NFC Championship Game
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Aaron Rodgers led the Packers on a brilliant opening drive in chilly Chicago, home of their NFC North rival and the 2010 NFC Championship Game. After the messy field conditions caused a slip on the opening kickoff return, the Packers caught their footing and Green Bay traveled the length of the field. Rodgers capped off the drive himself by barely putting the ball over the goal line on a QB scramble to take an early 7-0 lead. Chicago had a decent opening drive, but couldn’t convert a key third down and chose to punt rather than try a long field goal and take a chance of the field causing a miss.
Neither team had much success on third down. The Packers were the first to convert one, but it was after nearly 15 tries by the two teams combined.
It took a few more drives, but in the second quarter the Packers extended their lead to 14-0, and it stayed that way until the fourth quarter.
Jay Cutler left the game due to a knee injury. He wasn’t sure when it occurred but it was assumed that it happened sometime during the early states of the game. With Bears fans wanting an explanation, Todd Collins came in, hoping to have similar success as he did in Washington a few years ago. But, having been given little time to work with the starters, he struggled, going 0 for 4, with two of those incompletions nearly intercepted by Tramon Williams.
With less than a minute left in the third quarter, Caleb Hanie stepped in for Chicago, and once the 4th quarter began, there was no going back. With Collins and Cutler both now ineligible to return, due to rules too drawn out to go over here, the Bears would have to stick with Hanie moving forward, but that turned out not to be such a bad deal.
Hanie brought the Bears back. Unfortunately, he also provided the Packers their winning score. He threw two big touchdown passes, but threw a pick-6 to DL B. J. Raji in between his two scoring throws, and Green Bay’s defense looked very good near the end of the game as Sam Shields picked off his second pass of the game on the Bears last drive to clinch the win and a Super Bowl birth for Green Bay.
Rodgers did not look comfortable after the first few drives in this one. He played well early but may have shown signs of being able to be shaken up, as his later throws were not as accurate as they usually are. He was also forced to throw on the run a lot, something he hasn’t had to do too much of this year, and certainly not this postseason. The question leading into Super Bowl XLV will be whether the Packers can better protect him in Dallas.
Final Score: Green Bay – 21, Chicago – 14
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