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CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Bears may have been the hottest team in the NFL, but Soldier Field is Brett Favre's home away from home. Favre passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to their eighth straight win here, a 20-12 victory over the Bears, and into a tie for first place in the NFC Central. "It's a huge win, one that we needed," Favre said. "To go on the road and beat a team that is leading the division is just huge for us. A major confidence builder." It is no surprise that it was Favre who cooled off the Bears (6-2), who were riding a six-game winning streak and coming off a pair of miracle come-from-behind overtime victories over San Francisco and Cleveland. A three-time NFL Most Valuable Player, Favre is 9-1 in 10 career starts here and his 38 touchdown passes against the Bears are his most vs. any team. Ironically in his only loss here in 1993, Favre threw for a career-high 402 yards. "Brett Favre certainly made throws in critical spots that hurt us and moved the ball," Bears coach Dick Jauron said. Overall, the Packers (6-2) have won 13 of the last 15 meetings from the Bears. Favre, who completed 19-of-32 passes, hit Bill Schroeder with a 41-yard touchdown late in the second quarter and connected with Antonio Freeman on a nine-yard scoring play in the third quarter, staking the Packers to a 17-9 lead. Schroeder returned after missing one game with a sprained ankle and had four catches for 100 yards. "I would not say it (ankle) was 100 percent for this game, but I tuned it out," Schroeder said. "I tried to do the things I was used to doing week after week. I took every snap in practice on Friday and it felt good. I'm sure tomorrow it will be sore but it feels good with a win and I'm sure it would really be throbbing if we lost." Chicago failed to reach the end zone, settling for four field goals by Paul Edinger. "We kept them out of the end zone," Packers coach Mike Sherman said. "If those were touchdowns instead of field goals, it would have been a different outcome." The Bears reached the Green Bay 15 in the final minute, but a bid for a third straight fourth-quarter rally fizzled when running back James Allen dropped a short pass near the first-down marker on a 4th-and-4 play with 39 seconds left. "They had a last minute drive and if they score they have a chance to put it into overtime," said Packers defensive tackle Santana Dotson. "We didn't want it to go into overtime." Last week, the Bears scored two touchdowns in the last 28 seconds of regulation -- the second on a 34-yard "Hail Mary" pass from Shane Matthews to Allen with no time remaining to tie the Browns before safety Mike Brown scored on a 16-yard interception in overtime. Brown scored on a 33-yard interception return 16 seconds into overtime in a 37-31 win over San Francisco on October 28. In that game, the Bears rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit. Matthews orchestrated both of those rallies, but Jauron opted to start quarterback Jim Miller, who suffered a hip pointer in the October 28 game against San Francisco. Miller completed 28-of-47 passes for 201 yards. "We didn't make enough plays to win the game," Jauron said. "Certainly not enough chunks of yards on offense. It was a struggle. We knew it would be a struggle." Green Bay geared its defense to stopping Anthony Thomas and held the rookie back to just 45 yards on 22 carries. He had rushed for 411 yards in his previous three games. "In the NFL, to win a football game, you are going to have to run when you want to run, not whenever they allow you to run," said Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop. "We weren't stubborn with it, I don't think. We just came out on the losing end." Meanwhile, Green Bay's Ahman Green rushed for 93 yards on just 18 carries. Chicago dominated the first quarter, controlling the ball for 11:19 and outgaining the Packers, 67-29, but had just a 6-0 lead. Thomas was a prominent figure on Chicago's game-opening 14-play, 55-yard drive, gaining 12 yards on a sweep and catching a 14-yard screen. After consuming the ball for nearly eight minutes, Edinger kicked a 37-yard field goal. Brown made a leaping interception at the Green Bay 41 to help set up Edinger's second field goal -- a 47-yarder with 1:27 left in the quarter. Favre rolled to his left, surveyed his receivers, shifted to his right, attempted a pump fake and then overthrew running back Dorsey Levens as Brown swooped in for his fourth interception of the season. Favre completed just 3-of-7 passes for 26 yards with an interception on Green Bay's first three possessions before settling down. The Packers took advantage of a turnover to score their first points -- a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell -- with 9:33 remaining in the half. Packers middle linebacker Bernardo Harris recovered a fumble by fullback Daimon Shelton at the Chicago 46 to help set up the field goal. Green Bay threatened again on its next possession, as Favre hit Schroeder and Freeman with passes of 17 and 15 yards, respectively. On a 3rd-and-9 play, Favre connected with Freeman on a 13-yard pass to the Chicago 15. But on the ensuing play, Green had the ball stripped away by defensive tackle Keith Traylor and Ted Washington recovered for the Bears. After three running plays by Thomas netted just two yards, the Bears were forced to punt and the Packers took over at their own 46. Favre hit rookie tight end David Martin with a five-yard pass on a third-down play to keep the drive alive before lofting a 41-yard touchdown into the left corner of the end zone to Schroeder, who made a leaping catch with 45 seconds left in the half. After cornerback Walt Harris let Schroeder get by him, safety Tony Parrish was late coming over in deep coverage and Favre took advantage of it. That was enough time for the Bears to drive 40 yards in seven plays, highlighted by an 18-yard pass from Leon Johnson to Marty Booker on a halfback option to the Green Bay 24. Edinger kicked his third field goal of the game, a 38-yarder, as time expired, pulling the Bears within 10-9. The Packers seized the momentum in the third quarter with an eight-play, 74-yard drive which resulted in Favre's TD pass to Freeman. Favre connected with Schroeder twice on passes of 23 and 19 yards and hit fullback William Henderson with a 14-yard pass to the Chicago 9. Two plays later, Favre rolled to his left and drilled a nine-yard touchdown to Freeman, who caught the ball in front of cornerback R.W. McQuarters with 7:05 left in the third quarter. It was the 55th career touchdown from Favre to Freeman. "I can sit and talk about the offensive line all day," Favre said. "Obviously, they played extremely well. They have been playing that way all year. Our offensive line was the difference maker. It gave me time to throw." Kevin Williams returned the ensuing kickoff to the Chicago 40 and Miller completed passes of 20 yards to Thomas and 12 yards to tight end Fred Baxter to help set up a 41-yard field goal by Edinger with 3:58 remaining in the quarter. Favre engineered a 10-play, 68-yard drive to set up Longwell's second field goal -- a 31-yarder 5:50 into the fourth quarter to give the Packers a 20-12 advantage. Favre beat a blitz and hit Freeman with a 31-yard pass on a 3rd-and-13 to keep the drive alive and connected with Henderson on a 24-yarder to the Chicago 14. "It's tough (to blitz) against Favre because he's a great quarterback," said Bears defensive end Phillip Daniels. "He sees the blitz coming and he knows where his receivers are and you know he makes plays."
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