Packers defeat Bears and clinch the #1 seed in the NFC
The Packers clinched the #1 seed and the only bye week in the NFC with their 35-16 win over the Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears jumped out to a 7-0 and a 10-7 lead in the first half before the Packers responded with two touchdowns of their own. The halftime score was 21-13 Packers. The Packers had trouble putting drives together in the second half and the Bears threatened to take the lead until the Packers finally stopped them on fourth down. The Packers scored two straight touchdowns to take a 35-16 lead and held on from there to win and clinch the top seed in the NFC.
Thoughts about this game and the rest of the NFC:
I thought that Cordarrelle Patterson caught the ball on the opening kickoff before he stepped out of bounds, which would have put the ball on the 1-yard line instead of the 40. The final initial call was a kickoff out of bounds and they upheld it. Had they ruled it the other way, they probably would have stuck with that call.
Tavon Austin needs to hold onto the ball when he is running. That gave the Bears great field position. They only got a field goal out of it though.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a long bomb and dropped one. He needs to get his confidence back. He could be a huge difference in our run for the championship.
The Bears threatened to take the lead in the fourth quarter. They finally failed on fourth down, giving the Packers the ball. Aaron Jones took it to the endzone and a 28-16 lead. After an Adrian Amos interception, Davante Adams found the endzone for a 35-16 lead, which turned out to be the final score.
Speaking of Adams, he broke Sterling Sharpe’s franchise record for receptions in a season and ended up with 115 receptions and 18 touchdowns. When Sharpe had 112 receptions, that was the NFL record at the time. Aaron Rodgers ended up with 48 touchdown passes, a new Packer record. The old one was 45, held by Rodgers in 2011.
For the second straight season, former Bear Adrian Amos made a decisive interception at Soldier Field. In the 2019 season opener, Amos intercepted Mich Trubisky in the endzone to basically secure the win. In this game, Amos intercepted Trubisky again to basically end any hope of a comeback.
There will be six games played this next weekend, none of which include the Packers. Here are the matchups:
#7 Bears at #2 Saints
#6 Rams at #3 Seahawks
#5 Buccaneers at #4 Washington
The Packers will play the lowest seed remaining. It is possible that they will face the Bears again. The most likely scenario will be the #5 vs #4 matchup. It won’t be an easy matchup whoever they play but it will be in Lambeau Field just like the NFC Championship Game should they get that far.
The Packers improved their record in the all-time series to 101-95-6. That is a 6-game difference. They have swept the season series 4 out of the last 5 seasons. They have also won 19 of their last 22 meetings. That is domination right there.
The Packers ran into some trouble in the fourth quarter, only leading by five, but they made a crucial stop on fourth down and got a touchdown, and they scored another after an interception to turn a close game into a rout. In fact, the Packers won by a bigger margin in this game than in their previous contest, a 41-25 win. They won that game by 16, this game by 19.
The Packers scored 509 points, the most in the league, and they allowed 369. By the way, the Bears allowed 370, so the Packers beat them by one point in that department. These are great stats, but the games are 0-0 once the playoffs begin.
The Packers got what they wanted. They are the top seed and have a week off. We don’t know who their first opponent will be, but we will keep you updated whenever we get that information. Enjoy the opening weekend of the playoffs Packer fans. We know we have a week off to kick back and watch some football. It’s always fun to beat the Bears. The Packers are the top seed and are not finished yet. I promise you that.
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #TopSeed #GregGoshaw @gg901
