by Colin Fly
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Chicago Bears wanted to
see where they stood in a hostile environment with the playoffs at stake. When
they play in two weeks, it'll be their fans creating the raucous atmosphere.
Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown pass and the Green
Bay Packers clinched a playoff berth with a 10-3 victory over their division
rivals to enter the postseason as a sixth seed.
Despite an anemic offensive performance, Chicago
feels good about its chances, too.
"We're in the exact same position we were at
eight o'clock this morning. Healthy. Second round bye," Bears tight end
Greg Olsen said. "At the end of the day that's the only thing you can take
from it."
Still, being healthy and rested is a good start for
the NFC North champs. Chicago (11-5) will face either Philadelphia, Seattle or
New Orleans after a week off to scheme for a second-round opponent.
"To get 11 wins, you're up to that level,
playoff, regular season, we're an 11-5 football team, we're a good football
team and we're ready for someone to come to Soldier Field as we wait after we
earned that bye," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We're excited about
playing our next home game."
The Packers know for sure they won't return to
Lambeau Field this season. If Green Bay (10-6) beats the Eagles on Sunday, they
would next head to Atlanta to face the conference's No. 1 seed.
"They're a different team now," Rodgers
said of the Eagles after Green Bay beat them in Week 1 when Michael Vick was
still the backup to Kevin Kolb. "They're very well-coached and they gave
us some problems when we played up there."
Green Bay trailed 3-0 at halftime in a game the
Packers had to win to get into the postseason and were tied going into the
fourth quarter, while Chicago continued playing all its starters.
Rodgers connected with his two most trusted
receivers — Donald Driver for 21 yards and Greg Jennings for 46 yards — to move
to the 1, where he found tight end Donald Lee for the touchdown with 12:42
left.
Rodgers finished with 229 yards, a touchdown and an
interception as Green Bay made the postseason despite 15 players on injured
reserve, including six starters.
"We've stuck together, followed our coaches
and believed in each other," Rodgers said. "I think it says a lot
about the guys who stepped up."
Chicago had three possessions with a chance to tie,
but only began moving on its final drive starting at its own 2 and crossing
midfield on the 10th play. At the Packers 32 with 20 seconds left, Jay Cutler's
pass sailed over the head of Devin Hester and was intercepted by Nick Collins.
Cutler was sacked six times, including twice by
linebacker Erik Walden, who has had extended playing time because Green Bay is
so thin at the position. Still Cutler said he thought it was a good idea to
play the starters, only joking that he asked Smith to rethink the plan after he
was brought down over and over.
"Lovie never swayed in his decision. He said
from the very get go we were going to roll in this game and we did even though
Atlanta clinched No. 1. So, we wanted to come in here in a tough environment,
we haven't been in that in a while, so I thought it was a good idea," said
Cutler, who finished with 168 yards and two interceptions. "I think our
offensive line knows what they were doing. There's no real problems out
there."
The Packers again relied on the defense, which
coach Mike McCarthy called outstanding.
"Offensively, it was not our best day, no
question. The field position, the turnovers with the field position we had, but
10 points was enough to win," McCarthy said. "I was just very proud
of our defense and special teams, the way they carried this game."
Green Bay didn't look anything like the team that
routed the New York Giants to keep its playoff hopes alive last week and
trailed on Sunday when Robbie Gould kicked a 30-yard field goal to give Chicago
a 3-0 lead late in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Packers squandered a
first-and-goal chance at the 1, settling for a short field goal by Mason Crosby
to tie it, but Green Bay wouldn't waste its next opportunity in the red zone.
The Bears are sure they won't blow their next
chance, either, pointing to another strong defensive effort and the chance to
play at home after getting a few key days off to rest.
"This was a good preparation for the playoffs.
We've got a bye next week, but I know a lot of guys feel good about going into
the playoffs," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "The last couple of
weeks teams have been scoring a lot of points on us. It was important to us for
the Packers to only get 10 points.
"We were effective when we did the things we
needed to do. We were very disciplined."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
