one in Tuesday, landing three-time Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall in a trade with the Miami Dolphins that addressed their biggest need.

There was widespread speculation the Bears would go after a high-profile free-agent receiver such as Vincent Jackson, but they filled their biggest hole with a blockbuster deal instead.

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Packers earn NFC's top seed, extinguish Bears' playoff hopes

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — With the first five-touchdown game of his NFL career, Aaron Rodgers ensured that the Green Bay Packers' playoff road will go through Lambeau Field.

He also made sure the rival Chicago Bears will be spending the playoffs at home.

Rodgers broke a close game wide open by leading three quick scoring drives in the second half, and the Packers beat the Bears 35-21 on Sunday night.

Rodgers noted that he once threw six touchdowns in junior college — also in a rivalry game — but acknowledged this one was a little bit bigger.

"Yeah, this one's pretty special," Rodgers said.

With the win, the Packers (14-1) nailed down the No. 1 seed in the NFC and claimed another round of bragging rights in the NFL's most storied rivalry by knocking the Bears out of the playoff chase.

"We wanted the path to go through Lambeau," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

Rodgers threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jordy Nelson, another two to James Jones, and found tight end Jermichael Finley for a score. Rodgers was 21 of 29 for 283 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions when backup Matt Flynn took over for Rodgers with 7:54 left in the game.

Rodgers surpassed Lynn Dickey's single-season franchise record of 4,458 yards passing with one game left, although it's unclear how much Rodgers will play in the Packers' finale against Detroit.

The loss eliminated the Bears (7-8) from playoff contention and put the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs.

Third-string running back Kahlil Bell rushed for 121 yards for the Bears, who trailed by only four early in the third quarter. But Rodgers drove the Packers for touchdowns on their next three possessions to put the game out of reach.

"When you play the Super Bowl champions, you have to be on top of your game," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "Offensively, we did enough things to keep us in the game and have a chance to win the game at the end. But defensively we just didn't have it."

McCarthy said the team's run defense will be examined after the big performance by Bell, but added that the final score told the story.

"We won big," McCarthy said. "That's the bottom line."

Chicago came into Sunday on a four-game losing streak and beset by injuries. But the Bears were able to stay in the game with solid defense and tough running by Bell, who started because of injuries to Matt Forte and Marion Barber.

Rodgers' second-half fireworks proved to be too much.

The victory was the Packers' fourth over the Bears in 2011. Green Bay also beat Chicago in the 2010 regular-season finale, the NFC Championship game, and at Soldier Field on Sept. 25.

With the Bears trailing 14-3 at halftime, quarterback Josh McCown found Earl Bennett wide open for a 49-yard gain to set up first-and-goal on the 1. Bell fumbled just short of the goal line on the next play but offensive lineman Edwin Williams recovered the ball for a touchdown.

With the Packers nursing a four-point lead, and the Lambeau Field crowd nervously quiet early in the third quarter, Rodgers answered by dropping deep and throwing a rainbow pass to Nelson, who blew through the Chicago secondary and hauled in the ball for a 55-yard touchdown.

Rodgers then showed his running ability on the Packers' next possession, juking his way between Bears linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs on a scramble. Rodgers finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown toss to Jones, giving the Packers a commanding 28-10 lead.

Packers safety Charlie Peprah came up with an interception, and Rodgers found Nelson for another score to give Green Bay a 35-10 lead.

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Bears train sights on Packers QB Rodgers

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — With Aaron Rodgers trying to help the Green Bay Packers secure a No. 1 playoff seed against a sputtering Chicago Bears team missing its two best offensive players, the NFL's most storied rivalry is looking pretty lopsided these days.

Going into a Sunday night matchup at Lambeau Field, the Packers can clinch home-field advantage in the NFC with a win, with the added bonus of knocking their rivals out of the playoffs and beating them for the fourth — yes, fourth — time in 2011.

The Packers may have lost their shot at a perfect season with a loss at Kansas City last week, but probably won't need a perfect performance to beat a team that has turned to Josh McCown at quarterback.

Green Bay does have one major concern, though: Can an offensive line depleted by injuries keep Rodgers from taking too many big hits from a still-dangerous Bears defensive line?

Rodgers conceded that the Packers may have to adjust their offense to compensate for a reshuffled line.

"Depending on who's playing where, you might have to tweak a few things because those guys are used to playing in certain spots," Rodgers said. "If they have to move around a little bit, it's going to take getting used to. We feel confident about the guys we're going to line up, and there's an expectation that they're going to play and play well. But you've got to be smart with the personnel you've got as well."

Kansas City got good pressure on Rodgers, including four sacks, and the Bears hope to do the same.

"We're lucky we're athletic up front," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "We've got some guys who can rush the passer with four, which has helped us quite a bit. And we're pretty athletic in the back end as well, so we run around. But there's really not a whole lot you can do against him. He's going to make his plays. Hopefully we can make some as well."

The Packers could be without three of their top four offensive tackles on Sunday after injuries to starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga and backup Derek Sherrod. Bulaga sprained his left knee and has been ruled out for Sunday, while Sherrod broke his right leg and is out for the season.

Veteran left tackle Chad Clifton returned to practice this week, but it's not clear when he'll be ready to play. Clifton hurt his hamstring in the Packers' Oct. 9 victory at Atlanta, then hurt his back during the rehabilitation process.

The Packers could play Marshall Newhouse at left tackle, Evan Dietrich-Smith at left guard, Scott Wells at center, Josh Sitton at right guard and T.J. Lang at right tackle. In that scenario, Wells and Sitton would be the only starters playing their natural positions.

Even before losing Bulaga and Sherrod on Sunday, the Packers have been allowing too much pressure on Rodgers the past few weeks. Rodgers has been sacked seven times in the past two games and taken several other big hits.

"Obviously, everybody knows the sacks and the hits, problems that we've had the past few weeks," Lang said. "It's never good to watch a quarterback get hit as many times as he's getting hit. We've got some guys moving around. That's not an excuse for us. Our mentality is, whoever's playing, your No. 1 job is to protect the ball carrier, protect the quarterback."

Packers receivers also struggled to make up for the absence of Greg Jennings, who has a left knee sprain and is expected to return for the playoffs. But Urlacher said Rodgers' play can cover up a lot of other issues for the Packers' offense.

"No. 12's still playing quarterback, so that's all that matters in that offense," Urlacher said. "He gets rid of the ball so fast and knows where to go with the ball. It may be a little bit of a weakness for them, but he's still playing quarterback for them, so they're still dangerous."

But even if the Bears deliver a typically good performance on defense, they still might struggle to score.

Jay Cutler broke his right thumb against San Diego on Nov. 20, when the Bears were 7-3. Running back Matt Forte then sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in a loss to Kansas City Dec. 4, leaving the Bears without their two most critical players on offense.

Backup Caleb Hanie took over for Cutler and struggled, throwing nine interceptions in four starts, all losses. Now the Bears are turning to McCown, who hasn't started a game in four years.

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