CHICAGO — That the Packers are back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 13 years is not shocking, given how torrid they have been behind the white-hot play of transcendent quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
But Rodgers yesterday was reduced to mere mortal status in an NFC Championship that felt like a one-sided blowout, even though for long stretches the Packers’ lead was only 14-0.
“Our offense at times gets too much credit,” Rodgers said.
If credit is to be distributed for this title game, hand most of it to the Packers’ gritty defense, which knocked Jay Cutler out and kept their longtime rival Bears searching for points most of the day in a quite inelegant 21-14 victory at Soldier Field.
What the NFC put on the field in their championship game was not the stuff of legend, despite the presence of two of the most storied franchises in NFL history. The Packers (13-6) could care less. They became the first No. 6 seed in the NFC to ever make it to the Super Bowl and they’ll look to continue their wild ride in Dallas when they face the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
“You never know when you’re going to get this opportunity,” receiver Greg Jennings said. “The window opens and it closes on everybody. We stepped through that window today and we’re going to get our shot.”
That shot was denied to the Packers in 2007 when they lost the NFC title game to the Giants. They did not come up short in this one, as they made life miserable for three different Bears quarterbacks.
They forced Cutler out with a second-quarter knee injury that allowed him to play just one series in the third quarter. Veteran backup Todd Collins went 0-for-4 before Bears coach Lovie Smith gave him the hook, explaining “We didn’t like what we were getting and made the move from there.”
The move was to Caleb Hanie, a third-year quarterback from Colorado State who came into the game with 14 career NFL passes and was not part of the game plan. Yet he was entrusted with the offense for the entire fourth quarter and actually directed a scoring drive that ended with Chester Taylor’s one-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.
The Packers after a hot start — Rodgers went 4-for-4 on an opening 84-yard drive capped by his touchdown run — suddenly couldn’t get out of their own way on offense. Hanie got the ball back, but with 6:04 left he looked for Matt Forte out of the backfield and never saw nose tackle B.J. Raji dropping in coverage. The 337-pound Raji turned his first career interception into an 18-yard touchdown jaunt to make it 21-7.
Hanie hit Earl Bennett on a 35-yard scoring pass to again bring the Bears back and was looking for more when with 37 seconds left he was intercepted by rookie cornerback Sam Shields, who finished off a huge game in which he had two interceptions, one sack and a forced fumble.
“Every time we felt like we could try to pull away a little bit they made a great play to get back in it,” Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk said.
The Bears (12-6) were the NFC North champions but never were really considered serious contenders to make it out of the conference. Cutler wasn’t getting anything accomplished when he was in the game but he was getting knocked around. He was hit late in the second quarter by Raji and Howard Green and came up limping with a knee injury. He tried to give it a go in the second half but after a quick three-and-out on the first series of the third quarter he took a seat.
Smith grew a bit testy when questioned about Cutler’s inability to continue. “He hurt his knee and he was out, all right . . . there’s nothing else for me to tell you on that,” Smith said.
Rodgers, after two brilliant playoff games, came back to earth. He did not throw a touchdown pass but did have two interceptions as the Packers offense was shut out in the second half.
“I would have liked to play better,” Rodgers said, “but in the end I did contribute in a few ways. We got the win and we’re moving on.”
paul.schwartz@nypost.com
