The Chicago Bears- Green Bay Packers game last night reminded us that the individual and team records do not pre-determine the outcome of a football game especially in the NFL oldest rivalry. The Packers came into the game 4-0 on top of the NFC North division.  The 2006 NFC champion Chicago Bears came into the game 1-3 at the bottom of the NFC North division.  So far this season Brett Favre is breaking almost every major NFL passing record. The Bears appeared to be struggling on defense which is considered their strength and continue to search for a solution for their offense and quarterback woes. 

This game was the tale of two halves.  The pre-game analysts all stated that the Packers were a one-dimensional offensive team that could only rely on the passing game.  The Packers attempted to prove them wrong on the first drive of the game by focusing on the running attack. Rookie DeShawn Wynn tore off runs of 12 and 44 yards during the first drive that climaxed with his two yard touchdown to put the Packers ahead 7-0 after the first drive. 

The Packers defense held the Bears to a three-and-out on the Bears first drive from scrimmage.  After receiving the ball back from the Chicago Bears punter Brad Maynard’s  55 yard punt, the Packer offense appeared to show more of the same success as well as the dark side of having the youngest team in the NFL.  They continued to move the ball successfully against the Bears defense highlighted  with a 23 yard pass to rookie wide receiver James Jones,  a 18 yard pass to Ruvell Martin,  and a 10 yard pass to Donald Driver. 

The Bears defense over the past few years have prided themselves on their take-away expertise by forcing fumbles and interceptions that in many cases have turned games around into their favor.  Packer rookie wide receive James Jones would experience this prowness first hand on the next play of the drive.  After receiving a 11 yard pass from Favre and making a “football move”, Bears “ball hawking” Charles Tillman stripped the ball from Jones and Chicago’s  Ricky Manning recovered the fumbled that ended the Packer’s drive.

The Packers defense again forced the Bears offense to a three-and-out and received the ball again. Farve completed a pass to Donald Driver for 26 yards and things looked positive again for the Packers offense. On the next play,  Favre threw a 8 yard  pass to James Jones. Apparently, James Jones did not learn the “ball protection” lesson from the last drive.  Charles Tillman again stripped the ball from him and Bears safety Adam Archuleta recovered the ball at the Chicago 38 yard line to end another promising Packer drive.

The above turnovers were just a premonition of what was in store for the rest of the game. The Packers, who dominated the game on the offensive side of the ball with 439 total yards versus the Bears 285 yards from scrimage, had a total of 5 turnovers. These turnovers as well as penalties kept the Bears in the game and prevented the Packers from going 5-0 to start this season. 

In the second half, the Packers offense sputtered when it appeared that Green Bay Packer's head coach Mike McCarthy was calling plays “not to lose” instead "to win" the game.  Instead of calling plays that proved successful early in the game, the Packers looked "gun shy" and "shakened", and ran very conservative running plays. 

In the end, the Packers showed their in-experience brought on by their youth and gave this game to the Bears. Personally, I am glad that this loss happened at this time of the year for the Packers. They are still leading the NFC North division and this game should be a lesson to re-new their focus on ball protection and eliminating their mistakes.  Their mistakes are what lead the Bears to the 27-20 victory. It was not that the Bears are a far superior team.  The Packers can compete in this league and could prove to be a playoff contender if they eliminate these mistakes.  The remaining games will show us if the Packers have in fact learned their lesson.