2020 Week 12 - That’s What Cheese Said

“This is as good as I’ve ever seen anybody play."

The Green Bay Packers clinched win No. 100 against the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football in impressive fashion. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver Davante Adams, and tight end Marcedes Lewis all hit career milestones against the division rival, and all plays happened on touchdowns. 

For Rodgers, he eclipsed 50,000 career passing yards in style on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Robert Tonyan. It was his fourth touchdown pass of the night. Adams and Lewis caught Rodgers’ first two touchdowns, with Adams becoming the fastest Packers receiver to hit 500 career receptions, and Lewis snagging his 400th reception. 

“It was a fun day of milestones. Hitting my 50,000 on a touchdown to Robert. Big Dog’s 400th catch on a touchdown. Davante’s 500th catch on a touchdown as well. So that was some fun milestones today. And our 100th win against the Bears,” said Rodgers, who also earned his 20th win against the Bears on Sunday night. 

Beyond the milestones, it was simply a complete football game. Rodgers finished the day 21-of-29 for 211 yards with his four touchdowns and a rating of 132.3. 

“This is as good as I’ve ever seen anybody play,” said Head Coach Matt LaFleur said of Rodgers. “I wouldn’t want any other quarterback on our football team.”

His jersey also stayed clean the entire night, with Rodgers taking no sacks or hits against a stout Bears defense. 

“For a soon-to-be 37-year-old, that’s my dream,” Rodgers joked of his line’s protection. 

The running game also improved after a few games with low yardage totals, and the absence of Bears defender Akiem Hicks in the middle of the defense likely contributed. 

“We knew we had to run the ball,” said Aaron Jones on the team’s plan going into Sunday. 

Green Bay finished with 182 yards rushing, with Jamaal Williams rushing for 73 yards and the team’s final touchdown of the night for a 4.3-yard average. Jones added 90 yards on the ground and a 5.3-yard average. 

“To have that type of game against a rival, let alone a division rival, that’s the kind of games you want to have,” said left tackle David Bakhtiari. “That’s attitude football and that’s something that we have to carry over.”

Once again, the offensive line came up big for the Packers despite more necessary shuffling. Center Corey Linsley went down with a knee injury that forced Elgton Jenkins to slide to center and bring Jon Runyan Jr. in off the bench. Then later in the game, right guard Lucas Patrick left with an injury that saw Billy Turner slide into right guard and Rick Wagner take over at right tackle. 

“You have to tip your hat to Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner,” Bakhtiari said. “Those guys are extremely versatile and can play multiple positions, and play multiple positions at a high level.”

All of the linemen got their praise in the post-game pressers, and rightfully so. Beyond Jenkins and Turner, Rodgers added Wagner as being “very reliable” for the Packers offense, and Bakhtiari said the best compliment he could give Runyan Jr. is that the lights never seem too bright for him. 

On defense, second-year safety Darnell Savage put on a show with a two-interception performance Sunday night, his first two picks of the season. 

“Takeaways are always big,” Savage said. “It plays such a vital part in who wins and loses games,” said Savage. “That’s definitely something every defense has to preach as far as just taking the ball away.”

The Super Smith Bros also got involved in the action with Za’Darius forcing a fumble that Preston scooped up and brought into the end zone for a score. The three turnovers were Green Bay’s highest turnover total all season. 

“When you get more than two turnovers in a game, that typically is gonna move the needle in your favor,” LaFleur said, adding that Savage had a few picks earlier in the week during practice and that translated into game day. 

The Packers were close a few other times, too, with Kevin King just missing a pick in the end zone that could have put the game away even earlier for Green Bay. 

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t close it out,” LaFleur said of the near interception and converted 4th-and-11 by Chicago. “Those are plays we have to make.”

Despite going scoreless in the fourth quarter, the Packers played perhaps their most complete game of the season against the Bears. 

“I like where we’re at. Obviously last week was a tough one losing in overtime to a good football team, but to bounce back against a division rival in a game that could really put us in the driver’s seat. We played the way we needed to play,” said Rodgers, adding that the team’s first goal is always to win the NFC North.

Adams agreed, calling the team’s performance a “complete win.”

Rodgers was also quick to praise LaFleur following the 41-25 victory. 

“I really feel like there were decisions made based on playcalls, philosophy, scheme within a scheme, that really simplified things for guys. And I think it was great by the staff in general of really looking at what we liked, what worked, what doesn’t fit our personnel,” he said.

“I just feel like he’s settled into his role as head coach. Him and I have been really on the same page all season. There’s just a beautiful trust that I think has blossomed even more this year between him and I. And I think that’s an important part of us being successful.”

The 8-3 Packers will stay home at Lambeau Field for a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff against the 3-7-1 Philadelphia Eagles. With a three-game lead in the NFC North, Green Bay is close to securing its first goal of the season.

 

 

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Maggie Loney is a writer for Cheesehead TV and podcaster for the Pack-A-Day Podcast and Pack's What She Said. Find her on Twitter at @MaggieJLoney.

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8 points
 

Comments (31)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Lphill's picture

December 01, 2020 at 12:20 pm

Yes the offense is clicking Maggie, but too bad we can't say the same for the defense , I think we beat the Eagles but Carson Wentz will have probably his best game of the season against Pettine's soft coverage and 2 down lineman.

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Leatherhead's picture

December 01, 2020 at 01:14 pm

So for three quarters we scored 41 and allowed 10. Then in garbage time, the offense scores 0 and the defense gives up 15.

And that means offense good, defense bad?

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MITM's picture

December 01, 2020 at 07:39 pm

no the defense being bad means defense bad....Do you honestly think in your wildest dreams this team will beat the Titans in a couple or weeks?? Defense looked good against the worst offense in the NFL so what? Offense good defense bad is inaccurate??

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Leatherhead's picture

December 01, 2020 at 11:32 pm

Lmao. We’ve allowed fewer points than the Titans.

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Bure9620's picture

December 02, 2020 at 08:29 am

He doesn't analyze that, only emotion and the national media

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Bure9620's picture

December 02, 2020 at 08:58 am

The Titans defense is also allowing 384 yards per game on average to the Packers 344.......

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murf7777's picture

December 02, 2020 at 10:13 am

"no the defense being bad means defense bad....Do you honestly think in your wildest dreams this team will beat the Titans in a couple or weeks??"

Is the Titans going to be formable foe, absolutely. Put yourself in a perspective of a Titan fan thou. Do you think for a second that they are concerned about losing to the Packers? Of course they are, we are one of the better teams in the league. IMO, when looking at the overall team I'd take the Packers over the Titans. At the most important positions the Packers are the better team.

YES, this isn't the 2019 team IMO, and here is why.

Digging into the Defense numbers you find we aren't as bad as many feel.

1. Yards per game - 12th
2. Rush yards per game - 13th
3. Points per game - 19th

Now take away 6 prevent scores from only four games Minnesota (1st game), Detroit, Atlanta and Bears...there were probably more. That's 43 points allowed. If you do that it would put us at 7th best scoring D. Look at our remaining schedule and without taking away the points we will probably end up in the top 10 in both points and YPG allowed.

According to PFF, they have the 4th and 49th best CB, the 7th and 19th Safety, DL rated in the 20's and 30's, except Lowry who is 91st. And Z Smith 14th for OLB. Kamal Martin who I think should start in place of Kirksey is rated 14th. I'm not sold on Barnes thou.

Look at wins this year compared to last. Our wins, except one have all been by more then one score. Our losses, except one have all been within one score. Was Tampa an anomaly, we'll the above stats suggest yes it is. We also exorcised the demons by kicking SF's a**, albeit without some key players on their team but we did and other teams have had problems with them. Currently, SF is rated 11th in Points and yards allowed per game.

Lastly, check out our PFF offense player ratings....#1 QB, #1WR, #1 Center (currently out but should be available for the playoffs), #1 LT, #24 TE, but ascending.

When you have the #1 QB, WR, LT and Center you are a very dangerous team. Only KC is arguably better. Of course, this is PFF ratings, but certainly they know a bit more about the game then us fans.

In a weak NFC I think we have as good as chance as any team to make the SB. Only New Orleans with Bree's might be better and we already beat them. GPG

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canadapacker's picture

December 01, 2020 at 12:37 pm

Eagles looked tough defensively and we know that Slay will be on Adams. Their linebackers seem tough and the whole front it - but we have enough weapons and we probably can gash them on the ground once or twice as well. Just have some plays for 3rd and 4th and short - the Shawks definitely didnt. See where we cut Shepherd - sorry to see him go but if you cant trust a guy to hold onto the ball then that is what happens. I wonder how Lazard is feeling as he took a really hard hit. I agree that St Brown needs to be a bit more decisive in his cuts - he has speed and agility and he missed some longer gains by either taking the safest route or just not recognizing that the inside is better. The Eagles dont have many if any stretch the field receivers and I hope that we play tighter coverage than that dumb really really really deep zone ( being a bit sarcastic but). When I saw Richard Rogers catch that hail memory that brought back a good memory for that Lions hail memory - then it quickly went to a bad memory for his failure to block on that onside Kick against the Shawks.

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wildbill's picture

December 01, 2020 at 01:09 pm

It was Bostick who was suppose to block on the onside kick against Seattle

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canadapacker's picture

December 01, 2020 at 03:14 pm

Ya now I remember

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canadapacker's picture

December 01, 2020 at 03:14 pm

Ya now I remember

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canadapacker's picture

December 01, 2020 at 03:14 pm

Ya now I remember

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Alberta_Packer's picture

December 01, 2020 at 12:39 pm

Aside from the obvious - Rodgers as the team +/league m.v.p. - the o-line should also be in consideration for the team m.v.p. Of any positional group, the o-line has played with the greatest consistency and highest level of performance. It will be the offense that brings the Packers into the playoffs. Unfortunately, it will be the defense that will provide their exit.

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flackcatcher's picture

December 01, 2020 at 02:16 pm

Defense is a mess in the entire NFL. See the KC-Tampa Bay game. KC shoots out to a three touchdown lead, and barely holds on for 27-24 win. And Tampa's defense is as we all know, really good. That's the league in general. Like The Bears, the Eagles have a good defense, but their offense is missing some core personnel, and their QB is either real good or real bad. No in between with him. Hard to believe, but Green Bay's defense is good, and Pettine is a smart coach playing the hand the league and Gute has dealt him. Until the league changes the rules, high scoring games the norm. That's not Pettine fault.

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JohnnyLogan's picture

December 01, 2020 at 02:02 pm

This D is one great LB, one fat DL, and a new DC away from being pretty decent.

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Coldworld's picture

December 01, 2020 at 04:00 pm

Well we have got a new 350 pound DL on the roster now. But will Pettine use him? If he does, will he use Clark and Winn at the same time?

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Befuddled's picture

December 01, 2020 at 05:49 pm

Pettine should be thinking about such a lineup. Give the big guy some snaps at nose tackle in the next several games to see if he can be a force before the big showdown between the Packers Run D vs. Derrick Henry

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MITM's picture

December 01, 2020 at 07:41 pm

Thats no showdown. Derrick Henry is going to run for close to 300 on us. We all know it too

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Guam's picture

December 01, 2020 at 02:36 pm

I have been highly critical of Gute's choice of Jordan Love, but in fairness I need to praise the totality of this draft. Runyon and Martin already look like legitimate long term contributors to the team, Deguara looked good when he played early in the year and Dillon and Stepaniak have potential. The jury is still out on Garvin and Hanson. This class may turn out very well for Gute regardless of what happens with Love.

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Fabio's picture

December 01, 2020 at 03:02 pm

I keep seeing LB, CB and S away from the opposing WR-TE and this very often leads to delayed tackles with lost yards ..... And I would not talk about the defense of the race .....

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Lphill's picture

December 01, 2020 at 03:54 pm

This season was unexpected by the front office, after last years San Fran debacle Murphy and Gute said we can't compete with the 49 ers and the Chiefs with the roster we have, and Rodgers looks done so we will draft for the future and plan for the end of the Rodgers era in Green Bay, so no need for a defensive playmaker or wide receiver, then the 2020 season came and Aaron Rodgers showed up.

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canadapacker's picture

December 01, 2020 at 04:33 pm

??? Not never and you are not cognizant of the NFL if you believe that. A good or in this case a great quarterback means that a team is never not competitive even when aging. Brady is proving that , Manning proved that, Rivers is proving that, Montana proved that. Now I did not like them taking Love - but it was not because that I wanted a wide receiver - but because I wanted a top tier linebacker or Dlineman. And after we took Love which I accepted, I continue to want defensive players. But our picks have still helped us even though Deguera is hurt and Dillon is on Covid.

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MITM's picture

December 01, 2020 at 07:48 pm

What he said is actually the most logical explanation for how they drafted this season. After that BLOWOUT to a FAR SUPERIOR 49ers team, I think the bubble burst a little bit and Gute took it upon himself to start planning for the future. Why else would you completely and totally ignore the glaring holes evident during that game if they thought they had a chance to compete next year?

If Gute thought Rodgers would come out and play this way this season, why in his right mind would he ignore this years roster totally and mail in this draft for the future??

Now the 49ers are done, Packers are one of the 2 top dogs in the NFC again, and they already beat the top team in the NFC in the Saints. So now its like a scramble to help the roster - trying to trade for Fuller - trying to sign Big Snacks Harrison - signing Tavon etc....and its all because they didnt expect to be in this position this season.

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canadapacker's picture

December 01, 2020 at 11:25 pm

Come on Man - nobody - not Gute not Lafleur and not Murphy thought that Rodgers was on his way downhill and so they drafted that way. Has AR played better this year - I think so - I think that he is holding the ball less, taking the easy open guys and that he is more accurate especially on those swing passes. What was the teams record last year 13-3?? So dont feed me the bull that they drafted in some mysterious way because they thought Rodgers wouldnt play well. I think that they picked Love much the same way that AR was selected - he was there and he was ranked highly. That we will see. Remember Alex Smith was supposed to be the better player but he got forced onto the field and it didnt work out for more than a few years. I think that they drafted in order to help AR - big back - big tight end. I still wanted them to go more defensively but they get the big bucks. But their 2020 selections other than Love has nothing to do with stocking the shelves . It was best available and was maybe get help now. I like that the staff is not as rigid as TT was about not bringing in other guys during the season but they wont sell out this team both this year or next year to do it and both of your examples would have cost too much so they declined.

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PatrickGB's picture

December 02, 2020 at 09:51 am

Canada, you nailed what I was thinking. Thanks.

2 points
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Bure9620's picture

December 02, 2020 at 08:33 am

They did not pull the trigger on Fuller, only discussions....the Packers ultimately said no thanks.....sometimes the best deals are those you do not make.....Austin is signed for special teams, I would imagine vet minimum....pretty low risk signing

4 points
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edp1959's picture

December 02, 2020 at 04:09 am

If Dillon is still out because of Covid then he must be in ICU. Not one player in the NFL has taken this long to recover. Stop using that excuse for the #2 pick not playing.

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Bure9620's picture

December 02, 2020 at 08:36 am

Just because he is still testing positive does not mean he is symptomatic......you can test positive for months and never have symtoms....I was positive after I did an in-service at a rehab hospital with their staff... I was positive for a month.....Zero symptoms....I worked out, worked I felt fine

2 points
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PatrickGB's picture

December 02, 2020 at 09:57 am

It’s the NFL rules, not the the GBP rules that determine when he can come off of it. Yet as I look around the league I marvel at how few Packers have been on that list. Whatever the team is doing to keep that list down, I am all for it.

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Rudedawg67's picture

December 02, 2020 at 04:23 pm

Overall good game. A little disappointed in the defense still. Chicago only had the ball nine minutes the first half and still had almost 200 yards of offense. They should not have played soft the last quarter of the game. They still need to learn how to play a full game.The offense of line gets an A+.

2 points
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rstain99's picture

December 02, 2020 at 06:46 am

Hate to remind everyone, they have 1 quality win New Orleans, after that look at losses good defense gives this team reason to pause. Tampa Bay, Colts, Vikes all were physical with them. no push back. I like they went out and got another returner Tavon Austin hopefully gives some needed bite, need help on D line Poe maybe. DC just hasn't addressed soft defense which falls back on MLF. Unless he is so locked in on offense and believes they can win despite terrible defense YUK! Even Seattle has better than average defense, force 4 punts a game and that gives your offense more snaps. Pat O line on back for hanging in.

2 points
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