Packers close regular season with loss to the Vikings | Video analysis
Pete Dougherty joins Dominique Yates for observations from the Packers’ 16-3 loss to the Vikings to end regular-season play.
For the first time since an unforgettable NFC championship game after the 2010 season, the Green Bay Packers will again face the Chicago Bears in the playoffs, again at Soldier Field and again as the team with the bottom seed in the NFC.
The 21-14 win in the last go-round will forever be associated with B.J. Raji’s pick-6 in the fourth quarter against Bears third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie, and perhaps a sealing interception from Sam Shields. The Packers, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl two weeks later.
Perhaps these are things you don’t remember from that iconic contest:
Punter Tim Masthay was one of the heroes of the day
Tim Masthay probably does get the credit he deserves for his role in bringing Green Bay a Super Bowl, but this game might have been his magnum opus.
The punter had to deal with future Hall of Fame return man Devin Hester, who had one of his three return touchdowns in the regular season against the Packers. But Hester returned only one kick for 24 yards and three punts for a mere 16 yards in this contest, and none longer than 11. With 3 minutes, 7 seconds left, Masthay booted a 58-yarder that pinned Hester to the sideline and ensured the Bears needed to go 71 yards to try to tie the game. Masthay landed five punts inside the 20-yard line.
Special-teams ace Jarrett Bush was Masthay’s co-conspirator in keeping Hester in check. After he couldn’t corral a loose punt in the NFC championship game after the 2007 season, Bush came into this game with a vengeance. One of his plays included downing a ball in the first half at the 2-yard line.
Sam Shields ended both halves with an interception
It’s likely you remember Sam Shields ending the game, when he ran in front of Johnny Knox on a fourth-and-5 snap from the Packers’ 29-yard line. The speedy Shields also leapt for a pick just shy of the goal line on the final meaningful snap of the first half, one of Jay Cutler’s final passes of the game.
Shields also had a sack in the game and forced a fumble that the Bears recovered.
B.J. Raji was also eligible on another touchdown play, on offense
Raji dropping back into coverage and intercepting Hanie for the late pick-6 may be seared into the brains of Packers fans, but Raji also appeared on offense in the game. He’d entered as a blocker in front of John Kuhn the week before, and he reported again as an eligible receiver on a touchdown in the first half, a 1-yard run by Aaron Rodgers to kick off the scoring. Rodgers faked the handoff to Kuhn, who followed Raji into the pile, while Rodgers trotted around left end for the score.
James Starks was a postseason breakout star but scored his only touchdown of the season in this game
A 4-yard run by James Starks made it 14-0 Packers. The rookie had played in only three regular-season games because of injury but was massive in the postseason, racking up a Packers rookie record 123 rushing yards in a win over the Eagles two weeks earlier, then 66 yards against Atlanta. He had 74 yards against the Bears including his only touchdown of the postseason. Starks ran for another 52 yards in the Super Bowl.
Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions in the game, but then made the tackle that he didn’t make in the regular season
Rodgers threw multiple interceptions just three times in his 22 playoff games with the Packers and this was one of them. Lance Briggs picked off Rodgers late in the first half (the drive ended with Shields’ interception with 34 seconds left), reeling in a ball that had bounced off Donald Driver’s shoe tops. Another pass intended for Driver was intercepted by Brian Urlacher and returned 39 yards, though Rodgers famously saved a touchdown when he dove and knocked Urlacher on the knee to trip him up at Green Bay’s 45-yard line.
Rodgers had whiffed trying to tackle Charles Tillman following an interception in the regular-season finale, but Rodgers came up big this time. The Bears wound up not scoring.
“I don’t get paid to make tackles, but that was one of my best plays of the game,” Rodgers said. “It was a terrible throw. Once I threw it, I started sprinting. I was hoping I could catch up to him. When he turned to face me, I had to make a stand. I figured I’d make the tackle or he’d score.”
Todd Collins was the first to back up Jay Cutler; it didn’t go well
Caleb Hanie wasn’t Chicago’s first choice to backup an injured Cutler, who had sprained his MCL. Todd Collins checked into the game at quarterback for Chicago on the second offensive series of the second half when it became apparent Cutler’s knee would keep him out. Collins and the Bears went 3-and-out after Urlacher’s interception, including what looked like a Nick Collins interception that was overturned on replay. Collins had one more series, another three-and-out that nearly ended with a Tramon Williams interception, and Hanie was in the game after that, starting in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Hanie had completed eight passes in his NFL career to that point. He’d later go 0-4 as a starter in 2011, throwing three touchdowns to nine interceptions. He did, however, get his first career touchdown pass in this game.
Caleb Hanie’s first touchdown capped a lightning-quick drive
Raji’s pick-6 put the Packers up 21-7, but the Bears immediately made it interesting, needing just 1:19 to fly down the field for a touchdown. Hanie’s 35-yard touchdown to Earl Bennett took advantage of some confusion in the secondary, and then Green Bay went nowhere when it got the ball back. That meant a punt to Hester with still 2:53 on the clock. But Masthay’s boot was a good one, and the Bears had to start at the 29-yard line.
On third-and-9 from the 30, Greg Olsen caught a 10-yard pass. Hanie was flagged for an iffy intentional-grounding penalty thereafter, but the Bears converted on fourth-and-1 before facing fourth-and-5 from the Packers’ 29-yard line. That led into the game-ending interception.
Aaron Rodgers had a scary injury moment in the fourth quarter, and a future teammate was to blame
Future Packers teammate Julius Peppers administered a hit on Rodgers in the head that drew a personal-foul flag in the fourth. Rodgers had suffered two concussions earlier in the year and got to his feet with blood in his mouth and on his chin strap. Still, he continued, even though the drive ultimately stalled. On the next series, Hanie threw the ball to Raji.
An American Idol as about to emerge from Milwaukee
The Fox telecast of the game teased the forthcoming episode of the 10th season of American Idol, specifically featuring some auditions in Milwaukee. Those auditions were first held at the Bradley Center, with finals at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Among those who emerged from the auditions was a North Carolina man named Scotty McCreery, who went on to win the season. McCreery’s debut album was released later in 2011 and was certified platinum and he now has four top-10 albums on the Billboard chart in the United States.
The Packers nearly faced the Jets in the Super Bowl
The Packers, of course played Aaron Rodgers’ future team, the Steelers, in Super Bowl XLV. They nearly played Rodgers other future team. Pittsburgh took a 24-0 lead on the Jets in the 2010 AFC championship game, but New York pulled to within 24-19 with 3:06 to play. Pittsburgh was able to survive with some big conversions on the next series, and the Jets have not been back to the playoffs since.
Charles Woodson gave a famous quote, but maybe not the one you’re thinking
Charles Woodson’s decorated tenure with the Packers included the Super Bowl run, and he’s known for uttering the line, “It’s the same old Jay,” after Jay Cutler threw four interceptions in a Packers win in 2012. But that was two years later in Week 2 of the 2012 season after the Packers smothered the Bears 23-10 on Thursday Night Football.
After this game, his line was about another Chicago celebrity.
“The President don’t want to come watch the Super Bowl? Guess what? We’re gonna see him!”
President Barack Obama, a noted Bears fan, had said he intended to see the Super Bowl in person if the Bears won the game. Instead, the Packers made plans to make the customary visit to the White House afforded to Super Bowl champions. The players in the locker room began chanting “White House!” to Woodson’s now-immortalized line.