After losing last week in their opening game, the Green Bay Packers felt they needed to do anything and everything to right the ship and avoid starting 0-2 at home.
The team did just that, using a well-executed fake field goal to help dismantle their division rival Chicago Bears 22-10 at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.
Late in the second quarter Green Bay lined up for a field goal that would have put them up 10-0. After the snap, punter Tim Masthay tossed the ball to tight end Tom Crabtree, who ran 27-yards for the touchdown. The play was run perfectly and the Bears never saw it coming.
I saw Crabby running out the back side, I couldn't believe it," Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told ESPN.com. "That's a gutsy call. A gutsy call. You've got to score on that."
The Packers added another field goal at the end of the half to go up 13-0 and never looked back.
The defense played much better for Green Bay than last week in the loss against the San Francisco 49ers, harassing Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler all night and never allowing him to get into a rhythm.
He threw four interceptions, including two to cornerback Tramon Williams. Cutler passed for 126 yards and only completed 11 of 27 passes.
Cutler's offensive line didn't do him any favors either, allowing seven sacks to the Packers. Linebacker Clay Matthews had 3 ½ sacks on his own and also added seven tackles. The seven sacks were the most in a regular season game for the team since 2005 when they had nine, also against Chicago.
"Clay was incredible," Rodgers told the Associated Press. "Defense causing turnovers, if they play like this we're going to be hard to beat."
Last season the offensive line was a huge problem for the Bears and on Thursday it left Cutler frustrated and banged up.
"If they want a quarterback that doesn't care, they can find somebody else," Cutler said.
Earlier in the week some controversy got stirred by Cutler when he told the Packers cornerbacks "good luck" in defending the Bears' physical wide receivers. The Packers used the quote as bulletin board material that helped motivate them before the game.
"We got kicked in the (rear end) four days ago," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "And we were motivated."
The defense held new Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall in check. One week after catching nine passes for 119 yards, Marshall only had two receptions and was never targeted in the first half. The Packers used a deep safety to help blanket Marshall and effectively take him out of the game.
He also couldn't handle an overthrown ball from Cutler in the third quarter in the end zone that would have been a touchdown. Instead the team settled for a field goal.
The Bears had come into the game with a lot of confidence following a week one 41-21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, but leave Lambeau now with numerous questions.
Starting running back Matt Forte injured his ankle in the game and only gained 31 yards on seven carries.
"Maybe we're not as good as we thought we were," Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "We've got a long ways to go."
The Bears defense kept Reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers out of the end zone until the fourth quarter, but by then the game was out of reach. Rodgers passed for 219 yards on 22 of 32 attempts and a touchdown.
The late score was a 26-yard pass to longtime Packers receiver Donald Driver, who was frustrated last week due to his lack of snaps he played on the field.
Rodgers was sacked five times by the Bears and also had an interception.
The Packers special teams made the most impact in the game, with kicker Mason Crosby converting three field goals, and of course, the trick play field goal.
"I was trying to send our team a message when I did call it," McCarthy said. "And, frankly, I would have been fine with the field position."
The Packers lined up for field goal on fourth-and-26 in the second quarter when holder Masthay, who also serves as the punter, took the snap and threw the ball to Crabtree, who had plenty of space to run after taking the Bears by total surprise. It was the first TD pass by a Green Bay punter since 1972, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Packers played the game without wide receiver Greg Jennings, who sat with a groin issue.
The team also continued their franchise-record streak of games totaling 300 yards of offense, which now stands at 18.
The Bears will host the St. Louis Rams on Sept. 23, while the Packers will take on the Seattle Seahawks on the road.
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