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- Mar 19, 2019
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The Packers also came out of the locker room after halftime and put together two efficient touchdown drives, covering 73 and 66 yards in 10 total plays. Running back Aaron Jones finished both with touchdown runs, giving him 14 rushing TDs on the season and 17 scores overall, as he finished with 51 yards on 13 carries.
But sprinkled around those were four Green Bay possessions that reached Chicago territory and produced no points. One in each half had the Packers in position for field goals of less than 50 yards, but they went backwards to get knocked out of scoring range both times.
The first, from the Chicago 31-yard line late in the second quarter, was due to an intentional grounding penalty on Rodgers when he was trying to throw the ball away but got his arm grabbed, so his throwaway never reached the line of scrimmage. The other, with five minutes left in the game from the Chicago 27, was a sack of Rodgers on third-and-4.
“I love being 11-3, and I think the performance was a little up and down,” said Rodgers, who was 16-of-33 for 203 yards (78.2 passer rating). “We’ve just got to be a little more opportunistic.”
The late sack was especially costly because the Bears, behind 100-yard receiving days from Allen Robinson (7-125) and Anthony Miller (9-118, TD), had rallied from a 21-3 deficit to get within 21-13, but the Packers had seemingly snatched back the momentum.
QB Mitch Trubisky (29-of-53, 348 yards, one TD, two INT, 65.6 rating) had just thrown an interception to defensive lineman Dean Lowry, who reached up to bat the ball with both hands and then make the catch juggling it on the way down.
The Packers were in great shape to make it a two-score game again, and instead the defense still had to get two more stops to preserve the win.
“We somehow find a way,” LaFleur said, describing his team. “I think that’s a credit to our players and their belief that we will find a way. You always look back and want more. We had chances there to put that game away from an offensive perspective and didn’t get it done.”