Pack storm to win over hapless Bears
PACKERS 35 BEARS 14
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes and the injury-riddled Packers converted three turnovers into scores in an eventful 35-14 victory over the mistakeprone Bears on Thursday night.
Rodgers connected with Davante Adams and Randall Cobb on short TD passes to help build a 21-0 lead in the second quarter of a game delayed 45 minutes by lightning between the first two quarters. The Packers overpowered the Bears down the stretch to slog out a win as intermittent rain fell at Lambeau Field.
The Packers (3-1), who got two touchdown catches from Jordy Nelson, lost two more key players to injuries. Adams left the field on a stretcher after getting hit in the head during a tackle by Danny Trevathan in the third quarter.
The game was delayed for about 5 minutes while medical personnel tended to the receiver, who gave a thumbs-up signal as he was wheeled off the field. The Packers said he was conscious and taken to a hospital for evaluation for possible head and neck injuries, and that he had feeling in all of his extremities.
Running back Ty Montgomery was knocked out in the first quarter with what multiple reports said was broken ribs.
But the Packers capitalized on an awful start by Bears quarterback Mike Glennon, who accounted for four turnovers.
Glennon fumbled on his first snap on a strip sack by Clay Matthews. Rodgers hit Cobb for a 2yard touchdown pass three plays later for a 14-0 lead. Glennon fumbled on his next series, too, but the Packers couldn’t score on that drive. Nevertheless, the rout was on. Rodgers was 18 of 26 for 179 yards. He picked apart the Bears (1-3) on short, quick passes, a game plan in part necessitated by a patchwork offensive line. The Packers played without starting tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, and their three backup tackles are already on injured reserve.
The Packers improved to 9594-6 against the Bears, and have their first lead in the series since 1933. It’s the oldest rivalry in football, dating to 1923.