Packers Too Much as They Bury Bears

Don Majkowski and the Green Bay Packers, the masters of miracle comebacks, still need more magic to cap their longshot season with a longshot trip to the playoffs.

Majkowski and the Packers did their part Sunday, beating the Chicago Bears, 40-28, with an offense so sharp that punter Don Bracken set foot on the field only to hold for field goals and extra points.

And Cleveland chipped in, beating Minnesota, 23-17, in overtime to leave the Vikings and Packers in a tie for the NFC Central lead at 9-6.

But Minnesota has the better division record, so the Packers will have to win at Dallas next Sunday and the Vikings will have to lose a week from tonight against Cincinnati if Green Bay is to win the Central title.

The Packers also have an outside shot at a wild-card spot.

“Regardless of what happens, I’m really proud of these guys,” said Coach Lindy Infante, whose Packers were 4-12 a year ago.

“The confidence is there now. We’re definitely a contender now,” Majkowski said. “We have to keep our fingers crossed and see what happens. Hopefully we’ll get a little help.”

As it has been all year, Majkowski was the catalyst.

He threw for one score and ran for two more, Keith Woodside had a 68-yard touchdown run and 116 rushing yards and Chris Jacke contributed four field goals for Green Bay.

The Packers rolled up 456 total yards, 217 on the ground.

“We went into the game with a lot of respect for the Bears’ defense,” Infante said. “I was shocked we were able to do as much as we did.”

One thing they didn’t do was punt, after kicking 17 times the last two weeks. Or, as Chicago Coach Mike Ditka put it, “Any time a team doesn’t punt the ball once on you, you’ve got a problem.”

The victory guaranteed the Packers their first winning season since 1978 and marked their most victories since 1972. It also was the first time in eight years they’ve swept the season series from Chicago.

The Bears lost for the fifth consecutive time, their longest losing streak in 11 years. It also ensured that Chicago, which is 6-9 after losing nine of its last 11, will finish under .500 for the first time since 1982.

“Take all your hurts and put them together and you can’t even imagine how much I hurt,” Ditka said.

Green Bay’s win was the product of offensive domination--the Packers scored on six of their eight possessions.