Bears vs Packers: Grading Aaron Rodgers and Sunday Night's 3 Biggest Stars

The Green Bay Packers smoked the Chicago Bears 35-21 to wrap up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs last night. 

Thanks to some outstanding performances from their stars, the Packers made improving to 14-1 look easy and eliminated the Bears from the playoffs in the process. 

Here is how I graded the stars from each of the teams in last night's contest: The three guys with the most amount of hype surrounding them entering the game all had an effect on its outcome. Two turned in great performances, while one missed a chance to distinguish himself.

Aaron Rodgers

I know this will come as a shock to no one, but Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was incredible on Sunday night against the Chicago Bears. The 28-year-old led the Packers to a 35-21 win, but that score is misleading because of just how dominant he was.

Rodgers finished the night completing 21-of-29 (72.4 percent) for 283 yards, with five touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating on the night was 142.7 in what was yet another remarkable performance. 

Rodgers had an answer for everything the Bears threw at him on the night, even running for 18 yards on four carries when protection broke down. He completed passes to eight different receivers and averaged a ridiculous 9.8 yards per attempt.

To say he led what was an incredibly efficient Green Bay offense would be a ridiculous understatement. 

Last night, Rodgers was exactly what he has been all season: quite simply the best quarterback in the NFL.

Grade: A

Brian Urlacher

Urlacher's defense was supposed to be able to give the Packers fits a week after Green Bay looked vulnerable in a 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16. That didn't happen, as the Bears allowed Rodgers to pass on them at will.

Urlacher finished the night with just three tackles and at one point he was juked out of his socks by Rodgers on a scramble. While the veteran linebacker wasn't terribly awful on his own, he is the leader of a defense that surrendered five touchdown passes and let Green Bay's quarterback get far too comfortable in the pocket. 

When a team gets smoked, the responsibility has to go with its leaders, therefore Urlacher gets low marks for last night's loss.

Grade: D

Jordy Nelson

I'm not sure if you can label Jordy Nelson a star yet, but man he's getting close to that designation. The Kansas State product has emerged as one of Rodgers' favorite targets and since Greg Jennings has been out with an injury, he has stepped up and taken his place admirably. 

Last night, the 26-year-old continued to shine, hauling in six passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. That includes a gorgeous play where Rodgers hit him for picture-perfect 55-yard score. Nelson later added a two-yard touchdown grab early in the fourth quarter to all but seal the game for the Packers.

Nelson is a legitimate threat to score over the top, but has the hands and route-running ability to also be a solid possession guy. When you combine those skills with Rodgers' pinpoint accuracy, the result it is a dangerous combination.

Rodgers targeted Nelson seven times last night for six completions. That's outstanding. Nelson had a great night, but some of the credit for that has to go to his outstanding quarterback, so that holds him back just a touch. 

Grade: A-