The Green Bay Packers can start packing their bags for Texas to play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl XLV. With an impressive 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears on the road, the Packers have now linked three consecutive wins on the road to make it into the biggest sports betting event of the season. Only three other teams have managed to win three playoffs road games to make it into the Super Bowl. Two out of those three have returned home with the trophy: the 2007 New York Giants and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers. The 1985 Patriots won the three road games but lost the Super Bowl.
Aaron Rodgers didn’t have his best game ever. As a matter of fact, a quick look at his numbers would make you think he was somewhat of a disappointment. With a 55.4 passer rating, Rodgers was far away from what he has been showing since mid-December during the last two win-or-go-home games of the regular season. But despite his numbers, he was they key-player behind the Packers win over the Bears. The first-year rookie ran for a score and perhaps made his best play of the game in quite an unusual fashion for a quarterback: he completed a touchdown saving tackle that could quite easily have changed the outcome of the game.
The Bears, on the other hand, had to deal with a whole lot of issues on their offensive end. Jay Cutler, the starting quarterback, had been playing way under par before he had to leave the game during the third quarter because of some sort of knee injury. Let it be stated that no one is sure when or how he got injured. As if that was not enough, the Bears’ coach Lovie Smith reaction to the reporters’ questions concerning the nature and the details of Cutlers injury certainly didn’t help to clear up the situation.
Cutler was replaced by the Chicago Bears primary back-up Todd Collins. He was no good. For a moment it really seemed as if the Packers would be able to put on at least a 3-touchdown advantage over the Bears. Things got so bad on Chicago’s side that they had to play their odds and use a third quarterback on the game. Little-known Caleb Hanie came in and was the man in charge of giving the Bears their only hope.
Hanie had a chance to tie the game after the Bears’ defense finally got their act together. Unfortunately he threw a ball straight into the Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji who ran for 18 yards and into the end zone to give the Packers a 21-17 lead. But Hanie had a few more tricks under his sleeve.
He then completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Earl Bennet to get the Bears to a 7-point deficit with little under five minutes to play. The Bears recovered the ball, but their last chance to tie the game was frustrated when the rookie quarterback threw his second interception on a fourth down on the Packers 29 yard line.
Aaron Rodgers went 17 of 30 for 244 yards no touchdown passes, two interceptions and a touchdown rush. Not his best numbers, that’s for sure, but heck, the talented quarterback is guiding his team into Super Bowl on February 6.
