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Setting aside James Jones’ two fumbles in the first half, the Packers led 20-10 with under five minutes to play in the third quarter when Brett Favre made his first horrible decision of 2007 by trying to throw across his body for a first down. With a 10-point lead and the defense playing well, there was no reason for him to make the throw, but Favre will do that from time to time, and as a Packer fan, I’ve learned to live with it.

On the ensuing play, Brian Griese threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen, which put the Bears within three points. On the next possession, the Packers ran the ball three straight times and failed to get a first down. They punted the ball away and the defense forced a Bears punt, which the Packers fumbled – their fourth turnover of the night. After a Robbie Gould field goal, the Packers next possession consisted of a run for no gain, a short incompletion and a 5-yard completion to Bubba Franks. It’s like the Packers suddenly forgot how to run an offense.

And so the fourth quarter went, with the two teams punting the ball back and forth. It’s understandable that the Bears couldn’t move the ball – they haven’t been able to move the ball all season. But the Packers, who racked up over 300 yards of offense in the first half, had no excuse. The defense picked off Brian Griese, but Green Bay failed to do anything with it. Finally, the Bears made a play, completing a 27-yard pass to Olsen, which set up a Desmond Clark touchdown on a third-and-two from the Packers 34-yard line. Nick Collins mysteriously bit on an already-covered route in the flat, allowing Clark to run right past him and get behind him for the score.

The Packers two-minute offense was pretty brutal. The team wasted a ton of time with a long snap count, instead of moving to a quick snap. The decision to challenge the spot on the Bears’ last possession came back to bite Mike McCarthy, since his team was without one of its timeouts. By the time Green Bay crossed midfield, they were in desperation mode and the Bears were just sitting back in their zone, waiting for an opportunity. Brandon McGowan picked off Favre in the endzone, sealing the game for the Bears.

This is the kind of game that could come back to haunt the Packers – a division loss, at home, to their archrival. They had the game in hand and just gave it away. They built a lead by spreading the field and letting their receivers make plays and they blew it by trying to run down the Bears’ throats out of the I-formation. For the first 22 minutes of the second half, Favre only targeted his receivers one time, on the Brian Urlacher interception. Given how easily they moved the ball via slants and deep routes in the first half, that’s just inexcusable.

Quick observations from Sunday’s action:

Colts 33, Bucs 14
This was supposed to be the marquee match up of the day, but Indy dominated in all phases of the game, even without Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai and Bob Sanders. Kenton Keith (121 yards, 2 TDs) was fantastic filling in for Addai…A week after I laud Monte Kiffin for being one of the best game planners in the league, his unit surrenders 400 total yards and 33 points to a banged up Colts offense.

Patriots 34, Browns 17
This was easily New England’s worst performance of the season and they still put up 34 points…The Browns might have the most inept defensive line in football in terms of creating pressure and stopping the run…

Steelers 21, Seahawks 0
For Pittsburgh to shutout Seattle without Troy Polamalu, Bryant McFadden and Casey Hampton is impressive…Shaun Alexander rushed for only 25 yards on 11 carries, which was his worst statistical performance since November of 2002.

Chargers 41, Broncos 3
San Diego looked great, especially Philip Rivers (270 yards, 2 TDs), but Denver was atrocious. Nice effort by the Broncos defense on Michael Turner’s 74-yard run in the fourth quarter and did they ever consider defending Antonio Gates? He was open all game.

Jaguars 17, Chiefs 7
With how good the Jags defense is, all David Garrard has to do is not turn the ball over and this team might sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card…Mike Solari had no clue how to move the ball against Jacksonville’s defense; the Chiefs finished with just 10 rushing yards.

Titans 20, Falcons 13
The Titans have the most underrated defense in the league – they saved Vince Young’s ass all day…The Falcons defensive players owe their offensive mates a swift kick to the throat after blowing a gift-wrapped victory…

Panthers 16, Saints 13
The Saints dominated this game, but two miscues in the fourth quarter cost them their first victory in 2007…Carolina should thank the football gods that they won a game in which David Carr started…

Giants 35, Jets 24
The Giants have needed a playmaker in their secondary for years and finally found one in Aaron Ross (2 INTs, 1 TD)… Kellen Clemons has to start for the Jets next week doesn’t he? Chad Pennington was brutal…

Redskins 34, Lions 3
Gregg Williams’s defensive game plan for Mike Martz’s offense was a thing of beauty…The stat of the game for the Lions: 1 for 10. As in, 1 for 10 on third down conversions…

Texans 22, Dolphins 19
Matt Schaub has nothing for weapons, but is willing the Texans to victories. Of course it helps when your kicker can make a 57-yard game winning field goal too…Please hang it up Trent Green – there’s plenty of life after football and you’re going to need your health.

Ravens 9, 49ers 7
What a brutal game. I don’t know whether to applaud both teams’ defense or shred the offenses. At least one man showed up in this game – way to go Matt Stover (3 FGs).

Cardinals 34, Rams 31
With Anquan Boldin sidelined for the second straight week, Larry Fitzgerald (9 rec. 136 yards, 1 TD) once again played like a man possessed… It wasn’t pretty, but Gus Frerotte had a gutsy performance. It’s too bad the defense continues to give up 30-plus points a game…