Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers owns the Bears. We heard Rodgers say that when Bears fans heckled him after he ran for a touchdown at Soldier Field last October.
Trash talking after scoring a touchdown is one thing but the numbers don’t lie. Since taking over as the Packers starting quarterback in 2008, Rodgers has played outstanding football against the Packers biggest traditional rival.
In 27 starts against the Bears, Rodgers has led the Packers to 22 victories. He has completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 6,549 yards while throwing 61 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions and that doesn’t include his winning performance in the 2010 NFC Championship Game.
Here is a look back at some of Rodgers best games against the Bears that truly show why he owns the Packers rivals to the south:
November 16, 2008: Packers 37, Bears 3, Lambeau Field
Rodgers made his first career start against the Bears and got off to a good start. His first touchdown pass was a three-yard toss to Greg Jennings late in the first quarter that made it 7-0 Packers and Green Bay never trailed the rest of the way.
Rodgers finished the game with 23 completions in 30 attempts, two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 105.8. Ryan Grant also ran for 145 yards and a touchdown. The win put the Packers into a tie for first place in the NFC North.
December 25, 2011: Packers 35, Bears 21, Lambeau Field
Rodgers gave all Packers fans a very merry Christmas as he was on top of his game. The Packers star completed 21-of-29 passes for 283 yards and five touchdown passes including two to James Jones, two to Jordy Nelson and one to Jermichael Finley.
It was a record setting day for Rodgers who finished the game with 4,643 yards for the season, breaking Lynn Dickey’s previous mark of 4,453 set back in 1983. “That’s a great honor,” Rodgers said after the game. “Obviously, it’s an award that’s bigger than an individual award. It takes the offensive line pass blocking and guys getting open, delivering a catchable ball and making plays. This record, we all share.”
The Packers won easily and had a 35-10 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Bears made things look closer.
December 29, 2013: Packers 33, Bears 28, Soldier Field
For sheer drama, there may not be a better game than this one. With the NFC North title and a playoff berth on the line, the Packers trailed Chicago 28-27 with 51 seconds left. Facing 4th-and-8 from the Chicago 48, Rodgers scrambled away from pressure and found Randall Cobb open for a 48-yard touchdown pass that sent the Packers to the playoffs.
Both Rodgers and Cobb had recently returned from injuries to star in this game. Rodgers finished the game going 25-for-39 for 315 yards and two touchdowns. While it wasn’t his best statistical game, you can’t beat it for pure drama and clutch performances.
When reporters asked cornerback Tramon Williams what the difference was in the game he said, “Obviously Aaron [Rodgers]. He had the chance to make the last play for us. He knew they were coming with an all-out blitz. He knew what move he had to make. He made Julius Peppers miss, one of the best guys out there.”
“It’s one of those games we’ll all remember,” fullback John Kuhn said afterwards. “We’ll all remember hugging each other. We’ll all remember that last completion. This is what you live to play the game for.”
September 28, 2014: Packers 38, Bears 17, Soldier Field
The Bears gained 235 yards rushing in this game but couldn’t contain Rodgers who threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in the Packers 38-17 win. Both Cobb and Nelson finished the game with more than 100 yards receiving and two touchdown catches.
The Packers dominated the second half and scored the final 24 points of the game.
“I had a feeling he’d go off this week,” guard Josh Sitton said when asked about Rodgers. “He’s a little bit salty when we don’t play well. He takes it out on the next team. It was good. Aaron was Aaron today.”
November 9, 2014: Packers 55, Bears 14, Lambeau Field
This game was so one-sided that the Packers led 42-0 at halftime and Rodgers came out of the game after the first series of the second half.
In a little more than two quarters of play, Rodgers completed 18-of-27 passes for 315 yards and six touchdown passes. Three of the touchdowns were long scoring plays including 73 and 40-yard passes to Nelson and a 56-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Lacy. The other touchdown tosses went to Cobb and tight ends Andrew Quarless and Brandon Bostick.
The six touchdown passes remain a career high. If the game had been close, it’s scary to think about what kind of numbers Rodgers could have put up for an entire game.
“There’s not a target on the field that he can’t hit,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “He has the ability to throw it as deep as he needs to. He’s got a big-time arm. More importantly, he’s got the athletic ability to get in space and make those throws.”
September 9, 2018: Packers 24, Bears 23, Lambeau Field
Things weren’t looking too good for the Packers in their 2018 season opener on Sunday Night Football. The Pack trailed the game 17-0 at halftime and Rodgers had suffered a knee injury and had to leave the game early in the second quarter. He was replaced by DeShone Kizer.
But Rodgers returned in the second half and overcame a 20-3 deficit to lead the Packers to a dramatic 24-23 win over Chicago.
“Aaron Rodgers was remarkable,” McCarthy said after the game. “I just can’t tell you how proud I am of him…Just a tremendous performance. We went exclusively with the no-huddle there in the second half and the two-minute drive is priceless. It’s the best thing that we do. It’s the best thing that he does.”
Rodgers completed 20-of-30 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns. All his scoring passes came in the fourth quarter. He started with a 39-yard toss to Geronimo Allison to make it 20-10, followed by a 12-yard pass to Davante Adams to make the score 20-17.
Then, with 2:13 left in the game, Rodgers found Cobb on a 75-yard scoring play that put the Packers ahead 24-23.
Nick Perry strip sacked Mitch Trubisky on the ensuing drive and Kenny Clark recovered the fumble to clinch an emotional comeback win over the Bears.
January 3, 2021: Packers 35, Bears 16, Soldier Field
Rodgers was so accurate in this game that clinched the top seed in the NFC for the playoffs. He completed 19-of-24 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns with Adams, Robert Tonyan, Dominique Dafney and Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the receiving end of Rodgers’ touchdowns. The pass to MVS went for 72 yards.
“MVP should be locked up,” Adams said. “You look at what he’s done and what we’ve been able to do. They’ve hit him with everything—said that he didn’t have any weapons—and then we go out there and go 13-3.”
December 12, 2021: Packers 45, Bears 30, Lambeau Field
The Packers won their 10th game of the season with a 45-30 win. The Packers trailed 24-14 late in the first half but outscored the Bears 31-6 the rest of the way.
Rodgers again threw for four touchdown passes with no interceptions while completing 29-of-37 passes for 341 yards. Adams was on the receiving end of two touchdown passes while Allen Lazard and Aaron Jones caught the others.
Rodgers threw his 61st career touchdown against the Bears the most any opposing quarterback has thrown against the Bears. “It’s a sweet rivalry,” Rodgers said. “It’s one that’s very special to me. I knew I was three away from tying, four from breaking. So, I’m definitely going to hang onto that ball. That ball is an important one.”
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