The Green Bay Packers have a pulse after beating the Chicago Bears 28-19 on Sunday. Naturally, beating a division rival is always sweet but doing it to make history makes it a little sweeter.
The Packers and Bears entered Week 13 tied for the most wins in NFL history. Now, Green Bay has sole possession and bragging rights after sweeping the regular season series against Chicago for the fourth-straight year.
However, the Packers’ 787th win in franchise history didn’t come easy. Green Bay trailed 16-3 in the first half before mounting a fourth-quarter comeback to secure their fifth win of the season. The offense needed 18 points in the final 15 minutes and two interceptions from Bears quarterback Justin Fields to make it happen.
The Packers head into the bye week with a chance to get healthy and rest up before continuing an attempt to turn their season around with a strong finish. But before we look ahead, let’s look back at the standouts from their win over Chicago.
The Offensive Line
No David Bakhtiari, no problem. Green Bay’s starting left tackle was ruled out on Friday after having an impromptu appendectomy. Rookie Zach Tom was forced to take his place, but the offensive line didn’t miss a beat, especially in pass protection. For only the second time this season, Aaron Rodgers wasn’t sacked while the Bears’ pass rush failed to log even a single hit against the Packers’ quarterback. The offensive line also did a tremendous job in the run game to help Green Bay rush for 175 yards. It was one of the better performances from an inconsistent unit that has had to overcome injuries.
RB AJ Dillon
Speaking of the run game, Dillon had his best game of the season. After injuring his shin, Aaron Jones was limited in the second half and only totaled nine carries for the game. That paved the way for Dillon to receive a higher workload of 18 carries and three catches in the passing game. Dillon made the most of his opportunity to post a season-high 119 scrimmage yards, including a 21-yard touchdown run to trim Chicago’s lead to 19-17 early in the fourth quarter. Dillon is now up three touchdowns in 2022, and his 93 rushing yards were his most since Week 16 of his rookie season.
WR Christian Watson
Watson’s incredible stretch continued with a great performance at Soldier Field. He caught three passes for 48 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown on a crucial fourth down during the second quarter. Watson would then go to take an end around 46 yards to the house to help the Packers take a two-possession lead with under two minutes remaining. Over the last four games, Watson has reached the end zone eight times, a pace only two other rookies have been able to match, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Not shown in the box score was a 38-yard pickup thanks to a pass interference he drew on the team’s second touchdown drive. Watson continues to be one of Green Bay’s top playmakers.
CB Jaire Alexander
Alexander’s day didn’t start off great, but he eventually made up for it. The highest-paid corner in football surrendered a 56-yard catch to former teammate Equanimeous St. Brown. On the very next play, Chicago scored a touchdown. Later, Alexander tried to jump an underneath route but was beaten deep by Bears receiver N’Keal Harry for a 49-yard gain. Luckily, the second play was nullified by a missed field goal. All was forgiven when Alexander stepped in front of a pass intended for St. Brown and hauled in his fourth interception of the season. The takeaway set up the Packers’ final touchdown drive to go up by nine.
DT Kenny Clark
It had been a rough month and a half for Green Bay’s premier defensive tackle. According to Pro Football Focus, between weeks 8-12, Clark was rated 79th among defensive linemen with at least 100 snaps. However, he appeared to get back on track against Chicago. Clark had some dominant reps and made a couple of nice stops in the run game. Hopefully, this was a sign he will get back to being the same player he was at the beginning of the season.
CB Keisean Nixon
Ever since the team released wide receiver Amari Rodgers, Nixon has brought some much-needed juice to the return game. Last week against the Eagles, he returned two kick returns for over 50 yards. Nixon failed to rip off a big one against the Bears but maintained a solid average of 25.5 yards on four attempts. After the game, Aaron Rodgers went out of his way to praise Nixon for what he has brought to the team as a return man. However, Nixon’s impact on Sunday wasn’t limited to just special teams, as he ended the game with his first-career interception. Nixon has become an important role player for Green Bay.
