PACKERS DEFEAT CHICAGO 37-3, IMPROVE TO 5-5
-With today's win and a Minnesota loss in Tampa Bay, the Packers, Bears and Vikings all-stand tied atop the NFC North at-5-5.
-Today's 34 point margin of victory is the largest since Dec. 11, 1994, when Green Bay won-40-3 over Chicago.
-The Packers have won 12 of their last 15 regular-season games at Lambeau Field.
-Today's paid attendance was 71,040, the 274th consecutive sellout (258 regular season, 16 playoffs) at Lambeau Field.
-Green Bay's 138 rushing yards in the first half marked its best effort in a single half this season. Its previous best was 84 yards, set against Minnesota in the first half in Week 1.
-The Packers' 200 rushing yards marked a season high.
-The Packers' defense surrendered 234 total yard to Chicago. It was the second-lowest output by a Packers opponent this season (177 yards, at Seattle, Week 6).
-Ryan Grant became the first Packers player to rush for 100 yards in a single half since Samkon Gado (103 yards) against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 11, 2005. Grant recorded 105 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in the first half.
-Grant recorded his second 100-yard performance of the season.
-Greg Jennings' 3-yard TD catch was his fifth of the season.
-Bears LB Brian Urlacher now has an interception in three consecutive games against the Packers.
-Donald Lee's 5-yard touchdown catch in the 3rd quarter was his third touchdown of the season.
-Jason Hunter returned a fumble 53 yards for a score in the fourth quarter, the Packers' ninth return score of the season (six interceptions, two punt returns, one fumble return). It was his first career touchdown.
-The Hunter touchdown return was the Packers' seventh defensive score of the season, a new Packers single-season record.
-Mason Crosby hit a season-high 53-yard field goal in the second quarter, tying his career long record.
**
HEAD COACH MIKE McCARTHY:
(on how to explain the dominant performance) "How do I explain it? Well, I thought our football team prepared very well. We've really played some very good football throughout the season and today we were able to put it all together for four quarters. It's a credit to the staff and to the players. They stayed the course. I thought we had an excellent week of practice and we've really been practicing extremely well the last couple weeks. And it carries over to Sundays. We believe in that and that's how we operate. We played at a high level and I was proud of the guys."
(on running the football and playing physical) "This is November football and this is how you have to do it. There's no doubt about it. I thought we played very well up front on both sides of the ball. I thought the run-blocking unit, in particularly the offensive line, time and time again, we were able to get the movement up front and get the back to the second level. That was big."
(on playing nickel defense so frequently) "Based on the way they were utilizing their formations, they were spreading out the tight ends and creating mismatches in their favor. We just matched them up based on what we saw during the course of the week. I thought our defensive staff did an excellent job with the plan. A.J. Hawk managed it very well for the first week at middle linebacker. The communication and sideline communication was very smooth. We were very pleased with the way the defense played."
(on whether his team wanted this more than the Bears) "I would say our team wants it every week. We've played with high effort. We played in a ballgame last week that came down to the end, and we were in a game the week before that was in overtime. I never at all questioned our energy, our effort, our enthusiasm. If we have a problem on the sideline, it's that guys are too into it. That's our football team. I'm proud of the way they work, I'm proud of the way they approach the game, but we needed to get our execution at a high level. And we did that today."
(on the offensive line rebounding after last week's game) "I think it was evident starting with practice on Wednesday and Thursday. That's a credit to their character. It's a credit to their coaching, to James Campen and Jerry Fontenot and the veteran leadership in that group. It was nice to see them get after the opponent. We had a couple false starts early. But for the most part, it was one of our cleaner games that we played this year."
QUARTERBACK AARON RODGERS
(on whether they anticipated this easy of a win) "It wasn't easy. We just executed as well as we have all season. The offensive line dominated the game, without a doubt. We had 38 minutes in time of possession, 200 yards rushing (and) I barely got touched all day."
(on whether the offensive line had a chip on its shoulder coming into the game) "I think so, I think definitely. They took some heat from not only the media but the guys in the locker room, coaches. I had a lot of confidence in them, every position, but I feel like they had something to prove today and they did. They did a great job. I can't say enough about the job that those guys did."
(on the success of the running game after Chicago shut down Tennessee last week) "To be honest, I was a little surprised by the way they played us. You watched the film last week against Tennessee, they looked like they made a conscious effort to mug their linebackers a little more. They didn't do that as much against us. I think they felt like their front seven was going to be able to stop us running the ball, and early on we established the line of scrimmage. The guys did a great job, Ryan (Grant) made some great cuts. He had a lot of yards after contact today."
(on what the last six weeks will be like with three teams tied for first in the division) "It's going to be very exciting for all of us. We feel like we're going to have to win every game. We control our destiny now because I know we have the tiebreaker over Chicago and we have the division tiebreaker over Minnesota so we couldn't ask for a better position. It's been an up-and-down season but we played the way we feel like we're capable of playing today and we're very confident."
(on whether this was a redemption game) "It was. We were disappointed. We definitely felt like we could have won the last two games (but) didn't execute. It was a play here and a play there, and that's tough to deal with. It makes for a long week when you've got to watch that film and listen to the things that are said and when you're talking amongst yourselves. We definitely wanted to bounce back from those, and we realized how important this game was."
RUNNING BACK RYAN GRANT
(on whether they could imagine a game like this against Chicago) "Of course. We know the approach we take, we know what we want to do as a team. It wasn't a surprise to us. A goal for us this week was to be able to pound the ball, be physical and execute as a team."
(on whether he felt a game like this coming for himself personally) "I have felt better and better. This is the best I've felt all season so I do feel like I'm getting in a groove. We need to keep it going. Like I said, they did a great job on Chicago's front seven, who has been good all season. So I think that's definitely a reward for our guys. Guys stepped it up. They should be very proud about how they played, and we need to keep that approach the rest of the season."
(on getting the ball six times in seven-play touchdown drive) "As long as we're moving the ball it's great. It feels good that they have the confidence in me to be able to do that. I'm not really the type of person to pull myself out of the game. I'm not really into that. I feel like my conditioning is at a point where I can be in there the whole time, so if they want to run me I'm good to go."
(on the importance of the running game to this team's success) "I think it's very important just in general. In football, when you run the ball it controls the clock, number one. It builds confidence from the offensive line that you can play downhill, and I think it puts the defense on their heels because you can kind of be balanced. In our offense, of course it helps out Aaron (Rodgers), helps out the wide receivers. As you can see the looks come open and the different slants and everything of what we want to do, so we want to play downhill. We want to get that running game going as fast as possible."
(on finishing drives with touchdowns instead of field goals) "That's the probably the biggest thing we wanted to get back on track as the season's going on because we felt like the effort's been there. We've been good moving the ball but we haven't finished, and that's something we've got to do a better job at. We've got to finish our drives, we've got to finish our plays better and execute across the board. So guys stepped up and responded in that manner."
(on the team rushing for 200 yards) "The guys just executed. It's something we've wanted to do, we want to make sure we execute. The emphasis has always been there but, we need to get better at finishing."
(on getting back on track with a win over the Bears) "It felt great. To do it in our hometown, in front of the crowd, to get that win when we needed it the most against a division rival, it's big for us. Big game."
(on maintaining the offense's momentum) "We have to keep executing. The guys across the board are doing a great job executing and finishing off plays. We have to keep that enthusiasm up."
(on the renewed commitment to the running game) "That's what we wanted to do. We wanted to come in here, run the ball, set the tempo and kind of set the tone for what we wanted to do the rest of the game. And the guys answered, across the board. The o-line, everybody, they did a great job."
LINEBACKER BRANDON CHILLAR
(on the defense consistently getting off the field on third downs) "I think we just did a good job of team defense. The d-line was rushing and everybody on the back end was doing a good job covering."
(on this win boosting the confidence level of the team) "Well of course. It felt good to beat a good team like that. As bad as we just did, it feels good. We'll face them again and I'm sure next time, they'll be ready."
(on this game adding to the Packers-Bears legacy) "I would say that my first game in the Bears-Packers (series) went good. I'm going to try to keep it going."
(on the keys to containing Bears running back Matt Forte) "I think just playing downhill. I think we did a good job of playing downhill. We needed to stop the run and try to make them one dimensional and I think we did that."
(on if this is the 'all around complete game' they've been seeking) "Yeah, I would say so. You know I have to look at the tape, but the score said so. I'll look at the tape and see what we can do better."
TACKLE CHAD CLIFTON
(on if practicing this week helped him) "I think it did. Definitely. I think it got my fundamentals back and just refocused."
(on what happened to his finger early in the game) "On the first play, it was just dislocated. Left index finger."
(on if it felt good to bounce back after dealing with many different things this season) "Yeah, for me personally it was nice. But as an offense as a whole, it was nice to have the game that we had today rushing the ball."
(on after a few disappointing losses if things are coming to together) "I certainly think so. I certainly hope so. After last week, hopefully that will be just kind of a catalyst that focuses this team, especially the offense and get it going in the right direction."
DEFENSIVE END JASON HUNTER
(on capitalizing on a good bounce and returning the loose ball for a touchdown) "That's the plan. Every time you get a good bounce, you're able to scoop it up clean and just run it into the end zone."
(on what it feels like to get his first touchdown as a pro) "It feels real good. It's exciting. I had a touchdown in college, I don't think I had one in high school. But it feels great to get an NFL touchdown. I'm so happy and excited."
(on the defense really shutting down the Bears offense) "We play relentless. Our defense, we came into this game with a mindset that we have to play well. They put it on us this week, for us to go out there and really play like the type of defense we're capable of playing. We did that today and look at the outcome, we played really well."
(on if he thought he was going to get the ball after Aaron Kampman unknowingly kicked it away) "You know what? All I saw was the ball kicked. I saw it kicked one time and said, 'Well, I have an open shot to get it.' I just picked it up and ran it in."
(on if he would have been caught from behind if he had to run another 10 yards) "I don't know, I don't know. Somebody said (Brandon) Chillar helped me out, they said that he chipped them, I'm glad that he did that. Thank God for my teammates."
{sportsad300}CHICAGO BEARS HEAD COACH LOVIE SMITH
(on the loss) "We realized how big a game this was for us: a big rivalry game, fighting for first place in our division, so I thought we would come out and play a lot better than we did today. You have to give the Packers a lot of credit. They came out from the start with a purpose and dominated us throughout the game."
(on if he was surprised by the Packers rushing success) "No, because last year they pretty much did the same thing. We have focused quite a bit on our pass defense for the last few weeks, but you have to stop the run, too. They dominated us today, period."
(on moving forward with the rest of the season) "You could say that we are starting over again with six games left to our season and tied for first. We have veterans in the locker room. We have been down before and now it is a critical stage so we will step up, get some things corrected and go from there."
CHICAGO BEARS QUARTERBACK KYLE ORTON
(on how a game like this happens) "You play a good football team and you don't play well. Defensively, they are very good. They are aggressive, and they really took it to us. We didn't do anything on offense and it is tough to win when you do that."
(on how the Bears will bounce back) "We have to get back to work and get better in all three phases. We didn't play well obviously, too many mistakes and not enough plays made. We just have to rebound."
(on the lack of offense) "Just all day (there was) no rhythm, no first downs. They were keeping safeties back and playing man on the outside. It is tough to make big plays against this defense."
CHICAGO BEARS LINEBACKER LANCE BRIGGS
(on the Bears performance today) "It was just a poor display of football, both on defense and special teams. We did a good job of preparing, but we didn't come out and get anything done. We didn't do anything to silence or stop any of the criticism (against the defense). You never think that you are going to get beat by your rival 37 to 3. We have to play a lot better football."
