Aaron Rodgers – UPI/Bill Greenblatt
The Green Bay Packers needed Aaron Rodgers to step up on Sunday and that’s exactly what he did. The Packers 28th ranked offense got a heavy dose of Aaron Rodgers and it led to the Packers 38-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Rodgers completed 22 of 28 for 302 yards and four touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 151.2 is second only to the 155.4 he put up in a 31-3 win over Cleveland in October of 2009.
The Packers scored on their first six possessions. The only drive they didn’t score points on came on a Mason Crosby blocked field with just under five minutes left to play.
The Packers lost the time of possession battle by nearly 13 minutes, but the efficiency of the Packers offense, scoring quickly with their uptempo approach.
Jordy Nelson caught 10 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow receiver Randall Cobb caught seven balls for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
The Packers didn’t run the ball very well. Eddie Lacy finished with 17 carries for 48 yards and has totaled 161 yards on 53 carries, good for a 3.0 ypc average in the first four games.
But Rodgers was a difference maker for the Packers, who saw their record improve to 2-2.
Rodgers also didn’t take a single hit by a Bears defender either. In fact, the only sack allowed by the Packers came when Rodgers was racing to get out-of-bounds and picked up zero yards on the play. That is officially ruled a sack.
Of course the Packers got some help when Chicago defensive end Jared Allen didn’t play because of illness.
The Packers will still need to find their running game. They’ll need one as they try to work through cold weather conditions in December. If Lacy doesn’t pick up the pace, the Packers may have to give James Starks more opportunity. Starks is averaging two full yards more per carry this season (5.0). Starks remained on the sidelines yesterday and didn’t get an opportunity to carry the ball.
The Packers couldn’t stop the run either. The Bears rushed for 235 yards. Through the first four games of the season, the Packers have allowed on average, 176.0 yards per game.
While the offensive players were celebrating a win, many of the defensive players were in a sour mood after the game, after being run over physically by the Bears.
There’s a quick turn-around for Green Bay this week. The Packers play their next game at home, against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.