Jay Cutler threw for 200 yards and one touchdown, perhaps more importantly he didn’t throw an interception.
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Bart Starr came to Lambeau Field to see his long-time friend Brett Favre have his fabled number 4 retired in the Ring of Honor on Lambeau Field’s facade. For what it’s worth, Hochuli also was the referee when the Bears set a franchise record with 17 penalties against the Raiders in 1999. They lost their final three games to the Patriots (41-23), the Bills (40-14) and Chiefs (7-3), but still made the playoffs at 8-8.
He was able to return to action in the Packers’ next series, but with his team down 17-13 in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got a tough group physically and mentally”, safety Chris Prosinski said. Despite an off game from the offense, Chicago’s defense prevailed, shutting out Green Bay in the second half.
Two throwaways made it third-and-goal with 36 seconds to play. Had Rodgers not thrown a pick on the ensuing drive, and Tracy Porter (who had the interception) been unable to strip the ball from James Jones’ hands in the end zone in the final minute of play, the score might have looked much different.
In the past three games, Davante Adams has been targeted 35 times by Aaron Rodgers.
And Cobb has been, well, exactly what Randall Cobb was when Nelson was healthy: A valuable slot weapon, best used on slants and short passes where he can attempt to add yards after the catch.
Players and coaches maintained all week that Thursday night in Green Bay against the Packers would be just another game.
Rodgers completed just 22 of 43 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception on Thursday, resulting in a meager 62.4 passer rating – his lowest at Lambeau Field in his career.
The Packers had a huge scare during the third quarter when Rodgers injured his left wrist.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers took a shot to the back of his non-throwing left arm near the elbow in the third quarter from linebacker Lamarr Houston while recovering a high snap. Backup quarterback Scott Tolzien spent that time warming up. Adams has struggled badly, both with injuries and with horrific drops – in Thursday night’s loss to the Bears he managed just 14 yards on 11 (eleven!) targets, for a 1.272 yards-per-target average.
Carolina led 13-3 when Kuechly and the NFL’s leading defense for takeaways put the Panthers firmly in control. The Packers went up 7-0 early when Eddie Lacy took a screen pass 25 yards for a TD. After a booth review, the call of a touchdown was upheld.
Robbie Gould’s 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for Chicago was the only scoring for either team in the second half of a game played dreary conditions. Numerous other Packers players from the Favre era were on the field during halftime. Green Bay and Atlanta now sit in the fifth and sixth seeds in the NFC, but neither of those teams has been very convincing over the past month.
The Bears split rushing duties between running backs Matt Forte and Jeremy Langford, with Forte receiving 15 carries for 44 yards and Langford racking up 48 yards and a touchdown on 12 rushes.
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Standout quarterbacks of the Green Bay Packers’ past and present gathered at Lambeau Field for a special Thanksgiving night celebration.
