The Bears were down 10-9 early in the third quarter when they reached the Green Bay 16. But Cutler was sacked for a nine-yard loss and Forte was dropped after a 1-yard gain. Robbie Gould then booted a 47-yard field goal, giving the Bears a 12-10 lead.

After a Packers field goal made it 13-12, Gould’s 21-yarder put the Bears back ahead 15-13 with 2:31 left in the fourth quarter. The kick capped a 14-play, 69-yard drive that burned 7:35 off the clock. But the Bears were forced to settle for the field goal after failing to get into the end zone on three plays from inside the 5.

Forte gained two yards on first-and-goal from the 5, but was then stuffed for no gain on second-and-goal from the 3. Cutler then threw incomplete intended for Greg Olsen in the end zone on third down.

“When we get down there, we’ve got to execute,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “We’ve got to score. We’ve got to get touchdowns when we get down there.”

Accepting blame: Long-snapper Patrick Mannelly revealed that he was responsible for the botched fake punt that ultimately cost the Bears the lead early in the fourth quarter.

Thinking that the Packers had 12 men on the field on fourth-and-11, Mannelly snapped the ball to punt protector Garrett Wolfe, who was dropped at the Bears’ 30 after a four-yard gain. The Bears challenged the play, but replays showed that a 12th Packers player had reached the sideline well before the snap.

“Originally the count was 12 men,” Mannelly said. “I didn’t see the guy run off the field. We actually have a play in. If there are 12 men, it’s pretty much a free play. So it’s just a direct snap to Garrett and you just try to get as many yards as you can. I didn’t see the guy run off the field. I wish I would have. I would have never done that. 

"It was just a dumb play on my part not seeing that. I feel stupid. I thought we were making a smart play, and unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.”

The Packers failed to pick up a first down on their subsequent possession, but they were still able to take a 13-12 lead on Crosby’s 39-yard field goal with 10:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Stuck in neutral: Running back Matt Forte gained 50 yards on one touchdown run as part of a 123-yard effort in last season’s opener in Indianapolis. A year later in Green Bay, the 2008 second-round pick was limited to 55 yards on 22 carries with a long run of 10 yards.

Forte was held to 12 yards on four carries in the first quarter and three yards on four attempts in the second period before gaining 40 yards on 17 carries in the second half.

“We’ve got to get [the running game] going,” Turner said. “At times we did. We’ve just got to keep with it. There were times I could have been more patient, especially early, and given us more of a chance on it. We did settle in and started running the ball a little bit better, and that opened things up and that helped us.”