Bears vs. Packers: Score, Twitter Reaction for 2015 Thanksgiving Day Football

This is not how it was supposed to go for the Green Bay Packers.

On a night when the team retired legendary quarterback Brett Favre's number and current superstar Aaron Rodgers got another chance at a Chicago Bears team he was 13-3 against in his career, the underdogs came into Lambeau Field and ruined the script with a 17-13 victory.

The Packers had a chance to win the game on the final drive, but Rodgers threw an incompletion in the end zone on fourth down. Katie Sharp of Sports Illustrated noted it was a career first for the signal-caller:

SportsCenter pointed out it was also a career first for opposing quarterback Jay Cutler:

Cutler threw for 200 yards and a touchdown and avoided the crippling turnover that often cost him in the past against his archrival. In fact, it was Rodgers who threw an interception in the closing minutes and cost Green Bay a chance to take the lead.

The Packers have now lost four of their last five, and Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times had unfortunate news for Cheeseheads everywhere: 

"

Fun fact: The Packers aren't very good this year.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) November 27, 2015"

It was Green Bay that scored first when Eddie Lacy took a Rodgers pass 25 yards to the end zone (although the running back almost fumbled as he crossed the goal line). The NFL shared the highlight:

A Rodgers interception from earlier in the possession was wiped out on a questionable illegal contact call. David Mazza of NBC 4 in Columbus did not agree with the whistle:

Chicago bounced back with two touchdown drives in the second quarter. Cutler found tight end Zach Miller for a three-yard score in the middle of the quarter, and Jeremy Langford ran it in from the 1-yard line near the end of the half to give the Bears the lead. Rob Demovsky of ESPN NFL Nation summarized the concern in Green Bay:

Even with a 14-13 Packers deficit, the fans at Lambeau were thrilled during halftime when Green Bay retired Favre's No. 4 on the stadium's facade. The legendary quarterback won a Super Bowl with the Packers and threw for 61,655 yards and 442 touchdowns with the team from 1992-2007.

Even Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr was in attendance. The NFL Network shared the crowd's reaction:

Once the second half started, Chicago missed a golden opportunity to extend the lead because of self-inflicted penalties. Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times described the concern from the Bears' perspective:

Jen Lada of ESPN had a different reaction:

Green Bay missed its own chance to retake the lead on its next possession after it drove within scoring range but took a loss on a poor snap. More concerning for the Packers was the fact Rodgers ran off the field favoring his arm after he recovered the loose ball. Around the NFL discussed the scene: 

Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shared one potential plan:

With the Packers worried about Rodgers, the Bears drove inside the 2-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter but failed to get in the end zone. They settled for a Robbie Gould field goal and extended the lead to 17-13, although Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune pointed to one positive development for Cutler's offense:

Rodgers started the ensuing drive for the Packers, and it looked like he had Randall Cobb for a long touchdown on an encroachment penalty. But the officials blew the play dead. Gabe Neitzel of ESPN Milwaukee provided the reasoning:

Green Bay failed to score after the missed chance, but Chicago did not convert after it drove into Packers territory. Rodgers had the ball with less than five minutes remaining facing a four-point deficit.

The four-time Pro Bowler scrambled twice for 28 yards and set his team up near midfield, but Tracy Porter picked off Rodgers to halt Green Bay's drive. Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com weighed in on the development:

Chicago had a chance on the next possession to essentially run out the clock if it converted a 4th-and-1, but coach John Fox elected to punt and give the ball back to Rodgers with approximately three minutes left. Andy Glockner of the Cauldron reacted to the decision:

Naturally, Rodgers wasted little time driving inside the 10-yard line and making Fox's decision look like the absolute wrong one.

Just when it looked like Rodgers was going to be the hero, the Bears defense shut it down in the end zone and forced an incompletion on the decisive fourth down. Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated praised the victors:

The win kept Chicago's faint postseason hopes alive and put the Minnesota Vikings back into first place in the NFC North.

What's Next?

The Packers were tied with Minnesota atop the division at 7-3 coming into Thursday's contest, and they have a golden opportunity to get back atop the NFC North in the coming weeks. The next three games come against the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders, who are a combined 11-21 on the season.

Green Bay is battling for postseason position and must take advantage of that favorable stretch, especially after Thursday's loss.

As for the Bears, reaching the playoffs may still seem like a long shot at 5-6, but they do have winnable games to close the season. They play the San Francisco 49ers, Washington, Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions to finish the season.

Only the Vikings have a winning record among that group, which means Chicago can at least theoretically string together some wins to finish the year and perhaps make a postseason charge.

Postgame Reaction

With four losses in five tries, the Packers were looking for solutions in the aftermath. Coach Mike McCarthy discussed the overall outlook, per Drew Olson of ESPN Milwaukee: “We didn’t play well enough to win. We’ve got to demand more as coaches… There is a pattern here. We need to adjust it.”

At least he didn’t seem too concerned about a large problem, per Olson: “There is no big ‘something is broke here.’ It’s the little things.”

As for Rodgers, he couldn’t get his team into the end zone on that final drive. Perhaps it was because of his injury that he talked about, per the Packers: "I lost feeling in my hand for a good portion of the third and fourth quarter."

He didn’t use it as an excuse, though, per Olson: “We’ve all got to look in the mirror and play better, myself included.”

On the other side, Campbell said there was noticeable buzz in the Bears locker room because they felt it was a “homecoming game” setup with Favre’s number retirement. If that was the case, Chicago didn’t play the role of gracious guests.

Cutler’s daughter was actually born days before Thursday’s contest, and after the win he credited quarterback coach Dowell Loggains for getting him ready so quickly, per Adam Hoge of WGN Radio.

Cutler was impressive, but the defense won the game for the Bears. Safety Chris Prosinski said “the guy is a genius” when discussing defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, per Hoge.

That genius may just get the Bears back into the playoff picture with a few more formidable outings.