This post is sponsored by Sprint.

Even as we hand out the first Game Ball of the Week to Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, I should point out that he did play his part in the penalty-fest and was flagged for intentional grounding on the play before WR James Jones's fumble.

Otherwise his stat line was fantastic. And you can forget about including the INT, since it was a Hail Mary at the end of the first half and not some bad decision.

There's nothing good about penalties, but it also disrupts the offensive flow. The players get frustrated, and the play book becomes limited as they need to gain more yardage quicker. Despite the avalanche of penalties for movement and holding, Rodgers kept the team together and led them on three drives that ate up huge chunks of time. The Packers held the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer then the Bears. 

It wasn't an exciting night passing, but Rodgers did what he had to do: take what the defense gives you. A lot of passes to WR Donald Driver, who was always open on short routes, and dump off passes to RB Brandon Jackson. The Bears two deep coverage took away the deep part of the field, and eliminated WR Greg Jennings as an option on most plays.

And his usual well timed runs, one for a first down and another for a TD.