Mattie T’s in-game Blog: Bears vs. Packers (Week 16)

Pregame:

Good evening all! We are under 20 minutes away from Monday Night Football! This is a big, big game tonight which the Bears must win to keep their playoff hopes alive. If Chicago should win, then they still have a shot at winning the NFC North with a win over Houston in Week 17 AND a Minnesota loss to the N.Y. Giants.

However, if Chicago loses tonight then it would pretty much eliminate them from postseason play as Minnesota would win the division outright.

Looking at the inactive list for both teams, Brandon Jackson is out for the Packers which plays some significance since he is Ryan Grant’s backup at running back. This means that DeShawn Wynn will get some carries tonight to give Grant a breather.

For the Bears, starting fullback Jason McKie is inactive, which means that undrafted rookie Jason Davis will start tonight & will be the primary run-blocker for Matt Forte.

According to ChicagoTribune.com, it is currently FOUR degrees outside, but the wind chill is going to make it feel like it’s 10 to 20 below.

My pre-game prediction? I think that Chicago will expose a Green Bay defense that has been lifeless in the past couple of weeks & win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Final score: Bears 27, Packers 24.

1st Quarter:

Green Bay has won the coin toss & will receive to start the game.

Already i have noticed that Adewale Ogunleye is the only Bears defender wearing long sleeves…everyone else is braving the elements.

The Packers got into Chicago territory on their 1st possession of the game, but Tommie Harris’ great pressure on 3rd & 5 forced Aaron Rodgers to throw it away & bring on the punt team.

The Bears’ 1st drive was a short 3 & out, as they got a 5-yard reception from Greg Olson & two short runs by Matt Forte.

Brad Maynard delivered a WONDERFUL 60-yard punt (which you appreciate even more considering the field conditions), which prevented Green Bay from having great starting field position.

Aaron Rodgers is having good early success on 3rd down, with two passes to Donald Driver & Ruvell Martin to keep their drives going.

Corey Graham JUST missed an interception as he deflected a pass that was intended for Greg Jennings, who is one of the best big-play receivers in the NFL.

Nice safety blitz by Danieal Manning, who came in unblocked on 3rd down & nearly got Aaron Rodgers for a sack.

Bears offense not looking good early on, as they have yet to register a 1st down…Forte isn’t getting much room to run against a Packer run defense that has really struggled in the past couple of weeks.

Chicago nearly makes a great special teams play, as Will Blackmon lets a Brad Maynard punt bounce past him, which was downed by the Bears at Green Bay’s own 2 yard line.

The ruling on the field by lead referee Ron Winter was since a Green Bay player didn’t touch the ball, it is ruled a touchback.

Lovie Smith challenged the play, but the call stood despite replays showing that the football came VERY close to hitting Blackmon’s foot.

Rodgers is in a nice rhythm early, as he is making throws on the run & successfully executing his checkdowns.

As soon as i say this, Rodgers’ next pass is tipped by Danieal Manning & intercepted by Alex Brown. Let’s see if the Bears can convert this turnover into the first points of the game.

Forte finally gets a 1st down for Chicago, their first of the game with 1:18 remaining in the 1st quarter.

The first quarter ends with a scoreless game, but Chicago faces a key 3rd down as they are inside Green Bay territory for the 1st time tonight.

2nd quarter:

On a key 3rd & 8 play, Kyle Orton scrambles but is only able to gain a yard. This will force a punt from Brad Maynard as Lovie Smith decides against giving Robbie Gould a 51-yard field goal try. Looks like this game will be a chess match of field position.

Another great punt by Maynard as he pins Green Bay inside their own 10 yard line.

So far it looks like Rodgers is targeting Donald Driver…who has 4 catches for 41 yards.

Nice play by Corey Graham as he breaks up a pass inteded for Jordy Nelson, which would’ve given Green Bay 1st & goal.

Packers use some trickery, as backup quarterback Matt Flynn takes the direct snap on a punt formation & is able to get enough yardage for a big 1st down.

Ryan Grant is starting to heat up with some nice runs, as he bursts up the middle for a 1st down & puts Green Bay in the red zone.

On a key 3rd & 4 from the Bears’ 7 yard line, Rodgers hits Greg Jennings, who falls into the end zone for a touchdown.

GREAT return by Danieal Manning as he rode several Packers on his back for about 20 yards on an amazing 71-yard kickoff return to put the Bears in excellent starting field position. Just what the doctor ordered after Green Bay’s long drive that started at their own 9 yard line.

On 3rd & 10, Orton’s pass went through the hands of Devin Hester & untouched in the end zone. If that ball was caught, it’s an automatic 6 points as no Packer player was in position to make a touchdown-saving tackle.

Robbie Gould connects on a 31 yard field goal attempt to make it a 7-3 game.

Donald Driver JUST misses making a big play, as he loses control of the football on the ground after a perfectly thrown ball by Aaron Rodgers.

Driver got hurt on the play & needed help to get off the field. Looks like it’s a left leg injury & i wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t return considering how slippery the field is.

BIG hit by Mike Brown on Ryan Grant!!!! Grant was slipping & Brown just came in and laid the lumber on him….that’s December football for ya!!!!

Chicago is struggling getting its’ defense off the field on 3rd downs…Rodgers is doing a nice job finding his receivers in single coverage & converting passes to keep their drives going.

Ryan Grant takes an Aaron Rodgers screen pass & scores from 12 yards out, as he was able to stiff-arm Mike Brown & get into the endzone to give Green Bay a 14-3 lead. Peanut Tillman was hurt on the TD play, which can’t be good news as Rodgers has already thrown for 176 yards in the 1st half.

This has got to make Bears fans nervous, as Green Bay has clearly outplayed them in the 1st half.

Mike McCarthy chooses to challenge a Devin Hester diving catch, as it appears that the ball hit the ground which would make it an incomplete pass & a overturned call.

Orton nearly throws an interception, as Nick Collins just misses forcing a turnover & killing any momentum Chicago had at getting some extra points before halftime.

Ugly, ugly 1st half for the Bears’ offense as they were only able to create two first downs compared to Green Bay’s 14. It’s clear to see that the Packers are trying their best to play spoiler & end Chicago’s playoff hopes.

3rd quarter:

The Bears start the 2nd half offensively with another 3 & out drive, but receive a HUGE break as Jarret Bush touched a Brad Maynard punt, which was recovered by Jason Davis inside the Packers’ 30 yard line.

Chicago finally gets it cookin’ as Orton hits Desmond Clark for a 21 yard pass on the 2nd play of the drive, which set up 1st & goal at the 7-yard line.

3 plays later, Orton then finally gets the Bears’ first touchdown on a 4 yard pass to Greg Olson, which cuts the Packer lead to 14-10.

Mike Brown is out for the rest of the game with a knee injury, which means that rookie Craig Steltz will see a lot of 2nd half action.

Orton isn’t able to connect with Devin Hester on a deep ball, as Green Bay had it covered perfectly with safety help over the top.

Aaron Rodgers once again converts on 3rd down, which is a 35 yard pass to 3rd string tight end Jermichael Finley, who is an undrafted rookie out of Texas.

Mason Crosby was unable to convert on a 46 yard field goal, which gave the Bears another chance to cut into their deficit.

Another promising Bear drive was killed when Charles Woodson intercepted Orton & returned it 22 yards to the Chicago 30-yard line.

The 3rd quarter ends with Green Bay possibly 15 minutes away from eliminating Chicago from the playoff picture…and a 14-10 lead.

4th quarter:

Rodgers begins the quarter with a 7 yard pass to DeShawn Wynn to set Green Bay up with 4th & 1. With a chance to knock Chicago out the playoffs, i think Mike McCarthy is going for it.

He does go for it, with Wynn getting 2 yards to keep the drive alive & set up 1st & Goal at the Bears’ 5 yard line. The Packers are trying to deliver a knockout punch now.

Rodgers tries to run a quarterback draw on 2nd & goal, but Tommie Harris reads it well & gets the sack.

Great goal line stop for Chicago, as they desperately needed it to avoid facing a 2 score deficit with 13 minutes left.

Mason Crosby attones for his earlier miss with an 28 yard field goal attempt, which is good. Packers lead 17-10 with 13:02 left in regulation.

Orton makes another critical mistake, as he throws a 3rd down interception in Packer territory to Nick Collins, which erased a chance to put more points on the board.

Nice punt return by Devin Hester, as Chicago will get the ball at their own 49 yard line with 7:14 left.

Matt Forte picked a great time to  bust open for his biggest run of the night with a 26-yard burst to the Packers’ 23.

With the game on the line, the Bears are now riding their super-rookie back & it’s working. Under 6 minutes left in regulation & Chicago now has 1st & 10 at the Packer 12 yard line.

Orton hits Hester, who is just short of a 1st down. Bears will go for it with under 4 minutes left in what has to be the play of the game, as they will need a 1st down to keep their drive & their postseason hopes alive.

Forte gets the 4th down carry, which is VERY, VERY close.  1st down by the nose, which prompts an eruption from the Soldier Field crowd.

On the very next play, Forte scores from 4 yards out to tie the game with 3:11 left. It looks like we are in for a very exciting finish tonight!

Adrian Peterson makes a stupid mental mistake, as he commits a personal foul with a horse-collar tackle on Will Blackmon.  This puts Green Bay inside the Bears’ 35 yard line with 3 minutes to go in regulation.

Rodgers completes yet another huge 3rd down completion, as he hits James Jones on a 9 yard gain with 2 minutes now left in the game.

Green Bay keeps it on the ground, as Chicago is out of timeouts & the game now will be determined from the right leg of Mason Crosby with 25 seconds left. It will be a 37 yard game-winning field goal attempt…but wait…..it’s BLOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like this one is going into overtime!!!!

Overtime:

Bears get a big break during the OT coin toss, as the coin bounces off Brian Urlacher’s helmet & lands on heads, which means that Chicago will get the 1st possession of overtime.

Green Bay makes a huge mistake, as Aaron Rouse commits a horse-collar tackle on Greg Olsen, which now puts Chicago into opponent territory.

Huge 3rd down conversion for Orton, who hits Matt Forte for a 14 yard gain & puts the Bears into the red zone.

Almost a near disaster as Forte slips on the next play & nearly loses the football, but hangs onto it as the Bears keep possession.

Robbie Gould then steps up with a game-winning 38 yard field goal in overtime for a dramatic comeback win! Now, Chicago has a chance to win their division OR get into the Wild Card, but will need some help to do so.

When you wake up tomorrow morning & look at the box score for this game, Green Bay outplayed Chicago in almost every phase, but came up short. Now, it’s on to Houston with another must-win scenario in place to make the postseason. Let’s see what happens on Sunday against the Texans!

Game ball goes to Alex Brown for blocking Mason Crosby’s potential game-winning field goal with 25 seconds left in regulation! That play forced overtime & Green Bay never got the ball back on offense. Way to go Alex!