It took some time, but the Green Bay Packers finally won their first game without quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will potentially be capable of returning to action in the final three weeks of the season.

That is if the Packers are relevant by then.

If Sunday's win over the Chicago Bears was any indicator, the Packers may very well be able to stay afloat in the NFC with Brett Hundley as their starting quarterback. Not that they have a choice, but there's more behind the newfound hope than just "being forced" to roll with Hundley.

What Hundley showed on Sunday -- specifically in the fourth quarter -- was an example of the step-by-step growth he's undergone that seemed to culminate at Soldier Field.

He sported a perfect passer rating (158.3) in the fourth quarter, something Rodgers hadn't done in any quarter in any game this season when he was healthy. He was hitting his first read with accuracy and velocity immediately out of his dropback, including one pass that was slightly behind receiver Davante Adams -- but still catchable -- in the fourth quarter.

"It feels amazing," Hundley said after the win. "It's truly a blessing to come in -- especially to a rivalry game. There was a lot going into this game and I thank the team. Not only the offensive line and receivers, but the defense played their butts off, too.

"I was able to do what I do because of them."

Hundley's signature play at one point was the 19-yard touchdown pass to Adams' back shoulder with just over five minutes left in the game. That was what helped bolster the Packers' lead to double-digits. But, like any rivalry game, the Bears clawed their way back within a touchdown and made things interesting.

It took Hundley a mere three minutes to top his previous completion to Adams. The "best throw of his career" was a 42-yard completion on 3rd-and-10 to Adams down the right sideline -- a pass he caught with one arm -- that helped give the Packers a fresh set of downs.

"I thought he played extremely well," coach Mike McCarthy said of Hundley at his post-game presser. "We had a number of players go out, first with Aaron Jones], then Ty [Montgomery], but they came after him pretty much from the third quarter and on, and I thought he handled it very well."

^{Brett Hundley (7) became the first Green Bay Packers quarterback not named Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre to lead his team to a win over the Chicago Bears since 1989. (Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports)}

It was a marquee moment for Hundley, who also recorded a career-high 110.8 passer rating and improved his efficiency on third downs -- a point of emphasis entering this week after their poor showing against the Detroit Lions no less than a week prior. Against the Bears, he completed eight of 10 passes for 124 yards and a 118.3 passer rating. Unfortunately, he was also sacked twice on third down.

It wasn't all sunshine and happiness; Hundley has things he needs to improve on, such as clock management and pocket awareness. While he was sacked three times, at least two of those sacks were attributed to him not being able to sense the pressure and either step up in the pocket or roll out of it. To his credit, as the game wore on, he improved significantly.

A win such as this could be just what Hundley needed to get the ball rolling, and it a confidence boost couldn't come at a better time. Three of the Packers' next four opponents have losing records with the exception of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It gives the Packers more than enough opportunities to keep a pulse until a potential Rodgers return in mid-December.

That also banks on whether or not the hamstring injury Hundley suffered against the Bears lingers throughout the week. While it's doubtful he misses Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, it's certainly something to monitor -- even more so when the first injury report of the week for the Packers surfaces on Wednesday.

"We just have to keep this momentum going," Hundley said. "We have to ride the wave, and I think it gives us a boost of confidence, too, just getting the first one under us.

"Every week is a new week, so we're going to enjoy this -- I'll tell you now, I'll enjoy this for the next couple of hours -- but, once we get back and get things settled down and tomorrow hits, we got another game to win and we have to take it one game at a time and just go that route."