The things you forgot (or maybe not) about a legendary Packers season finale vs. Bears in 2013

The Green Bay Packers will take on the rival Chicago Bears knowing that a win in the season finale will get them into the 2023 playoffs.

That was also the case 10 years ago in 2013, when the Dec. 29, 2013, battle at Soldier Field meant an NFC North title for the winner … and nothing for the loser. The Packers entered the night at 7-7-1, while the Bears were 7-8.

Surely there's plenty you remember about the 33-28 victory, ending when Randall Cobb was wide-open for a 48-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers. You probably remember that Rodgers had missed seven games after breaking his collarbone against the Bears earlier in the year, suffering the injury on a sack by Shea McClellin, but the quarterback was able to return for the last gasp.

What else do you remember about one of the wildest season finales — and wildest seasons — in recent Packers history?

The Packers signed Matt Flynn off the street after the Aaron Rodgers injury, but not right away

Green Bay had two options to back up Rodgers, and neither was Matt Flynn.

The first was veteran Seneca Wallace, who had a rough game against the Bears after Rodgers went out in the first series. Wallace was intercepted by future Packer Julius Peppers, led Green Bay to just one red-zone trip — Mason Crosby kicked a short field goal — and was sacked four times, including the last two plays of the game. Then, just like Rodgers, he was hurt on the opening drive of the next start, against Philadelphia, with a season-ending groin injury.

Wallace did, however, become the first Black quarterback to start for the Packers.

That brought in Scott Tolzien, who threw five interceptions and one touchdown over two-plus games. The Packers signed Flynn the day after Wallace's injury, making the Packers his third team of 2013, along with the Seahawks and Raiders.

Flynn, of course, had been Rodgers' backup from 2008 to 2011 and signed a lucrative contract with Seattle, only to get supplanted from the job that could have been his by former University of Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson.

Now, Flynn was replacing a different UW quarterback in Tolzien. Flynn took over midway through the Week 12 game against the Vikings that would end in a tie.

Matt Flynn led the Packers to the biggest comeback in 30 years

When Packers fans look back on Flynn's Packers career, surely they remember the 2011 finale, when he threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns to set two franchise records, marks both since equaled by Rodgers, as the Packers rested their starters for the playoffs. The Packers narrowly beat the Lions, 45-41, Green Bay finished 15-1 and Flynn was off to a contract in Seattle.

But you can make an argument that his finest hour was two years later, when he led the franchise to their biggest comeback since 1982 in a 37-36 win over Dallas. Down 26-3 at halftime, the Packers roared back, including three fourth-quarter touchdowns that pulled them in front. Tony Romo was intercepted by Sam Shields to set up a go-ahead score by Eddie Lacy and intercepted again by Tramon Williams to essentially clinch the outcome. Flynn threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns.

That was one week after a narrow 22-21 survival against Atlanta. Without either win, the Packers can't finish ahead of the Bears in the standings. Flynn narrowly led Green Bay to another victory, but his pass sailed out of Jarrett Boykin's reach in the end zone as time ran out, and the Packers lost to Pittsburgh, 38-31. The Bears getting blown out by Philadelphia that same day, however, left the Packers alive in the North heading into the final game of 2013.

Aaron Rodgers, coming off a collarbone injury, wasn't at his best in the finale

Aaron Rodgers, who had been cleared to play the Thursday before the game, certainly looked like someone who had missed a handful of games. He threw two interceptions in the first half, though one deflected high in the air off Jordy Nelson's hands.

Bears defensive back Chris Conte easily picked off a ball intended for Cobb in the end zone to short-circuit the Packers' first drive of the game, one that moved down to the Bears 5-yard line. It might have been one of the worst passes of Rodgers' career, though the Cobb/Conte matchup would work well later in the game.

Rodgers also frequently threw passes off-target, though he did rack up 318 yards and two scores by game's end.

A fall while shoveling convinced Aaron Rodgers he was ready to play

Rodgers said he was feeling good about his collarbone heading into the game because he had fallen on his back while shoveling snow out of his driveway, and it didn't cause any pain. He also said he was wearing a Chuck Norris T-shirt at the time.

"Thankfully, nobody in the neighborhood was out there watching or videoing me, because that would have been great YouTube material there," Rodgers said.

There was only one Packers penalty in the entire game, and it happened on the opening kickoff

Do you know the name Victor Aiyewa? You'd be forgiven if you didn't; the linebacker played in only five career NFL games, all with the Packers in 2013, and all 78 of his snaps were on special teams.

Aiyewa was tagged with an unnecessary roughness penalty on the opening kickoff, giving the Bears the ball at the Packers 42-yard line to start.

It was, remarkably, the only penalty the Packers would have accepted in the game, even though the two teams occasionally got heated with each other.

Jarrett Boykin listened to the sideline and made his biggest play as a Green Bay Packer

Peppers sacked Rodgers on first down from the Chicago 17-yard line with 3:34 left in the first half and the Bears ahead, 7-3.

But everyone thought Rodgers had pushed the ball forward for an incomplete pass, and players on both sides stopped what they were doing as if the play were dead. That included Bears linebacker James Anderson, who made a wan attempt to scoop it up and then walked away. But when receiver Jared Boykin himself half-heartedly scooped up the ball after a bobble, Packers personnel on the sideline furiously waved for Boykin to keep going; they knew the play was still alive. Rodgers heard the commands as well, then ran over beseeching Boykin to run into the end zone.

Boykin obliged, and referee Clete Blakeman signaled touchdown. After a review, it was confirmed — Rodgers had lost the ball and then continued his forward motion with his arm, obscuring the fact that it was a fumble. The Packers had the lead.

Eddie Lacy was playing with a bad right ankle, so James Starks got a lot of run

With the lousy Soldier Field footing and an ankle injury that had bothered him for a month, Eddie Lacy had trouble getting going, rushing 21 times for 66 yards and a score. The Bears' eight-man boxes had something to do with it, but it was still the worst rush defense in the league. In fact, the Bears — under defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, the former Badgers football player and future disgraced coach at Michigan State — had allowed a franchise-worst season-yardage total heading into Week 17, one year after being one of the league's best defenses.

But James Starks was there to pick up some slack, rushing 11 times for 88 yards. Starks, who was known for his postseason run in 2010 — including a 123-yard performance against Philadelphia in the wild-card game — had only run for more yards once in a regular-season game.

Lacy nonetheless wrapped up a promising rookie season with 1,178 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns.

Randall Cobb missed even more time than Rodgers that season

The man on the other end of the thrilling game-winning reception, Cobb, hadn't seen the field since Week 5 in a win over the Baltimore Ravens.

He was placed on injured reserve after suffering a broken leg and missed 10 weeks before he was activated for the Bears game. He caught the only two passes that were thrown to him in this game, both in the second half. Both were touchdowns.

Jordy Nelson had a monster game, and Chris Conte's first miss was huge

Nelson caught 10 passes for 161 yards, including a low throw on fourth-and-1 to continue the game-winning drive.

Even more important was a 34-yard connection that got the Packers down the field quickly after the Bears had scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to take a 28-20 lead. Nelson wiggled his way through four would-be tacklers to access the sideline and maximize the gain.

Throw in a 22-yard diving reception by Andrew Quarless that Conte should have knocked down or intercepted and a Lacy 6-yard score, and the Packers had answered with less than three minutes gone, though they elected not to try to tie the game with a two-point conversion. Crosby kicked the extra point, and the Packers still trailed, 28-27.

Green Bay converted three fourth downs on the winning drive, including one where coach Mike McCarthy nearly punted

The 15-play sequence that ended in the game-winning score began on the Packers' 13-yard line, and it nearly ended with a quick three-and-out for Green Bay. The Packers faced fourth-and-1 on Chicago's 22, and coach Mike McCarthy sent out the punt team with 4 minutes, 41 seconds left.

As a measurement was taken, McCarthy reconsidered after talking to Rodgers and guard Josh Sitton and waved the offense back out. Fullback John Kuhn ran the ball and got the necessary yard.

At the two-minute mark, the Packers faced another fourth-and-1 from their own 44. Nelson cradled a low throw from Rodgers for a 6-yard completion to move the chains.

The final set of downs featured two near-misses

On first-and-10 from the 50, Rodgers wasn't ready for the shotgun snap from Evan Dietrich-Smith, but the snap hit the quarterback in the right arm and he was able to corral it. He nearly even completed the pass to Quarless downfield, but Quarless slipped on the Soldier Field turf and fell to the ground.

After Lacy ran for 2 yards, Rodgers seemed to have completed a third-and-8 pass to Nelson for a first down, but it was behind him, and Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was able to rip it away. Chicago had a breakdown that left Packers wide receiver James Jones unguarded down the field, but Rodgers didn't see it.

The Packers faced their third fourth down of the drive with 46 seconds left.

John Kuhn threw the second most famous block in Packers history, chipping a player who became a Packer three months later

The Bears elected to send a seven-man rush, and Kuhn slid in front of Rodgers and chipped Peppers just enough to give Rodgers an escape route. It's perhaps the most famous block in Packers history aside from the Ice Bowl.

"I tried to cut him the best I could," Kuhn said. "I got enough of him so Aaron was able to get out of the pocket."

Peppers, by the way, was three months away from signing a three-year contract with the Packers.

When nickelback Isaiah Frey moved inside to pressure through the B gap, Packers lineman David Bakhtiari blocked down on Frey, leaving Peppers momentarily unabated to Rodgers. Bakhtiari said he thought Rodgers was sacked.

But Rodgers escaped and then floated the ball into the air for Cobb, who had eluded Conte, who had anticipated that the rush would force a shorter throw.

"I was able to get the edge and saw Randall running wide-open," Rodgers said. "I knew I had to get a little bit on it just to make sure that I didn't way underthrow him. When that ball came down in the end zone, it was just pandemonium."

"Oh my gosh, it was sitting up for so long," Cobb said. "You know, I had so many thoughts going through my head: 'You better not drop it.' 'If you drop it, they're going to kill you.' 'You better catch it.' 'Just catch the ball.' 'Body-catch it if you have to. Do what you have to do.' And I was able to make the catch."

There were 38 seconds left.

The Bears still had good chances to win the game

Chicago swiftly moved across midfield and set up shop at the Packers 45-yard line. Jay Cutler's first pass to the end zone for Alshon Jeffrey was battled away by Morgan Burnett, who flew over to assist the coverage by Davon House.

After an incompletion over the middle, Chicago still had 10 seconds left. A throw toward Brandon Marshall, however, was intercepted by Sam Shields right at the goal line.

How appropriate, since Shields also intercepted Caleb Hanie for the final meaningful snap of the NFC title game in 2010 at Soldier Field.

The 2013 Packers didn't have a Pro Bowler

If you're looking for another parallel with the 2023 team, there's one. Lacy was later added as an injury replacement and did make second-team All-Pro.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers' 2013 finale against Bears was epic playoff clincher