I said before the game, if McCarthy comes out passing, they’ll be fine, and if he comes out running, it will be a close game that can go either way. He passed on the first drive, and they scored a TD. They were up 14-0 at half, which could have been 21-0 or 28-0, but they ran on first downs. In the second half, they were run-first, and did not score offensively. Their TD was an interception return. This is typical McCarthy, making no attempt to score in the second half and trying to hold on. They were able to hold on against the bears in the last game of the season, the Eagles, and today, but could have lost any of those games due to this strategy. All were games that could have been convincing wins with an aggressive gameplan. They had this gameplan against the Falcons the first 2-1/2 quarters, and built a big lead. When will he ever get it? In addition, the bears are great against the run and can’t stop the pass, and the Packers can’t run and are great passing! McCarthy cost them all 6 losses this year with this idiotic strategy, and nearly cost them those other games.
People think the bear defense stopped the Packer offense. It was McCarthy. He didn’t try to score for the last 2-3/4 of the game, playing into the bears’ strength by running the ball. He did throw some bombs, but went away from the 15- to 20-yd passes that the bears couldn’t stop. His first-down runs led to the Urlacher interception vs. the game-clinching score and many other stalled drives. It’s funny how the Packers didn’t score by running in Week 17 against the bears, scored and moved at will the first half against Philly–then stalled in the second half when they ran, scored at will against Atlanta by passing on almost 75% of their plays the first 2-1/2 quarters, then scored easily against the bears when playing pass-first early but then stalled by running after that. The common denominator is not a defense stopping them, but McCarthy’s idiotic gameplans stopping them. Running means you won’t score, and the Packers are not good at running! They score at will when they pass, but he doesn’t get this. This is why Rodgers’ rating was so poor. You could see how effective he was when they were in a pass-first offense early. He, Favre, and bear opponents will always look great in a pass-first offense and can look bad in a run-first. You’d think coaches would get this after 25 years!! I heard some stat after the bear game that I believe said Rodgers’ QB rating in the playoffs this year when he throws the ball at least 15 yards is a league-leading 128 or something like that. Those are the passes that were killing the bears.
Half the Packer starters are on I.R. and the bears haven’t had an injury all year except for Hunter Hillenmeyer. This game, with all the injuries, on the road, against a completely healthy team, could have been a rout if McCarthy had a clue. I repeat–the bears didn’t stop the Packers, the Packers stopped themselves.