NFL
The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Packers’ Miraculous Win Over The Bears
The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Packers’ Miraculous Win Over The Bears
The 209th meeting between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears had everything you could want.
Intensity. Drama. And last-second theatrics.
Green Bay defensive lineman Karl Brooks blocked a 46-yard Cairo Santos field goal attempt as time expired allowing Green Bay to escape Soldier Field with a 20-19 win.
“I’m visualizing myself blocking the kick,” Brooks said afterwards. “And like I said, I just wanted it more. I just fired off the ball and wanted to get a win.”
The Packers won their 11th straight game in this series that dates back to 1921. That’s now the longest winning streak in the history of this rivalry.
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur also stayed perfect against Chicago, improving to 11-0 in his career against the Bears.
Green Bay improved to 51-15 against the Bears since the start of the 1992 season and now leads this historic series 108-95-6.
Here’s the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ from the Packers’ latest win in this lopsided rivalry.
THE GOOD
KARL BROOKS: The second-year defensive lineman from Bowling Green got his left middle finger on a Cairo Santos field goal kick as time expired, allowing his team to improve to 7-3. The Bears fell to 4-6 and lost their fourth straight game.
“It was just an unbelievable feeling,” Brooks said. “At first when I touched it, I didn’t think I got enough of it and it fell short and that’s when I really celebrated, so it was fun, though, for sure. It was cool. It was a good experience.”
The Packers spotted something on film early last week and believed they could come up with a block.
“Inside,” Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark said of the Bears’ weakness. “Inside at the guards.”
That’s exactly what happened.
Brooks and fellow defensive tackle T.J. Slaton collapsed the middle. Brooks got his 32-inch left arm up and got denied Santos and the Bears.
“We knew there was a high possibility of blocking a kick,” Packers guard Sean Rhyan said. “We didn’t know where in the game it was going to come from, it just happened to be the last one of the game, the most important one. And we got it.”
THE BEAT GOES ON: Since the start of the 1992 season, Green Bay is now a remarkable 51-15 against the Bears — a whopping .773 winning percentage. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur has played a huge role in the dominance, going 11-0 in his 5 1/2 years with the Packers.
Mike Holmgren started the fun by going 12-2 against the Bears (.857) between 1992-1998. Holmgren also won his final 10 games against Chicago.
Ray Rhodes was 1-1 (.500), Mike Sherman was 8-4 (.667), then Mike McCarthy was a sensational 19-7 (.731) that included a win over the Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship Game.
Joe Philbin was 0-1 as Green Bay’s interim head coach in 2018, and now LaFleur has taken things to another level.
“I’m not worried about what’s happened in the past,” LaFleur said. “It’s one game. It’s great to come away with a win when you don’t feel like you necessarily played your best, but that’s a competitive football team. The margin of error in this league is so minimal.”
SOLID START: Green Bay put together an impressive 8-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to open the game.
The Packers ran the ball five times, threw it three and Love capped the march with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed. On the TD play, the Packers went hurry-up when they saw the Bears had 12 men on the field and Love and Reed hooked up for a score to give Green Bay a 7-0 lead.
CHRISTIAN WATSON: Green Bay’s third-year wideout has been quiet all season and entered the day with just 16 receptions for 233 yards.
But Watson had four receptions and set a new career-high with 150 receiving yards.
On Green Bay’s game-winning touchdown drive, Watson had a diving catch, wasn’t touched, then had the wherewithal to spring up and race 60 yards to Chicago’s 14-yard line.
Two plays later, Jordan Love plowed in from a 1-yard out to give the Packers a 20-19 lead.
Watson also had a 48-yard second half reception down to the Bears’ 8.
“Obviously I think it was a focus for us coming into this week was to try to keep getting him the ball, getting him some touches,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said of Watson. “Definitely a guy that we feel like we can keep trying to get him the ball and give him some of those opps down the field and obviously when we do, he had a really big catch, a contested catch, and went up and made a play. So I think it was a big time day for him.”
BRENTON COX: Second-year defensive end Brenton Cox figures to get more playing time after the trade of Preston Smith last week.
So far, so good.
Cox had his first career sack when he blew up Caleb Williams for a 10-yard loss. Cox also dumped Chicago running back D’Andre Swift for a 3-yard loss.
“It feels good,” Cox said. “Just taking advantage of the opportunity. I knew I had a lot on my plate, so just going out there and playing hard.”
THIS AND THAT: Daniel Whelan’s first punt was 47 yards and perfectly angled to the left corner where Corey Ballentine downed it at the 5. … Running back Josh Jacobs had 134 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
THE BAD
CONTAINING CALEB: Chicago rookie quarterback Caleb Williams entered the day averaging 26.2 rushing yards per game. His high-water mark was 56 rushing yards in Week 4 against Jacksonville.
But Williams absolutely shredded Green Bay’s defense, rushing for 70 yards on nine carries. Williams averaged a whopping 7.7 yards per carry
“They had a lot of QB runs, QB-designed runs,” defensive end Rashan Gary said. “I said before the game he’s able to extend plays on his feet and he did that well today. I was surprised by how much designed runs there were, but that comes with having a new OC. There were some new things that we didn’t know that they were going to do and they did. So, it is what it is. We know now. Going into the next game, we’ll be better.”
END OF THE STREAK: Chicago scored its first touchdown in 26 drives in the final moments of the first half when Roschon Johnson ran over Quay Walker for a 1-yard score. That gave the Bears their first lead of the day at 10-7.
Interestingly, Johnson had the Bears’ last touchdown back in Week 8.
QUAY WALKER: The light has just never fully gone on for Green Bay’s third-year linebacker — and this game was more of the same.
Walker had a chance to sack Caleb Williams in the third quarter and inexplicably seemed to stop. Walker had Williams dead to rights on a fourth-and-1 play in the third quarter, but whiffed and the Bears quarterback scurried for a first down.
Walker had running back Roschon Johnson squared up on the goal line late in the first half, but Johnson was the more powerful player and carried Walker into the endzone.
Walker was a first round draft pick in 2022, but hasn’t lived up to that his lofty draft status. Sunday was the latest example.
JAIRE ALEXANDER: The Packers’ seventh year cornerback is a problem — on the field and on the books.
Alexander, who still has two years left on his four-year, $84 million contract, is the NFL’s third-highest paid cornerback. The problem is he’s a part-time player these days.
Alexander had missed 27 of Green Bay’s last 60 games heading into Sunday’s contest against Chicago. Alexander, who hasn’t played since Week 6 against Jacksonville, was questionable all week with a knee injury.
The Packers thought they were getting good news when Alexander showed enough in pregame warm-ups and was active. But Alexander lasted just 10 plays before leaving with that same knee injury.
It’s too late into the season to do anything with Alexander and his hefty contract. But it will be a top priority this offseason.
THIS AND THAT: Romeo Doubs had a costly second quarter drop on a third-and-3 that would have given the Packers a first down. … The Bears went 5-for-7 on third downs in the first half and 9-of-16 for the game.
THE UGLY
DEFENSELESS: The Bears had scored just 27 points in their last three games — a paltry average of 9.0.
Chicago gave up nine sacks last week. And the Bears fired their offensive coordinator this week.
In every way, shape and form, they were a mess.
Facing Green Bay’s mediocre defense will help a team get healthy, though.
Chicago piled up 391 yards. The Bears went 9-of-16 on third downs (56.3%). And Chicago held the ball 36 ½ minutes.
“We’ve just got to clean it up, man,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “It’s tough because I think that we can play way better ball than what we did today, but it’s hard to win in this league. When you do win, you’ve got to be somewhat happy about the win because it’s hard to win. But also, you’ve got to know that there’s a lot of things to improve on and we’ve got to do that moving forward.”
Green Bay’s defense has become completely reliant on forcing turnovers. If they can’t take the ball away, they struggle to get stops.
On Sunday, the Packers didn’t have a single takeaway and watched the Bears march up and down the field all afternoon.
THROWING IT ALL AWAY: The Packers had an impressive 7 ½ minute drive that ate up half the second quarter, but produced no points.
Green Bay drove to the Bears’ 5 and had a second-and-1. That’s when things went awry.
First, left guard Elgton Jenkins was penalized five yards for being downfield illegally. Then wideout Jayden Reed was dumped for a 5-yard loss, setting up a third-and 11.
Jordan Love then overthrew Tucker Kraft and into the waiting arms of cornerback Terrell Smith, who corralled the pass for his first career interception.
“We had Tucker Kraft right there kind of on a pivot route and I missed him on the throw,” Love said. “Just missed high. Obviously sailed over his head and DB was right there to make a play on it. Just, bad throw.”
DOUBLING UP: The Bears turned a 7-3 deficit into a 13-7 lead by scoring a touchdown on their final drive of the first half and a field goal on their opening drive of the second half.
Chicago put together a 13 play, 76-yard drive to finish the first half and capped it with a 1-yard TD drive from Roschon Johnson. The Bears then drove 61 yards in 10 plays to open the second half and got a 27-yard field goal from Cairo Santos to take a 13-7 lead.
Chicago possessed the ball for roughly 10 ½ straight minutes in that time — 5:42 to end the first half and 4:43 to open the second half.
NFL
BREAKING News: Dolphins have reportedly made final decision on Tyreek Hill and potential trade to Chiefs or Saints
BREAKING News: Dolphins have reportedly made final decision on Tyreek Hill and potential trade to Chiefs or Saints
The Miami Dolphins have been involved in many rumors about Tyreek Hill’s future with Chiefs and Steelers as possible suitors.
The Miami Dolphins have decided that, for now, they are not going to trade Tyreek Hill. According to a report from Adam Schefter, the wide receiver will not be moved and, despite the rumors, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers are not on the list of supposed interested teams.
There’s been a lot of Tyreek Hill chatter and a lot of Tyreek Hill speculation. I know it will keep going on and on. Let’s not let facts interfere with a good story. The facts are, the Dolphins haven’t gotten any calls about Tyreek Hill. Zero. The facts are that the Dolphins are not looking to deal Tyreek Hill.”
After the Dolphins were blown out in Indianapolis, and with the frustration Hill has expressed toward the team since last season, many rumors suggested that the wide receiver could be traded to acquire draft capital. Obviously, his talent could turn any team into a Super Bowl contender, but it’s also a fact that the player is currently facing serious off-the-field legal issues.
Is Tyreek Hill going to be traded?
No. Tyreek Hill will not be traded by the Miami Dolphins for now. However, Schefter mentioned that, as often happens, if the losses keep piling up, the story could change soon.
Now, look, we’re not idiots. We understand the Dolphins lost last week in an embarrassing fashion. They think they’re gonna turn it around. But if they don’t, obviously, there may be calls for Tyreek Hill as the trade deadline approaches in late October, early November. But as of today, today, zero, zero discussion about a Tyreek Hill trade, today. Could that change? Sure, absolutely. When teams lose, that changes the conversation and things are always fluid. But Tyreek Hill today? Nothing.”
NFL
SHOCKING: Fans react as Aaron Rodgers beats Jets in Steelers debut despite Justin Fields’ impressive performance
SHOCKING: Fans react as Aaron Rodgers beats Jets in Steelers debut despite Justin Fields’ impressive performance
The New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers delivered one of the best games of Week 1 of the NFL season. The battle between Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers was great, and it left fans in awe.
No one thought the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers would deliver the first shootout of the NFL season but here we are! Justin Fields guided the Jets to a great offensive game, but Aaron Rodgers didn’t fall behind as he had a stellar game of his own. Fans are reacting after what was a surprisingly great game.
After a rollercoaster of a game, it’s normal that fans are going into complete ecstasy -and agony- on social media. User Tone Digs simply said, “Having Aaron Rodgers as your QB is so cool.” Others joke around saying, “Aaron Rodgers once again responsible for another Jets loss,” only this time it’s because Rodgers delivered a masterpiece against his former team, where he struggled.
Comparing Rodgers’ game to what he did, or failed to do with the Jets last season was absolutely imperative to happen. That’s how social media works. “Aaron Rodgers with a better drive than he ever had with the Jets, followed by Justin Fields with a better throw than he ever had with the Steelers,” user Bart Winkler posted.
Justin Fields did everything he could to win the game for the Jets
Fields was also facing his former team. He has been doubted most of his NFL career, so watching him play to this high level of football made fans happy. “Love seeing Justin Fields balling out,” Dave tweeted. Others are defending Fields, saying he finally has a coaching staff that trusts him. “Justin Fields with a coach that doesn’t treat him like s— >>>>.“
Even NFL legend Richard Sherman was in awe of Fields’ performance. “Justin Fields!!! Looks like an Entirely different player!Poised, accurate, and decisive. Using his legs when it’s there and finding the open guy consistently. Remarkable.“
The QBs gave it all on the field
The box score alone doesn’t do justice on what the quarterbacks did. And that’s saying something as the box score stats are really impressive on both sides. Aaron Rodgers completed 22/30 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. He also guided a drive all the way for Chris Boswell to kick a 60-yard field goal to take the lead.
Fields’ impact has to be measured differently, given the nature of his dual-threat ability. Fields had 266 total yards and also three touchdowns. He scored two using his legs and one pass to Ohio State product Garrett Wilson.
NFL
NFL News: Aaron Rodgers sends clear and emotional message to Mike Tomlin and Steelers after epic win in Week 1 against Justin Fields and Jets
NFL News: Aaron Rodgers sends clear and emotional message to Mike Tomlin and Steelers after epic win in Week 1 against Justin Fields and Jets
Aaron Rodgers was on the verge of tears after the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off an incredible victory against the New York Jets.
Aaron Rodgers had a spectacular debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He threw for 244 yards, 4 touchdowns, and led an epic 34-32 victory against the New York Jets. During a postgame interview with CBS, the veteran quarterback appeared visibly emotional.
“I love these guys. I love the organization. I love them taking a chance on bringing me in and and believing in me. Give me the opportunity to be out here with my guys. There’s no greater feeling than being on the field and being able to compete. That’s what I was thinking about all those days in the offseason. Opportunities like this. I didn’t think it will be against my former team. I’m really proud of our guys making clutch plays down the stretch.”
Despite being 41 years old, Rodgers proved he can turn the Steelers into Super Bowl contenders. However, the big challenge for Mike Tomlin will be improving a defense that was overwhelmed by the Jets’ running game.
Did the Steelers win today against the Jets?
Yes. The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first game of the 2025 season on the road against the New York Jets. It was a thrilling matchup that was decided in the final seconds with a 60-yard field goal by Chris Boswell with just over a minute left on the clock.
Then, when Justin Fields and the Jets were attempting a late winning drive, Jalen Ramsey made a crucial tackle on fourth down to secure the victory. Two of the stars who arrived in the offseason, Rodgers and Ramsey, shut the door in New York.
Four Saints veterans named the best players to wear their jersey numbers
The New Orleans Saints have a lot of questions surrounding their roster as they enter the 2025 season, but there are a handful of veterans who have proven to still be among the best in the NFL.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently released a list of the top players in the league at every jersey number from 0-99. There were four Saints players included: Alvin Kamara for No. 41, Demario Davis for No. 56, Juwan Johnson for No. 83 and Carl Granderson for No. 96.
Kamara doesn’t have very much competition for being representative of the No. 41 jersey. Other players there include Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Ko Kieft and Dallas Cowboys rookie defender Donovan Ezeiruaku. Even if there were other stars, it would be hard to finish ahead of Kamara, who could once again be one of the NFL’s best running backs this season.
The other players at No. 56 that stand out other than Davis are Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith and Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson, both of whom are very good at football. Davis has finished with at least 100 tackles each year since coming to New Orleans and has earned the NFL’s respect as one of the best linebackers in the sport.
Johnson is still waiting for his true breakout campaign at tight end for the Saints, but he has shown flashes. Still, he is the right choice for No. 83, which is mostly several unproven tight ends and wide receivers.
There are a couple of other defensive linemen who share No. 96 with Granderson, but the only one with a real argument would maybe be New York Jets star Leonard Taylor III. Granderson will need to bring his sack numbers back up in 2025, but he still probably the right choice.
INCOMING: Kellen Moore Embarks On New Era For New Orleans Saints With Hopes Of Resurrecting Glory Day
Kellen Moore embarks on new era for New Orleans Saints with hopes of resurrecting glory days
The New Orleans Saints find themselves standing at the crossroads of hope and opportunity as they gear up for the 2024 season, following a disappointing campaign that concluded with a 5-12 record. The franchise has embraced the winds of change with the hiring of head coach Kellen Moore, signaling a commitment to rejuvenation. This offseason has been bustling with transformative moves that may well pave the way for a more promising future.
The current roster reflects a thoughtful blend of experienced veterans and eager newcomers, providing a strong foundation for growth. Talented additions like Tyler Shough and Kelvin Banks Jr. inject youthful dynamism into the squad, creating an environment ripe for progress. Despite the setbacks of the previous season, the NFC South remains relatively accessible, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only team boasting a winning record at 10-7. This landscape opens a window of opportunity for the Saints to reestablish their competitive edge in the division.
With an emphasis on health and stability, the Saints stand a genuine chance to approach .500 this season. The progress of key players, particularly quarterbacks like Shough and Spencer Rattler, will be vital as they aim to bridge the competitive gap with Tampa Bay.
A Need for Defensive Reinforcements
To enhance their prospects further, strengthening the defense—particularly the secondary—should be a priority. The cornerback position has emerged as a critical area for improvement, leading to speculation surrounding the potential signing of veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore. His addition could inject both talent and leadership into a young and developing defense.
Gilmore, a two-time All-Pro and the 2019 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has shown signs of decline recently but remains a force to be reckoned with. In his last season with the Minnesota Vikings, he recorded nine pass breakups, 49 tackles, and one interception, showcasing his enduring capability. His extensive experience in high-stakes situations, underscored by a Super Bowl victory and five Pro Bowl selections, positions him as a significant asset for any franchise.
The Right Fit for a New Scheme
Under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, the Saints will implement a hybrid defensive scheme mirroring the system in which Gilmore thrived during his time with the New England Patriots. This familiarity could facilitate a seamless transition for Gilmore, allowing him to maximize his contribution to the field.
Gilmore has also expressed a keen interest in mentoring younger players, which makes him an attractive candidate for a cornerback room eager for guidance. His presence would not only enhance the Saints’ defensive unit but also nurture the development of emerging talents like Alontae Taylor, ideally positioned for a slot role.
Bringing a player of Gilmore’s pedigree on board would markedly elevate the Saints’ defensive prowess, addressing one of the most vulnerable positions on the roster. As the team looks ahead to the upcoming season, the potential acquisition of a seasoned cornerback like Gilmore could serve as the crucial missing piece in their quest for supremacy within the NFC South. United by veteran experience and youthful zeal, the Saints are laying the groundwork for a season filled with potential and aspirations for greatness.
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