The Green Bay Packers ended up on the right side of a defensive struggle Sunday afternoon when they edged out the Chicago Bears 10-3. The game was a must-win as it propelled the team to the NFC’s second and final wild-card berth.
The Packers will meet the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday, January 9th at 3:30 PM CT.
By: Nick Grays
The Packers battle with the Chicago Bears was slightly nerve-racking to say the least.
It wasn’t until the last ten seconds of the game when Pro Bowl Safety Nick Collins clinched the game for the Packers with a red-zone interception of Jay Cutler.
Packers fans were sitting on the edge of their seats the entire game in part because Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith decided to play his starters the entire game. The decision is most likely controversial and will probably be talked about in the next couple of weeks, but in the end, it worked out for the Bears.
Only two Bears left the game with injuries; LB Nick Roach and S Major Wright. They don’t exactly fit under the list of starters which would have been pulled anyways.
Slightly more concerning for the Bears was the pressure the Packers put on Cutler and the Bears offensive line. The Packers combined for six sacks including two from breakout performer Erik Walden (pictured sacking Cutler above). The third-year player out of Middle Tennessee State had the game of his life with 11 tackles and the two sacks. Green Bay’s depth at linebacker is nuts.
On the other side of the ball, the Packers offense reverted back to their knack for not converting third downs (2-for-11). While the Bears deserve most of the credit, Head Coach Mike McCarthy has to take some of the blame for some highly questionable play-calls.
The post-game press conference was a happy one as McCarthy talked about how proud he was of the team.
“I’m just proud of them. We’ve had a difficult road we traveled this year and we’ve met every challenge. We’re at 10 wins and we’re one of six teams in the NFC. This is an exciting day for the organization. It’s an exciting day for our fans. And we’re excited as a football team,” said McCarty.
“I’m very proud of our football team, just everything we’ve accomplished. Nothing has come easy for us and we wouldn’t want it any other way. Chicago came in here and battled like they always do. That’s the type of game you should expect when Chicago and Green Bay get together and we didn’t disappoint tonight,” added McCarthy.
The Packers will meet Michael Vick and the Eagles who are limping into the playoffs with some suspect performances in the last few weeks. These two teams met back in week one when the Packers won 27-20. Coincidentally, this is when the Vick busted onto the scene with 175 YDS/1 TD passing and 103 YDS on the ground after the Packers sent Kevin Kolb to the sidelines with a concussion.
A full preview of the Packers/Eagles match-up will follow later this week at The Sports Bank.
How will the Packers fare against the Philadelphia Eagles in the upcoming wild-card match-up? Let me know by commenting below!
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