Packers liked their chances after Cutler left
It didn't matter that Bears backup quarterback Todd Collins performed poorly enough in place of injured Jay Cutler — that it took him less than a quarter of football to get benched.
The only important thing to Green Bay nose tackle B.J. Raji was that Cutler was out of Sunday's NFC championship game by early in the second half.
“If No. 6 (Cutler) wasn't in the game, I liked our chances,” said Raji, who had a Pick-6 in the Packers' 21-14 win.
Cutler injured his knee, apparently, in the first half. The Packers weren't sure when it happened.
“We had a lot of guys that got some good shots on him,” Raji said. “A.J. (Hawk) was the first guy to mention it coming out of the locker room at halftime that Cutler is a little woozy and we need to get back on him.”
Cutler quarterbacked the second half's first series, which ended with a three-and-out. His incomplete pass on third-and-4 from the Bears 46 was his final play of the day, and it wasn't a great day.
Collins was last seen throwing 5 interceptions against hapless Carolina in Week 5. He took over from Cutler (6 of 14, 80 yards, 31.8 passer efficiency rating) after Brian Urlacher's interception and return gave the Bears the ball at their own 45 with 8:50 left in the third.
By the end of the third quarter, Collins was replaced by Caleb Hanie. Collins attempted 4 passes, completing none. Officials initially credited Nick Collins with intercepting Todd Collins' third pass, but the Bears challenged the call, which was reversed when replays showed the ball hit the ground.
“There was a certain way that we felt we should play (Collins),” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “With Hanie coming into the game, we were a little more cautious of his mobility based on what we knew about him. We still called our defenses. We didn't have to add anything or get out of any calls when he was in there playing.”
“We just knew that we had to focus more on the run (when Cutler went out) because (Collins) wouldn't be taking shots downfield,” Raji said. “Obviously you don't want your (backup) quarterback just launching the ball in the air.”
Hanie's 32-yard pass to Johnny Knox set up Chester Taylor's 1-yard touchdown run, pulling the Bears within 14-7 early in the fourth. But after a Tim Masthay punt pinned the Bears deep, the 6-foot-2, 337-pound Raji intercepted Hanie and waltzed into the end zone from 15 yards out, extending his arm with the ball in his hand nearly the entire way, before doing a victory jiggle and dance.
“We've been using him on goal line so I guess now we're going to have to throw him the ball,” McCarthy joked of the 2009 first-rounder. “He's a special athlete.”
The Packers might have discovered another one in cornerback Sam Shields. An undrafted rookie out of Miami, Shields had 2 interceptions and was also credited with a sack and forced fumble.
Shields' interception at the Green Bay 12 in the final minute sealed the Packers' third straight road win in the playoffs.
As on his first interception, when he caught the ball above his head on the Bears sideline, Shields was covering Johnny Knox.
“The first pick, I stayed up over the top, got my head around and went to the highest point,” Shields said. “The second pick, I was the man underneath and undercut the ball.”
Now the kid no NFL team besides Green Bay believed in is Super Bowl-bound.
“I came in with a chip on my shoulder,” Shields said.
It's served him well.