The rain and 30-mile-per-hour wind did their best in trying to slow the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Dec. 5, but couldn't. Neither could the Chicago Bear defense.
One would have to go back to the previous decade to find an instance when the Bears had swept the Packers during the regular season and this particular edition of the Green and Gold wasn't about to let it happen this season.
After Chicago sneaked out of Green Bay a month ago with a blocked kick- induced 14-13 victory, the taste of that defeat was bitter to the Packer organization, a team that had defeated the Bears 10 straight times before that gut wrenching day.
Sunday was payback time.
For the Packers to come into Chicago and beat the Bears through the air is one thing, but for the team to win without their workhorse running back and still beat them on the ground - using two rookie running backs - was back-breaking for the Bears.
Green Bay's 35-19 win kept the Packers just one game out of the Central Division lead. Detroit won its game over Washington to improve to 8-5, while the Packers' win left them at 7-5. Minnesota and Tampa Bay, both at 7-4 were to do battle on Monday Night Football, meaning the Packers would remain one game back of two teams in the division with four games remaining.
"It was a big, big game for us," Packer general manager Ron Wolf said following the win. "There's absolutely no question about that. You can't minimize the people who we had out there and how those guys came through."
Wolf was referring to rookies Basil Mitchell and De'Mond Parker. They not only filled in well for the injured Dorsey Levens, but they accounted for 160 of the Packers' 188 total rushing yards and two touchdowns. It was the highest Packer rushing attack since week 15 of the 1997 season and was the most given up by Dick Jauron's Bears this season.
However, it took awhile before the rookies were able to get it going. In fact, the Bears led 7-0 on a Barry Minter interception return and 10-0 after a Chris Boniol field goal in the first half.
That was before Green Bay drove 76 yards on nine plays for their first score with 4:39 left in the second quarter. The drive was highlighted by a third down pass to the rejuvenated Antonio Freeman for 20 yards and hard running by both Mitchell and Parker. The touchdown came when Favre's laser pass hit Bill Schroeder in the end zone.
After stopping the Bears on downs, Todd Saurbrun's 27 yard punt into the driving wind was then returned 11 yards by Antuan Edwards.
Great field position at the Chicago 29 yard line and a 17 yard third down reception by Freeman carried the Pack down to the 11, but it was a pass interference call on the Bears that gave Green Bay the ball down to the goal line where fullback William Henderson punched in for the go-ahead score.
One minute later, the Packers special teams unit scored. Bears punter Saurbrun was again in the center of a play resulting in a Packer score. Muffing the snap on the punt, Keith McKenzie picked up the ball and ran 45 yards for the touchdown to put the Packers up for good at 21-10.
Jude Waddy then came up with what many saw as the defensive play of the game.
Chicago quarterback Shane Matthews hit Bobby Engram on a crossing pattern who then shed Packer safety Darren Sharper like a bad cold and seemed headed for a touchdown with time running out in the first half.
Out of nowhere came Packer linebacker Jude Waddy, who tripped Engram at the Green Bay 11. The Bears had to settle for three points instead of a touchdown at the end of the half.
Early in the second half, the Bears made another run at the Packers, thanks to a botched punt return. Packer rookie Antuan Edwards attempted to field a punt that had gotten by him, was stripped of the ball at the 18-yard line, where the Bears recovered. Five plays later Curtis Enis was in the end zone. The Bears attempt to tie the game with a two-point conversion failed and Green Bay held to a slim two- point advantage.
That's when the rookie Parker and a veteran by the name of Antonio Freeman came to life.
Freeman caught two key third down passes for first downs to start the drive and then Parker ended it with two strong runs, the second coming from 12 yards out for the score that put Green Bay up 28-19.
The rookie Parker rubbed it in even more when Green Bay stopped Chicago on their next possession and kicked the ball back to the Packers.
It was Parker's 21-yard run for the score with 3:08 left in the game that put it away for good.
"Each week we do things a lot better than we did previously," Packer head coach Ray Rhodes was quoted as saying following the game. "I'm real proud of the way our team came down and played. We came down with our star back not able to play...and did an outstanding job," he added.
While being reminded the Packers were still one game out of first place in the division, he said "That's all right. We're like a wounded animal, you know what I'm saying? You've got to watch out for us now. We've just added another weapon here."
Not only did this win keep the Packers in the Central Division title hunt, but it knocked the Bears out of any probable chance for a playoff berth. At 5-8, the Bears will probably be home in January, while the Packers will probably be assured of no worse than a .500 record as they head back home for their tilt with the Carolina Panthers next Sunday.
"We're a good team," Packer defensive end Vaughn Booker said. "We're hungry. We're in a mentality where we have to win or go home."
The next four games should test exactly how famished Green Bay really is. After the Carolina game, Green Bay plays on the road at Minnesota and Tampa Bay, before closing out the season at home against Arizona on Jan. 2.
"This is our time of year. We want to thrive this time of year. The weather is bad, but it's conducive to everything we like to do," Packer defensive tackle Santana Dotson said.