Bears vs. Packers score: Aaron Rodgers accounts for three TDs as Green Bay knocks off Chicago

NFC North-leading Packers improve to 5-1

A few short weeks ago, this game looked to be a snoozefest in the making, but it became anything but when both teams found their way after Week 1. The fight was on at Soldier Field in Week 6, but while Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears came out swinging against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, it was the latter who landed the K.O. with a 24-14 win to go to 5-1 on the year while also avoiding having to share first place in the NFC North with the former. It was a fight that featured big plays from both defenses and both offenses but the Packers simply made fewer mistakes over the course of four quarters.

Credit the Bears for never saying die, though, coming back to make the Packers sweat in a very real way in the fourth quarter -- shrinking the lead to only three points with less than nine minutes to play in regulation. But Rodgers went on to remind the Bears why receiver Davante Adams is arguably the best in the league, with a 41-yard throw and catch that set them up to land the final overhand right that sent the Bears packing. 

And when Rodgers went on to scramble for a TD to seal the Packers' win in the fourth quarter, Rodgers let the crowd know who did this to them (see below), effectively twisting the knife on his way out.

Why the Packers won

Rodgers found difficulty on his first two possessions of the game, but not many more thereafter. The future Hall of Fame quarterback nearly started throwing haymakers once his defense came alive, despite one of his touchdowns being negated when a catch in the back of the end zone by Equanimeous St. Brown in the second quarter was overturned by an OPI penalty. The Packers' offense went from looking out of sorts to gaining and then never again losing its composure, and the Packers were still able to gain a field goal on that drive that gave them their first lead of the game. 

They took that momentum as Rodgers took to the ground and used Aaron Jones to tear off big runs, but also as a receiver out of the backfield on a key touchdown that made it a 17-7 contest. Given how bitter the rivalry is, it felt a forgone conclusion the Bears would find some life again at some point, though, and they did, sacking Rodgers a third time toward the end of the third quarter to give Fields a chance to at least try to erase his early-game errors. A touchdown negated by a holding penalty against the Bears, along with a 41-yard catch by Adams, followed by Rodgers rushing touchdown late in the game, helped tell the story of a game that was winnable for the Bears; until it wasn't anymore.

The Packers withstood waves of momentum in both the first and fourth quarters to remain alone atop the NFC North.

Why the Bears lost

Things started off well for the Bears and quickly devolved into a pile of question marks. Rodgers saw his promising first drive ended by a Khalil Mack sack that led Fields to marching against the Packers' defense to pay dirt -- giving them a seven-point lead in the process -- and the Bears' defense wasn't done there. Rodgers' second possession would end at the hands of Robert Quinn, giving the Bears their second sack on the day and Fields another shot at rewarding them, but it was not to be. Following a critical fourth-down conversion, Fields presumed a dead play that wasn't, and heaved an interception to safety Darnell Savage in the end zone. It was the first glimpse the Packers received at momentum being in their favor, and a taunting penalty against Bears defensive end Mario Edwards to end the first quarter only helped nudged the pendulum over further.

By the time Rodgers found Adams for a 32-yard catch, the Bears were completely on their heels -- as evidenced by allowing the trick-play shovel pass to Allen Lazard to tie things up in the second quarter before the Packers grabbed a field goal and the lead at the half. The Bears not only gave momentum to the Packers ahead of halftime, but they also helped secure their loss by failing to score on their first possession to open the second half and then allowing Rodgers to find Jones for a touchdown that made it a two-possession game late in the third quarter. The Bears would wake up eventually, shrinking the lead in the fourth, but on both defense and offense it was too little too late.

And they'll eternally hear Rodgers' taunt after letting him have his way on Sunday.

Turning point 

Fields thought this was a free play, but it was instead charged to him as a disastrous interception that woke up the Packers, who went on to score 17 straight points and never again allowed the Bears to regain the lead en route to a definitive victory.

Play of the game 

Only one word can adequately describe this touchdown play by the Packers: abracadabra. 

Rodgers has a message for Chicago

"I still own you! I still own you!" - Aaron Rodgers to Bears fans following his game-sealing rushing TD

What's next

The Packers will now head home to play host to the scrappy Washington Football Team while the Bears hit the road for a tough battle against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[Oct 17, 2021 at 3:52 pm ET · Patrik Walker]

The one thing Fields couldn't do was take a sack there, and he took it. Clark's spin move got him into the backfield to take the Bears to fourth-and-26. Another rookie mistake there, and it's just as heavy as his others in this game.

[Oct 17, 2021 at 3:42 pm ET · Patrik Walker]

Rodgers did it himself that time. That might be the nail in the coffin.

"I still own you." - Rodgers to Bears fans

[Oct 17, 2021 at 3:38 pm ET · Patrik Walker]

Rodgers to Adams is a cheat code, even though Adams did step out. Bears can't let Adams get behind them like that -- ever. They dodged a bullet with the foot out of bounds after the catch, for now.

[Oct 17, 2021 at 3:31 pm ET · Patrik Walker]

Fields makes up for the penalty with a big dart there in the red zone. Shrinks the lead to a field goal.

[Oct 17, 2021 at 3:28 pm ET · Patrik Walker]

TD by the Bears negated by a holding penalty. You just can't make that mistake in a game that sees you trying to claw back after making OTHER mistakes throughout. Brutal. That said, it was a ticky-tack call if you've ever seen one.