Packers Player Of The Game
On a night when the Packers wanted to establish the run, Ahman Green had a career performance. Green's 176 yards on 19 carries marked a personal best. His 60-yard touchdown was a big play to put the Packers ahead early. He avoided one tackler on that run and broke through two would-be tacklers on his 6-yard touchdown.
Bears Player Of The Game
The Packers kept Chicago quarterback Kordell Stewart pretty well contained, sacking him five times and causing two interceptions. Still, when the Bears were moving the ball, it was usually thanks to Stewart's arm (25-of-44 for 201 yards) or his legs (12 carries for 71 yards).
Stat Of The Game
The Packers didn't have any sacks in their loss to Arizona. Against Chicago they tallied five, while allowing none.
Play Of The Game
There were many significant plays that contributed to the Packers' victory, but two stand out most of all. For pure athleticism, nothing topped Ahman Green's shuffle-step move that froze Jerry Azumah and allowed for his 60-yard touchdown run that put the Packers ahead. However, Marcus Wilkins' blocked punt -- the first for the Packers since 1997 -- was equally significant and ultimately contributed to another Green touchdown.
THEY SAID IT
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman –
On injuries to secondary: "There was a time in the game where we were out of defensive backs, for the most part. Marcus Wilkins actually had to play corner for us."
On team: "I was very pleased with the way we prepared this week in practice. I was very pleased with the attitude in the locker room. The guys were bound and determined and they took the field and really came out of the blocks strong, I thought. They did a nice job."
On Ahman Green's performance: "This is the second game in our two wins that he broke off a long run. First I think it was the second play against Detroit and then it was the fifth or sixth play here tonight. He's not doing that on his own. He's also getting some help from those offensive linemen, they're doing a great job of blocking, as is Bubba Franks, probably one of the better blocking tight ends in this league. But he does make them miss and he does have the speed to take it the distance."
On Brett Favre: "I was very happy for our football team, but also for him because he made some plays happen with his feet. He was making some magic happen out there and the throw to Walker in the end zone for the touchdown was just a tremendous throw on his part."
On blitzing defense: "It was disappointing last week coming out of the Arizona game not putting pressure on the quarterback. We felt like we had to create some pressure and also get our four-man rush working a little bit better. We just felt like we had to come after them a little bit, and not necessarily just because of Kordell Stewart, but just felt we needed to generate some rush. We didn’t sack him as often as I would have thought we could have, but we did apply some pressure."
Na'il Diggs –
On if defense is starting to gel: "We'd better. We've got our backs against the wall still. We're not out of the hole yet, so we're going to have to keep playing consistent and keep playing enthusiastic like never before and keep it going."
Donald Driver –
On game: "We were hungry. The Bears are our rival. We take our hats off to them. They played a great game today, but the team that makes the least mistakes will win the game."
On playing in new Soldier Field: "It's not our home, but we made it our home today."
Brett Favre –
On success of running game and Ahman Green: "I had a feeling before we went out, you don't know how much success, but I knew we'd run the ball well. Ahman was all fired up and our offensive line, you could just tell, they were ready to go. And it didn't take us long to get us going."
On impact of early score: "That made the difference in the game, to strike early, to be the first ones to have some success. No different than when we played Detroit at home and we got off to a quick start, it's hard to recover when you're the other team, whether it's home or away. I'm not saying that that's what we have to do every week to be successful, but it sure makes it easier."
On performance: "I feel like I played well. I don't feel like tonight was any different than last week, believe it or not. It wasn't for a lot of yardage, but that's deceiving. It was for what we needed."
On rebounding from early-season lossses: "This team has not shown one sign of weakness. Guys have practiced hard and have stuck together. That's the reason we won tonight, just the chemistry has been great. It's unfortunate we’re 2-2, but fortunately we got this win tonight in a hostile environment."
Mike Flanagan –
On blocking Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher: "That was going to be my match-up all day, was playing against him. He’s a hell of a player. He can run. I've never seen a linebacker that can run like that. We just felt we could go at him, and we did."
On win: "This game is a lot more fun when you win. We don't play this game for any other reason. You figure playing this game as long as most of us have we"d be used to it by now, just kind of shrug it off and move to the next one, but it sucks. Losing just sucks."
Bubba Franks –
On win: "We're just riding high right now off of this win. I hope it lifts everyone's spirits up, because that was the longest week of my life, waiting for Monday Night Football after a loss. I think we started back on the right track, but we need to go back next week and keep it rolling."
Ahman Green –
On juke that allowed 60-yard touchdown run: "Nine times out of 10, a runner like me, a defender knows that I’m going to try to initiate the contact. Every now and then I have to think a little bit faster than the guys chasing me, that I can make a move and get up the field just as well as put my shoulder down and get up the field."
On running attack: "We just knew that if we ran the ball right at them, that was the best way to be successful. It had been successful in past games against them to just run right at them. Because we know with (linebacker Brian) Urlacher's speed, it’s kind of working to his advantage running to the outside with tosses and sweeps. He's just going to run the play down from the back side.”
William Henderson –
On Ahman Green and his 60-yard touchdown run: "It’s an unbelievable feeling seeing that man push himself to make what could have been a small run into a huge successful run. It just shows his incredible talent. It shows the determination of our offensive line, our tight ends, our receiver: Javon Walker came around and made the ultimate block, sacrificed for the team, boom, made his man go flat and Ahman was able to read it quickly and just burst and basically put a nail in their coffin."
On win: "We needed to get one on the road. It's important for us to get some things established. Right now we're .500. It's a long season. We're not feeling we’re successful right now, we're feeling that we're just trying to get ourselves on the right track. We've got a big game coming up next week. We're going to sacrifice and enjoy this win for the night, but tomorrow everybody is going to be back to business."
Bhawoh Jue –
On blitz-heavy attack of defense: "Maybe what we did today was a sneak attack more than anything else. We just haven't been that aggressive, so maybe they just didn't expect it."
Mike Wahle –
On in-game trash-talking: "It's going to be a spirited game. We play those guys so often we know those guys pretty well. So there's definitely some jawing back and forth. Nothing too brutal. We’re just having a good time."
On feeling after win: "The feeling between this week and last week is night and day. We want to keep this thing going for sure. This is a good win for us, but there are a plethora of tough games coming up and we really have to prepare this week."
GAME NOTES
With a career-best 176 yards, Ahman Green moved past Tony Canadeo (4,197) for third place in Packers' all-time rushing yards: 4,254.
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With 179 passing yards, Brett Favre moved past Dan Foutes (43,040) for fifth-place in NFL passing history: 43,089.
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End of 4th quarter. Game over.
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With pressure coming from Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Joe Johnson, Kordell Stewart was hit as he passed and was intercepted by Na'il Diggs (0:39, 4th quarter).
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Kordell Stewart's 1-yard sneak gave the Bears another touchdown, 38-23 (1:28, 4th quarter). The Bears had two fourth-down conversions on the drive. The Bears scoring drive was 13 plays, 68 yards. Time of the drive was 2:53.
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Bubba Franks was wide open in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown reception from Brett Favre, 38-16 (4:21, 4th quarter). Earlier on the drive Franks had a 24-yard reception on third-and-1. The Packers scoring drive was 7 plays, 54 yards. Time of the drive was 2:46.
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Scrambling on third-and-6 at the Chicago 9-yard line, Brett Favre found Javon Walker open in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, 31-16 (8:51, 4th quarter). Ahman Green had the big play of the drive with a 32-yard run on third-and-1. Antonio Chatman had a 32-yard kickoff return. The Packers scoring drive was 7 plays, 64 yards. Time of the drive was 3:45.
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Anthony Thomas broke free up the middle and outran several Packers to the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown, 24-16 (12:36, 4th quarter). Thomas had a 9-yard run up the middle on the previous play. The Bears scoring drive was 2 plays, 76 yards. Time of the drive was 0:50.
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End of 3rd quarter.
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Paul Edinger's 41-yard field goal cut into the Packers' lead, 24-9 (0:02, 3rd quarter). The Bears scoring drive was 11 plays, 55 yards. Time of the drive was 5:16.
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Na'il Diggs picked off Kordell Stewart to end the Bears' opening drive of the second half (9:31, 3rd quarter). After a 13-yard return by Diggs, the Packers take over at the Chicago 44-yard line.
On the previous play, Darren Sharper sacked Stewart for a 7-yard loss. That's the first two-sack game of Sharper's career.
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End of 2nd quarter. Halftime.
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Paul Edinger's 38-yard field goal brought the Bears closer, 24-6 (0:48, 2nd quarter). Mike McKenzie had a near interception on third-and-9 at the 20-yard line. The Bears scoring drive was 10 plays, 55 yards. Time of the drive was 3:03.
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Brett Favre found William Henderson all alone in the middle of the field for a 14-yard touchdown, 24-3 (3:51, 2nd quarter). Earlier on the drive Henderson had a 14-yard catch-and-run down the right sideline. Ahman Green had two 11-yard runs and a 6-yard run on the drive. Tony Fisher made a 10-yard catch-and-run on third-and-8. Javon Walker had a 12-yard reception. The Packers scoring drive was 9 plays, 72 yards. Time of the drive was 5:16.
Favre's touchdown pass to Henderson marked his 23rd consecutive game with a touchdown vs. Chicago. That’s one shy of Dan Marino's NFL record. Marino threw touchdown passes in 24 straight meetings with the New York Jets.
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Paul Edinger's 31-yard field goal put the Bears on the scoreboard, 17-3 (9:07, 2nd quarter). The Bears' drive started in Packers territory thanks to Mike Green's interception. The Bears scoring drive was 10 plays, 21 yards. Time of the drive was 5:26.
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila had a sack of Kordell Stewart to help force the field goal.
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After the Packers defense held Chicago to another three-and-out, Brett Favre's first down pass to Javon Walker was intercepted by Mike Green (14:36, 2nd quarter). The Bears take over at the Green Bay 34-yard line.
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End of 1st quarter.
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Ahman Green's 6-yard run increased the Packers' lead, 17-0 (0:19, 1st quarter). The Packers started their 20-yard, 2-play drive deep in Bears territory thanks to Marcus Wilkins' punt block. Bubba Franks had a 14-yard reception on the drive. Time of the drive was 0:40.
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After holding the Bears to a three-and-out on their third possession, Marcus Wilkins blocked Brad Maynard's punt and Bhawoh Jue recovered at the Chicago 20-yard line (0:59, 1st quarter). The blocked punt was the first for the Packers since Seth Joyner blocked a punt against Buffalo in 1997.
Darren Sharper contributed a 1-yard sack of Kordell Stewart on the defensive stand.
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Ryan Longwell's 34-yard field goal increased the Packers' lead, 10-0 (2:32, 1st quarter). Earlier on the drive Donald Driver left his feet to make a 23-yard reception on third-and-5. Driver also had grabs of 14 and 7 yards. Ahman Green made an 11-yard run. The Packers scoring drive was 10 plays, 60 yards. Time of the drive was 5:58.
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On their second possession Bears quarterback Kordell Stewart scrambled for one first down, but the Packers shut down Chicago's offense after that. Included in the stand, Nick Barnett sacked Stewart for a loss of 5 yards. The sack was the first of Barnett's NFL career.
After a Chicago punt, the Packers take over at their own 24-yard line (8:30, 1st quarter).
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On the second play of the Packers' second possession, Ahman Green ran off the left tackle, put a move on Jerry Azumah and broke free for a 60-yard touchdown, 7-0 (11:55, 1st quarter). The Packers scoring drive was 2 plays, 65 yards. Time of the drive was 0:49.
The Packers and Bears each went three-and-out on their opening possessions.
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The following Packers players are inactive for tonight's contest: Brennan Curtin, Najeh Davenport, Curtis Fuller, Chris Jackson, Aaron Kampman, Craig Nall (third quarterback), Marcus Spriggs, Erwin Swiney.
Donald Driver and Javon Walker will be the starting receivers. |
