Panthers - 35 :: Packers - 31
The Packers found themselves trailing 21-10 at halftime, but they made a comeback in the third quarter. Mason Crosby kicked a 44-yard field goal, and Aaron Rodgers found Donald Lee for a 5-yard touchdown. Rodgers then found Greg Jennings in the end zone on the two-point conversion try to tie the game up at 21 heading into the fourth quarter.
Jennings caught another big pass from Rodgers, this time from 21 yards out for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 28-21 lead. DeAngelo Williams scored on a 1-yard run only a couple minutes later, setting up a dramatic finish. Mason Crosby kicked a 19-yard field goal with only 2 minutes left in the game, putting the Packers on top 31-28 after a 16-play, 9-minute drive. It seemed like they were going to come away with a victory, but Carolina had other ideas.
Following a 45-yard kick return, the Panthers got all the way down to the 1-yard line thanks to a 54-yard reception by Steve Smith. Williams punched it in from a yard out for his fourth touchdown of the game, giving the Panthers a 35-31 lead. Aaron Rodgers would throw an interception on the second play of the Packers' next drive, essentially ending the game.
This was Acme Packing Company's reaction following the devastating loss:
Well, that's it, folks. At 5-7, you can consider this year's Packers team pretty much out of the playoffs. While they still have a viable shot (the division leader will only be 7-5 after tonight), this team simply isn't consistent enough to go on a run and take back the advantage they once had. If they can beat Chicago AND both Chicago and Minnesota have horrible meltdowns, then it's possible. But I wouldn't bet on it.
Bears - 14 :: Vikings - 34
The Bears actually led 7-0 in this game after the first quarter thanks to a 65-yard TD pass to Devin Hester. After that, though, this game was all Minnesota. Things fell apart for the Bears after they were stopped on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line. The Vikings got the ball and believe it or not, took only one play to score. Gus Frerotte hit Bernard Berrian for a 99-yard touchdown, leading to this game becoming a rout.
As you can imagine, the Daily Norseman was pretty happy following the game.
Breaking news story coming out of Chicago this evening. . .the Chicago Bears are no longer owned by the McCaskey family. It turns out that the Chicago Bears are now owned by Adrian Peterson.
And to all the Bear fans that laughed and scoffed when the Vikings signed Bernard Berrian this off-season. . .go see how hard Charles Tillman is laughing right now. That overrated schlub still has no idea where on earth Berrian went to. If Tillman wants to find him, he can start by watching highlights of the 11th 99-yard play in National Football League history. He may or may not actually appear in the frame, I'm not sure.
Windy City Gridiron, on the other hand, was upset with how inconsistent the Bears played.
There are inconsistent teams in the league. The NY Jets going from handing Tennessee their first loss of the season to getting beat handily by Denver. The Raiders beat up Denver and then go out and get blown up by the Chiefs. For my money though the Bears are the most inconsistent team during a game. Literally from drive to drive we don't know what team we are going to get and that is on both sides of the ball.
In Week 14, the Packers host the Texans, the Bears host the Jaguars, and the Vikings come to Detroit to play the Lions.