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Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Aaron Rodgers shook off a rusty start and the Green Bay Packers' defense delivered a dominant performance in a season-opening win against the Chicago Bears. Green Bay moved to 1-0 with the 10-3 triumph Thursday at Solider Field in Chicago. Neither team had a prolific offensive night, with the Bears totaling 254 yards and the Packers posting 213 total yards. The Bears reached the red zone just once.
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"It has been a long time since I've seen a performance like that [from the defense]," Rodgers told reporters. ... "We didn't do them a whole lot of favors with our performance on offense."
Rodgers completed a pass for no gain and was sacked on the Packers' first drive, which resulted in a punt. The Bears also punted on their first drive. Rodgers continued to struggle on the Packers' second drive, throwing a pass to the feet of tight end Jimmy Graham. He was also sacked on that drive, resulting in another punt.
Chicago took a 3-0 lead on an Eddy Pineiro 38-yard field goal with 4:14 remaining in the first quarter. Rodgers threw two more incompletions on the Packers' next drive and the Packers were forced to punt for a third time. The Bears also punted on their next drive before Rodgers heated up in the second quarter.
The superstar quarterback began the drive with a 47-yard strike to wide receiver Marques Valdes-Scantling, bringing the Packers to the Bears' 27-yard-line. He completed another pass for nine yards to Marcedes Lewis before hooking up with Davante Adams for a 10-yard gain. Rodgers capped off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown toss to Graham, giving the Packers a 7-3 advantage.
Chicago and Green Bay exchanged punts on the next five drives before the end of teh first half. The Packers punted five times in the second half. The Bears added three second-half punts. Chicago also turned the ball over on downs twice and threw an interception in the second half. Packers kicker Mason Crosby hit a 39-yard field goal with 5:20 remaining in the game.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of the effort that we gave and to come out of here with a victory," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
Rodgers completed 18-of-30 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown in the win. Packers running back Aaron Jones had 39 yards on 13 carries. Valdes-Scantling had four catches for 52 yards, while Graham secured three grabs for 30 yards and a score.
Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky completed 26-of-45 passes for 228 yards and an interception in the loss. Wide receiver Allen Robinson led all pass-catchers with 102 yards on seven receptions for the Bears.
"I just told the guys in there, 'this is not who we are,'" Bears coach Matt Nagy told reporters. "I was proud of our defense. I thought they played their [expletive] off tonight. Offensively, not good enough -- and we're going to fix it. Our guys know that.
"We have a locker room of high-character people. That's why we bring these guys in because what they do is they don't point fingers. The defense doesn't point fingers and say the offense should have played better. That's not how we roll."
The Bears battle the Denver Broncos in Week 2 at 4:25 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 15 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. The Packers host the Minnesota Vikings at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 15 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc.
