Make it back to back NFC North titles for the Pack after the 21-13 victory at Chicago's Soldier Field. The defense turned in a terrific performance and Aaron Rodgers fired three touchdown passes, all to James Jones as the Pack reached 10-4 on the season on a mild and breezy afternoon before 62,534 dispirited Bears' fans. Mike McCarthy witnessed a club record extending 12th straight division victory and earned his third NFC North title in his 7th year at the helm. We'll start with the defense. The unit held the Bears to 190 yards and just 12 first downs and after giving up a second quarter 15 yard touchdown catch to the big talking Brandon Marshall, made two huge red zone stops where Chicago had to settle for Olindo Mare field goals. The first came with Green Bay on top 21-7 and after a 53 yard pass interference penalty against Morgan Burnett, the Bears had it first and goal at the five. Three Matt Forte runs gained four yards and on 4th and goal from the one, Cutler found Alshon Jeffrey for an apparent score but he was called for pushing off on Sam Shields for offensive pass interference. The second big stop came in the 4th quarter when the Packers botched a trick play on a punt return. Randall Cobb's lateral to Jeremy Ross was fumbled by Ross and Chicago recovered at the 16. Three plays netted zero yards as Shields broke up a first down fade route to Jeffrey in the end zone. The unit welcome Clay Matthews back into the lineup and he had a huge impact, registering six tackles, four for losses, a pair of sacks, two quarterback hurries and a knocked down pass. On offense, the Pack started slowly, in part because of bad field position, starting their first four posessions at the 2, 14, 26 and the 11. Green Bay had the first scoring chance but Mason Crosby missed badly from 43 yards wide right. The Bears then drove 67 yards in 7 plays for the first touchdown. A 22 yard Forte run coupled with a 15 yard penalty on Erik Walden set up Cutler's TD pass to Marshall. Aaron Rodgers had an immediate answer, driving the Pack 89 yards in only 7 plays, hitting James Jones behind Kelvin Hayden for a 29 yard score. Late in the half, Cutler was picked off by Casey Hayward, his 6th of the year and his 24 yard return put the ball at the Chicago 26. Five plays later, Jones caught a crossing route against D.J. Moore and scored from 8 yards out for a 14-7 halftime lead. The Packers took the second half kickoff and marched again, disdaining a 43 yard field goal attempt by going for it on 4th and 6 and converting with a 12 yard Randall Cobb catch. Cobb led the Pack in receiving again with 6 catches for a career high 115 yards. But in close, it was Jones again, making it a hat trick with a 6 yard back shoulder grab against Charles Tillman to make it 21-7. The Packers were moving yet again when Tillman does what he does best, force a fumble, punching the ball loose from Ryan Grant. That's when things got weird between Sam Shields and Chicago rookie Alshon Jeffrey. Shields was called for an illegal contact penalty but replays showed Jeffrey yanked him down by the facemask. On the next snap, Jeffrey got behind Morgan Burnett who was flagged for the big pass interference call. The defense held but then officials started flagging Jeffrey for pushing off. He was called for interference twice in the end zone against Shields. The Packers squandered another scoring chance when Crosby hit the left upright from 42 yards out. His slump is now epic, hitting just 17 of 29 on the year but McCarthy stood by his struggling kicker again after the game. The Bears got another break on the botched special teams play, McCarthy said he never should have called that play, but the defense held up and the Packers were able to close it out. Green Bay outgained Chicago 391-190. The Bears were shutout on third down, 0 for 9. Rodgers had a passer rating of 116.8 on 23 of 36 for 291 yards and three scores without a pick. He was sacked three times. The Packers rushed for 113 yards, led by Alex Green with 35 on 13 carries. The Bears had 83 yards on the ground, only 135 in the air but had less than 70 going into the 4th quarter. Cutler's passer rating was 72.5 on 12 of 21 for 135 yards and he was sacked 4 times. The Bears had only one play longer than 20 yards all afternoon, the Forte run in the second quarter. Only one injury from the game, Tom Crabtree left with a hamstring pull. The inactives were Charles Woodson, Jordy Nelson, James Starks, Donald Driver, DJ Williams, CJ Wilson and Terrell Manning. The Packers have now won six straight against the Bears and the all-time series is as close as it's been since 1941, Chicago's overall lead is now 92-88 and 6. The Pack is holding the number three seed in the NFC, behind Atlanta and San Francisco. The Falcons routed the Giants 34-0 to reach 12-2 while the 49ers held off the Patriots in New England 41-34 to reach 10-3-1. Green Bay's regular season home finale comes next Sunday as they host the Tennessee Titans. On the link below, the locker room quotes from a very happy Soldier Field.
Packers sweep Bears, clinch North



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