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Penalties do in Packers

If games were called on account of first-drive dominance, then the Bears would've been down for the count by 8 p.m. Monday.

Since ESPN isn't in the habit of returning millions of dollars in advertising dough due to a truncated broadcast, Green Bay couldn't claim victory after shredding the Bears for 60 yards and a score on its opening possession.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers found nothing but open receivers as he hit all 4 of his passes for 62 yards and a score.

But over the final 50 minutes of their 20-17 last-second victory, the Bears somehow limited the Packers to 10 points even as the visitors zoomed up and down Soldier Field.

"We showed a lot of character," said Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. "We didn't play pretty for most of the game, but we made plays when we had to."

Urlacher's strip of Green Bay wide receiver James Jones at midfield with 2:19 to play set up Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal with 4 seconds left.

And, yes, this win meant plenty to the Bears - even if they claimed during the week that the rivalry means more to the fans.

When the Bears walked off the field and into their locker room after the Detroit win, they were quiet. Somber, almost.

But after knocking off Green Bay, there were handshakes and shoulder-pad pounds and smiles and even a few whoops of joy.

"We really didn't know how good we were until tonight," said Bears linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Actually, the Bears didn't really find out until late in the night.

Rodgers hit 11 of his first 12 passes for 138 yards as Green Bay built a 10-0 lead against a defense straining to find any way to slow him down.

The Bears went so far as to stand up Urlacher and Julius Peppers over the center in a vain attempt to blitz Rodgers before he could get off a throw.

But even though Green Bay rolled up 379 total yards and held the ball for nearly 36 minutes, it essentially matched the Bears' plan to allow the Pack to move in dribs and drabs instead of biting off huge chunks as they did initially.

"The thing is, that team is GOOD," said linebacker Lance Briggs, who posted 9 solo tackles to share game-high honors with Urlacher. "We thought it was best to get back into some zone coverage to play against them. I think scheme-wise our coaches deserve a lot of credit."

The Bears figured out ways to slow them down when they neared the red zone. Or, at least, they figured out how to draw holding penalties at crucial junctures.

In the middle quarters, the Packers ruined two drives into the red zone with a total of three holding calls - including one that negated a touchdown pass.

"Right now we sit alone atop the NFC North," Briggs said. "This is where we want to be and we'll have to fight to stay there."

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