This week, I got to dive much farther into the "positive" tab of my GIF archive, as the Green Bay Packers soundly defeated the Chicago Bears by a score of 38-17. Here is a look at how I reacted to the major events of Sunday's game.
FIRST HALF
The Bears start out with the ball and come out running. Matt Forte gashes the Packers early and often on the drive, while Jay Cutler is slinging the ball around to Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett. Chicago eats up half of the first quarter and finishes the drive with the easiest touchdown ever to Brandon Marshall, and Packers fans are thinking "here we go again."
Then, the Packers come out firing in the no-huddle on their first drive. Back-to-back early throws from Aaron to Richard Rodgers, a couple of passes to Jordy Nelson, and a short Eddie Lacy touchdown have us all feeling like
On the next drive, the Bears move the ball again. We get a third-down stop, and on fourth and 1 from the Packers' 35, Jay Cutler fumbles the snap. Somehow, he is given a wide-open middle of the field and runs for a 16 yards, then picks up a ridiculous unnecessary roughness call on Sam Shields, who tapped him on the shoulder pads:
However, the Bears are held to a field goal as a third-down Cutler pass goes through Alshon Jeffery's hands.
The next drive features Nelson again, as he has three catches for 41 yards. After a lucky personal foul on the Bears that keeps the drive alive, Jordy's third catch of the drive is a perfect fade in the corner of the end zone to give the Packers a 14-10 lead:
But the defense gives up another 10-play drive that is finished off with a Jeffery touchdown.
I'm turned awy from the TV briefly as the Bears kick off, but when I look up, the ball is rolling on the ground after a surprise onside kick attempt:
But Sean Richardson recovers, Eddie Lacy picks up a couple of first downs, and Rodgers floats a gorgeous touchdown pass to Randall Cobb to put Green Bay back on top 21-17!
With the clock winding down in the first half, the Bears drive yet again to the 9-yard line and stop the clock with 14 seconds to go. After an incomplete pass, Jay Cutler throws a pass in the middle of the field, short of the goal line to Martellus Bennett, who eventually hauls it in...but is ruled short of the goal line as time expires on the game clock!
A review fails to overturn the call, and we're still at 21-17 going into the half with the Packers getting the ball first.
SECOND HALF
The first Packers drive of the second half deserves a GIF of the best play of the game (which didn't count because of a holding penalty). Aaron Rodgers did this, which was cancelled out, before Mason Crosby's 53-yard field goal made the score 24-17:
On the ensuing Bears drive, Tramon Williams reads Josh Morgan's route perfectly, breaking on the ball and deflecting it into the waiting arms of Clay Matthews, who returns it 40 yards to the Bears' 35.
No biggie - a couple of Lacy runs lead to a ridiculous catch by Jordy in the end zone. It's 31-17 now. Things are starting to get ugly, as the Bears have no ability to stop Rodgers and company.
Next, Cutler totally miscommunicates with Brandon Marshall, who runs a stop-and-go, while Jay clearly expected him to cut back towards the line of scrimmage. Sam Shields records an easy pick and a big return, but all we can think of is Jay being Jay:
With Shields returning the ball inside the Bears' 15, the dagger is coming. Though the Bears get a stop on third down, a holding penalty on the Bears during the field goal attempt sets up another short Randall Cobb touchdown, his fourth in the last two games at Soldier Field. At this point, it's all over but the crying, as the 38-17 score holds up the rest of the way.
SUMMARY OF THIS GAME IN ONE GIF
Yes, Aaron Rodgers was the Hulk on Sunday.
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