Why They Lost: Green Bay Falls Short On “Favre Night”
By Kenn Korb
Nov 26, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Chicago Bears strong safety Ryan Mundy (21) makes an interception against Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (17) during the second half for a NFL game on Thanksgiving at Lambeau Field. The Bears defeat the Packers 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Give It Away Now
In most weeks since Aaron Rodgers took over for the Packers at quarterback, the team has tended to be on the right end of the turnover battle.
This week, that was not the case.
Green Bay gave the ball away to Chicago twice on Thursday night; one fumble and one interception.
The fumble came early on, with Green Bay up 7-0 and driving the ball when Lacy put it on the ground. That killed the rhythm of the team while giving Chicago new life and excellent field position which led to a score. It also got Lacy benched for awhile, which further damaged his (and the team’s) rhythm.
The interception came late, with Green Bay driving the ball to potentially take the lead back. Rodgers threw to where Davante Adams was supposed to be on a slant route, but through a combination of bad route-running and a defender bumping him Adams wasn’t at his expected spot, leading to an easy INT for Tracy Porter.
These were bad enough, but the damage could have been alleviated had the Packers defense managed to force a couple turnovers of their own.
There are two specific plays I have in mind here; one a possible fumble and the other a possible interception.
The INT was early on, where Quinten Rollins had a perfect shot to grab a badly tossed pass but just couldn’t manage to bring it in. There was also a fumble by Cutler later in the game, but Green Bay didn’t manage to come away with that either.
It has been a cliche for awhile now that turnovers are the biggest difference in any game, but it rings truer here than most instances. Had any one of those four aforementioned plays gone differently, the outcome here is likely different as well.
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