d helped knock
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of playoff contention.They could not
have asked for a sweeter scenario.Mitchell Trubisky threw for two
touchdowns
John Kelly
Jersey , Eddie Jackson ended Rodgers' NFL-record streak without an
interception and Chicago clinched the division with a 24-17 victory over the
Packers on Sunday.The Bears (10-4) secured their first playoff appearance since
the 2010 team won the NFC North. And even better for them, they did it with a
rare victory over their heated rivals."We've accomplished a lot," Trubisky said.
"But I think I'm most proud of just the type of guy that we have in our locker
room, the culture that we've kind of created. We know that nobody really
believed in us on the outside in the preseason �or even throughout the season.
But we knew what type of team we had. And we knew we were just gonna keep
getting better every single week."The loss coupled with Minnesota's 41-17
victory over Miami keeps the Packers out of the postseason for the second year
in a row.Chicago had dropped nine of 10 against Green Bay (5-8-1). But the Bears
secured their first trip to the playoffs in eight years with their seventh win
in eight games .For a team that came into the season with four straight
last-place finishes, it's quite a turnaround. But with the hiring of coach Matt
Nagy and trade for Khalil Mack in a busy offseason, the Bears made a huge
jump."You could feel it all year long that we knew we had the talent," Nagy
said.The Bears blew a 20-point lead in a season-opening loss at Green Bay, with
an injured Rodgers rallying the Packers. But they've been climbing
since.Trubisky gave the Bears a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter with a
13-yard pass to Trey Burton in the left side of the end zone.After stopping the
Packers, Tarik Cohen returned a punt 44 yards to the 15. But he stepped out of
bounds a yard short on a third-and-5 at the 10 when he easily could have gotten
the first down.That forced the Bears to settle for a field goal by Cody Parkey,
making it 24-14 with 6:43 remaining.The Packers then drove to the 9, but on
third down, Jackson picked off Rodgers, ending his streak at 402 passes.The
throw over the middle was intended for Jimmy Graham near the goal line. But the
ball got tipped to Jackson, who had to be helped off the field with a sprained
right ankle after his leg bent awkwardly as he tried to slide on the return. The
interception was his sixth of the season.Mason Crosby kicked a field goal in the
closing seconds to make it a seven-point game. But Chicago recovered the onside
kick.The Packers are 1-1 since offensive coordinator Joe Philbin replaced fired
coach Mike McCarthy on an interim basis."The expectation is competing for
championships
John
Franklin-Myers Jersey ," Rodgers said. "It's a good football team. But
like I told some of the guys, I look forward to the battles over the years. I
like our chances in this division moving forward."WORST TO FIRSTThe Bears, who
finished in fourth place in the NFC North last season, completed a turnaround
that make for 15 of the past 16 seasons with at least one NFL team finishing in
first place in its division the season after finishing in last or tied for last
place.And Nagy became the Bears' first rookie coach with 10 wins since George
Halas in 1920, the inaugural season for a franchise then known as the Decatur
Staleys.LEADING BEARSMack had 2½ sacks and Leonard Floyd added two. The defense
came through with another strong effort after the Monsters of the Midway shut
down Jared Goff and the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams the previous
week.Trubisky was 20 of 28 for 235 yards with a 120.4 rating. It was a big
improvement over the previous week when he matched a career high with three
interceptions after missing back-to-back games because of a right shoulder
injury.Cohen caught a touchdown pass. Jordan Howard ran for a TD, and the Bears
improved to 7-1 at home for the first time since 2005."Guys grinded, gritted it
out, especially toward the end," Mack said. "We just want to keep this feeling
going."RODGERS CONTAINEDRodgers said his groin tightened on him at the end of
the first half. He finished 25 of 42 for 274 yards with his second interception
of the season and failed to throw a touchdown for the first time this
year.Davante Adams had eight receptions for 119 yards.The Packers fell to 0-7 on
the road with their ninth straight loss away from home, and their eight-game win
streak at Soldier Field, counting the postseason, came to an end."Nobody
anticipated this happening," Clay Matthews said. "In reality, we're not getting
blown out every week. I'm trying to find a silver
lining
Brian Allen
Jersey , that's all you can do at this point of the
season."INJURIES:Packers: RT Bryan Bulaga (knee) missed his second game in a
row, while DL Kenny Clark sat out with an elbow injury. ... RB Aaron Jones left
the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. ... WR Randall Cobb was
evaluated for a concussion following a hard hit by Jackson late in the
game.Bears: LB Aaron Lynch left with an elbow injury in the third quarter.UP
NEXTPackers: Visit New York Jets on Dec. 23.Bears: Visit San Francisco on Dec.
23. Well, Super Bowl LIII went just about as poorly as possible for the Los
Angeles Rams offense.After finished the regular season with the NFL¡¯s second
highest-scoring offense at 32.9 points per game, the Rams could only muster
three points against the New England Patriots in the lowest scoring Super Bowl
ever.For once on the biggest stage, Tom Brady left the door open ¡ª 13 points is
the fewest points the Pats have scored in Brady¡¯s nine trips ¡ª by only tallying
a QBR of 25.8 and no touchdowns to go with an interception, but LA still could
not capitalize.So who deserves the blame?Following the game, head coach Sean
McVay shouldered the responsibility by admitting he was ¡®out coached¡¯ by Bill
Belichick.The 33-year-old offensive guru described the postgame feeling as
¡®numbing¡¯ and admitted his play calling didn¡¯t allow the Rams to get into any
type of rhythm.LA¡¯s first nine drives were all five plays or less and they
mustered only 46 yards in the first half. Additionally, one of the largest areas
reflected on a head coach is his team¡¯s discipline. The Rams were flagged for
nine penalties, giving up 65 yards compared to the Patriots three for 20
yards.¡°He could not help the kid [Jared Goff] in this game,¡± Cris Carter said
on <em>First Things First</em>. ¡°He couldn¡¯t give him any plays, any
formations, where Goff could get into a rhythm.¡±¡°He took accountability and said
he¡¯s going to wear it pretty hard,¡± punter Johnny Hekker told USA Today about
McVay. ¡°A lot of the guys were quick to let him know ¨C it¡¯s not on you; it¡¯s on
every single one of us. If we had all made little differences here or there,
then things would¡¯ve come out differently for us.¡±While Hekker shifted the focus
onto each player in the Rams locker
room
Joseph
Noteboom Jersey , one other guy publicly came out to take the blame: Jared
Goff.¡°It was me. It was our offense. And we ¡ª well, I ¡ª couldn¡¯t do my part,¡±
Goff said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a game we needed 30 points to win. We needed two
touchdowns, and I couldn¡¯t get it done. That¡¯s on me. I¡¯m the guy who has to
drive this offense.¡±Goff finished the night 19 of 38 for 229 yards and a pivotal
4th quarter interception near the goal line as the Rams were putting together
their most complete drive of the game.This was Goff¡¯s fifth-straight game
throwing for fewer than 300 yards and his completion percentage of 50 ¡ª his
second lowest of the season ¡ª makes him a vulnerable target to take the
responsibility.¡°Is there a grade lower than an ¡®F¡¯ I can give him?¡± Shannon
Sharpe questioned on <em>Undisputed</em>. ¡°Maybe an
incomplete?¡±Aside from the two men that confronted the loss straight on, could
someone else be to blame?Running back Todd Gurley, who led the League in
touchdowns during the year, was virtually nonexistent for the second-straight
game. Coming off a career-low in touches during the NFC Championship Game,
Gurley only had the ball in his hands 11 times (10 rush, 1 rec) Sunday and
accounted for 34 yards. His shortage of opportunity can once again reflect back
on McVay¡¯s play calling, but Gurley¡¯s inefficiency when he did have the ball
also puts him in the spotlight.Although Gurley is listed as healthy and the team
confirmed there is no injury, his lack of usage and production causes Carter to
think differently.Or maybe, even though the Rams defense completely shutdown the
Patriots at a historic rate, they didn¡¯t do enough when it mattered most?Despite
picking off Brady, forcing a fumble and allowing just 44 rushing yards in the
first half
Jack
Youngblood Jersey , the Rams gave up 111 rush yards, 10 points and two
free first downs via penalties in the second.¡°We didn¡¯t do enough,¡± Ndamukong
Suh said afterward. ¡°No question ¨C it¡¯s a clich¨¦ saying but I think it¡¯s
ultimately true: Defense wins championships.¡±¡°They made more plays,¡± Aaron
Donald added. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t have scored at all, but they did.¡±Where was the
back-to-back AP Defensive Player of the Year?Donald was double, sometimes
triple, teamed throughout the entire night¨C essentially being held in check from
his usual domination on the inside. Despite setting an NFL record with 20.5
sacks as an interior lineman in the regular season, he finished the playoffs
without a single sack. He had just one solo tackle and one QB hit Sunday.So
while blame can be shifted back-and-forth between individuals or one side of the
ball against the other, perhaps it¡¯s more fitting to just chalk it up and give
credit where credit is due: to the Super Bowl LIII champion New England Patriots
for a brilliant overall performance.The path to SB LIV starts now.