Don’t sleep on the Chicago Bears

“It was drag-slant. James Jones ran a slant, and like I said, the official missed the call”.

After “Fourth-Quarter Porter” – his nickname courtesy of play-by-play man Jeff Joniak – intercepted Rodgers with 3 minutes, 9 seconds left, the belief grew.

In his first year in Chicago, Fox has instilled confidence in his team that they can hang tough in close games. It’s a game we expect to win, but we didn’t play well enough to win. When Cutler has been out there, he’s doing what most top passers do, raising the play of all those around them.

“We always accept the challenge”.

“It’s my left hand; I’ll be all right”, said Rodgers, who completed just 22 of 43 passes for 202 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Just a little more than a year ago, the Bears skulked back from Wisconsin after a 55-14 blowout that convinced ownership something drastic needed to be done. He is 0-4 at Lambeau Field with a quarterback rating of 41.1, three touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Following the game, it was the rejuvenation of Jay Cutler under offensive coordinator Adam Gase that was credited.

“But this is obviously a very special, special time in the Green Bay Packers history…” And Thursday night seemed to set up perfectly for the Packers faithful on an emotional night with the team honoring former quarterback Brett Favre at halftime. Favre’s retired No. 4 and name were unveiled inside Lambeau Field during the ceremony.

That is exactly what the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers gave fans last night after the earlier two games ended in blowouts.

“They’re all so hard to get”, Fox said.

Chicago (5-6) has won three of its last four. They played their best game of the season against a QB in Aaron Rodgers who has owned the Bears since he took over as the Packers starter in 2008.

“Difficult loss this evening”.

“That’s the way I took it”, McClellin said, shaking his head.

They moved quickly up the field on their final two drives only to come up short.

HOLD ON: Robbie Gould’s 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter for Chicago was the only scoring for either team in the second half of a game played in dreary conditions.

Lacy’s ball security issues continued; he lost a fumble deep in Bears territory, a play that got him benched briefly. It was a big mistake, leading to the Bears’ first touchdown and a tied game. “I don’t know the final numbers, but we would’ve probably liked to have a few more attempts”. All three times, they have come up empty. After a miserable four-game stretch, running back Eddie Lacy has rebounded with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. Chicago recovered the ball at the Green Bay 34-yard line. Bushrod signed a five-year, $36 million deal with $17.7 guaranteed prior to the 2013 season but in his absence has lost the starting left tackle job to Charles Leno Jr…. Sutton has been replaced on defense by Mitch Unrein and Bruce Gaston, who are bigger and play more stout. The wide receiver, however, was knocked off his route by safety Chris Prosinski, and cornerback Tracy Porter grabbed the interception.

Things like blocking and route running haven’t been up to standard for Janis, but the ability to get him more game experience may be an opportunity to fix those things.