CHICAGO (AP) -Aaron Rodgers threw for 176 yards and two touchdown passes, and the Green Bay Packers took a 14-3 halftime lead over the Chicago Bears on Monday night in the coldest game on record at Soldier Field while trying to wipe their rivals out of playoff contention.
scoreless first quarter, Rodgers hit Greg Jennings midway through the second to break a scoreless tie and added a 17-yarder to Ryan Grant that made it 14-3 as the Packers heated up on a frigid night.
The gametime temperature was 2 degrees, a record low at Soldier Field, and the wind chill was a numbing minus-13. The big freeze came after the Bears (8-6) got some big breaks over the weekend, with NFC North leader Minnesota losing along with Dallas, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. That kept Chicago in the running for both the division title and a wild-card berth, but on a frozen field, both teams had trouble warming up.
A 37-3 loser at Lambeau Field last month, the Bears managed just 48 yards in the half. Brad Maynard booted two punts of 60 yards or more in the first quarter and the defense held its ground early on, but the Packers took control with Rodgers leading the way.
He was 16-for-24 in the half and got intercepted by Alex Brown near midfield after a blitzing Danieal Manning tipped the pass late in the first quarter, but the Bears went nowhere.
The Packers (5-9), who have lost four straight since that win over Chicago, then drove 91 yards to the end zone. Rodgers’ 7-yard pass to Jennings capped the drive, making it 7-0.
The Bears wasted little time cutting into the lead.
– the last 20 with Jarett Bush clutching his jersey – to set up a 31-yard field goal by Robbie Gould. It was the fourth return of 50 or more yards in the past three games for Manning.
After seeing their lead shrink to 7-3, the Packers saw Donald Driver get helped to the sideline with a knee injury after he crashed to the field lunging for a deep pass to start the next drive. He was expected to return, but while he got help, the Packers charged on, driving 58 yards to take a 14-3 lead.
Grant finished it with a 17-yard reception, running over Chicago’s Craig Steltz on the way to the end zone.
Chicago’s Charles Tillman injured his ankle late in the half, and his return was questionable.
The Bears haven’t won more than two in a row since the 2006 Super Bowl season, and even if they take this game and beat Houston on Sunday, there’s no guarantee they would make the playoffs. Minnesota would clinch the division with a win over the New York Giants, and the wild-card odds are even longer. The Bears would need Dallas to lose to or tie Philadelphia and have Tampa Bay lose to or tie Oakland.
which they blew late leads.
Their worst performance was at Green Bay.
The Packers limited the Bears to 234 yards of total offense that day while forging a three-way tie for the division lead, but they stumbled just as they entered the race and fell out of contention.
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