Über das Forum » The Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North

CHICAGO (AP) —and helped knock Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of playoff contention.They could not have asked for a sweeter scenario.Mitchell Trubisky threw for two touchdowns Womens Akiem Hicks Jersey , Eddie Jackson ended Rodgers’ NFL-record streak without an interception and Chicago clinched the division with a 24-17 victory over the Packers on Sunday.The Bears (10-4) secured their first playoff appearance since the 2010 team won the NFC North. And even better for them, they did it with a rare victory over their heated rivals.“We’ve accomplished a lot,” Trubisky said. “But I think I’m most proud of just the type of guy that we have in our locker room, the culture that we’ve kind of created. We know that nobody really believed in us on the outside in the preseason — or even throughout the season. But we knew what type of team we had. And we knew we were just gonna keep getting better every single week.”The loss coupled with Minnesota’s 41-17 victory over Miami keeps the Packers out of the postseason for the second year in a row.Chicago had dropped nine of 10 against Green Bay (5-8-1). But the Bears secured their first trip to the playoffs in eight years with their seventh win in eight games .For a team that came into the season with four straight last-place finishes, it’s quite a turnaround. But with the hiring of coach Matt Nagy and trade for Khalil Mack in a busy offseason, the Bears made a huge jump.“You could feel it all year long that we knew we had the talent,” Nagy said.The Bears blew a 20-point lead in a season-opening loss at Green Bay, with an injured Rodgers rallying the Packers. But they’ve been climbing since.Trubisky gave the Bears a 21-14 lead early in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard pass to Trey Burton in the left side of the end zone.After stopping the Packers, Tarik Cohen returned a punt 44 yards to the 15. But he stepped out of bounds a yard short on a third-and-5 at the 10 when he easily could have gotten the first down.That forced the Bears to settle for a field goal by Cody Parkey, making it 24-14 with 6:43 remaining.The Packers then drove to the 9, but on third down, Jackson picked off Rodgers, ending his streak at 402 passes.The throw over the middle was intended for Jimmy Graham near the goal line. But the ball got tipped to Jackson, who had to be helped off the field with a sprained right ankle after his leg bent awkwardly as he tried to slide on the return. The interception was his sixth of the season.Mason Crosby kicked a field goal in the closing seconds to make it a seven-point game. But Chicago recovered the onside kick.The Packers are 1-1 since offensive coordinator Joe Philbin replaced fired coach Mike McCarthy on an interim basis.“The expectation is competing for championships,” Rodgers said. “It’s a good football team. But like I told some of the guys Bobby Massie Jersey , I look forward to the battles over the years. I like our chances in this division moving forward.”WORST TO FIRSTThe Bears, who finished in fourth place in the NFC North last season, completed a turnaround that make for 15 of the past 16 seasons with at least one NFL team finishing in first place in its division the season after finishing in last or tied for last place.And Nagy became the Bears’ first rookie coach with 10 wins since George Halas in 1920, the inaugural season for a franchise then known as the Decatur Staleys.LEADING BEARSMack had 2½ sacks and Leonard Floyd added two. The defense came through with another strong effort after the Monsters of the Midway shut down Jared Goff and the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams the previous week.Trubisky was 20 of 28 for 235 yards with a 120.4 rating. It was a big improvement over the previous week when he matched a career high with three interceptions after missing back-to-back games because of a right shoulder injury.Cohen caught a touchdown pass. Jordan Howard ran for a TD, and the Bears improved to 7-1 at home for the first time since 2005.“Guys grinded, gritted it out, especially toward the end,” Mack said. “We just want to keep this feeling going.”RODGERS CONTAINEDRodgers said his groin tightened on him at the end of the first half. He finished 25 of 42 for 274 yards with his second interception of the season and failed to throw a touchdown for the first time this year.Davante Adams had eight receptions for 119 yards.The Packers fell to 0-7 on the road with their ninth straight loss away from home, and their eight-game win streak at Soldier Field, counting the postseason, came to an end.“Nobody anticipated this happening,” Clay Matthews said. “In reality, we’re not getting blown out every week. I’m trying to find a silver lining, that’s all you can do at this point of the season.”INJURIES:Packers: RT Bryan Bulaga (knee) missed his second game in a row, while DL Kenny Clark sat out with an elbow injury. … RB Aaron Jones left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. … WR Randall Cobb was evaluated for a concussion following a hard hit by Jackson late in the game.Bears: LB Aaron Lynch left with an elbow injury in the third quarter.UP NEXTPackers: Visit New York Jets on Dec. 23.Bears: Visit San Francisco on Dec. 23. LAKE FOREST http://www.thebearslockerroom.com/authentic-jordan-howard-jersey , Ill. (AP) — Linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Eddie Jackson and other Chicago Bears defensive players felt ready to begin hitting last week when organized team activities ended.A weekend around the likes of Dick Butkus, Doug Plank, Richard Dent and other Bears greats at the franchise’s 100th anniversary celebration hardly doused those flames.They’ll have to wait six weeks, but the Bears started wrapping up offseason work on Tuesday with mandatory minicamp by saying they’re already prepared to begin making up for the way last season ended.“That first-round game, that’s just fuel to our fire,” Jackson said after the first of three minicamp practices. “We came up short. We’re just ready to get back at it.“You could tell everyone was here 100 percent for OTAs. So that just shows you that everyone is on board and we’re just ready to chase greatness.”Everyone, perhaps, except the kicking candidates.Elliott Fry, Chris Blewitt and Eddy Pineiro each missed in succession from 42 yards during Tuesday’s practice, a yard shorter than Cody Parkey missed from to end the Bears’ playoff loss to the Eagles.“For today, we can’t have that,” coach Matt Nagy said. “We are going to figure this thing out. But 0-for-3 today, no good.”A positive going forward is their team’s overall health. Almost every Bears player is back for the minicamp, which ends Thursday.Injured receiver Anthony Miller (shoulder) Womens Eddie Jackson Jersey , tight end Trey Burton (hernia surgery) and rookie Emanuel Hall (hernia surgery) are out, but are all expected back for training camp.Jackson returned after he missed time last week when someone stepped on his heel, and tackle Bobby Massie returned earlier after missing time in OTAs with a neck injury.The defense continues to try to get down different terminology under new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.“I will say we’re certainly at that point right now where our guys are ready,” Nagy said. “They’re ready to put the pads on.“They’re sick and tired of me saying, ‘don’t you get close to that quarterback, don’t tip the ball, don’t grab jerseys, don’t do that.”Tuesday’s practice came with more Bears alumni around. A group of 20 watched current players who were a bit in awe of them last weekend.Defensive players expressed everything from gratification to shock to inspiration after visiting with past Bears greats.“You want to kind of mimic that,” cornerback Kyle Fuller said.Smith spent time taking tips from Butkus and linebacker Otis Wilson.“Pretty much Butkus was like, ‘Just be violent. By all means be violent.’ That was his main thing,” Smith said. “And pretty much Otis, from the ’85 team, it was more saying the same thing: ‘get the quarterback, knock him out,’ stuff like that. It was very similar.”Jackson was on a panel with safeties Plank Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey , Gary Fencik and Mike Brown, and couldn’t believe it when he heard Plank once tackled a woman who at a public appearance wanted to challenge him.“The story about him tackling the woman — that was like one of the craziest things I ever heard,” Jackson said. “We thought he, like, either gave a love tap, but we heard he really tackled her. I couldn’t believe it. And everybody vouched for the story.”Pass rusher Khalil Mack appreciated listening to franchise sacks leader Richard Dent offer advice on how to use his hands differently against blockers.“It definitely gives you a confidence boost,” Mack said. “But just being a player and being a leader on the team, you understand that we could talk all day. It’s ultimately about going out and showing our actions and balling as one unit, as one team and as one family.”The lesson Nagy said they all took from the convention and former players was unity.“It was a brotherhood, it was a family, it was a bond,” Nagy said. “It’s not about being better than any other team that was here, it’s about just carrying on that tradition.”