Aaron Rodgers — in a quieter performance — builds on his legacy vs. Chicago Bears: ‘You never know when it’s going to be your last time playing at a place’

Aaron Rodgers’ celebration of his game-clinching play Sunday at Soldier Field was more muted than his snapshot moment a year ago.

The Green Bay Packers quarterback didn’t hurl expletives toward Chicago Bears fans. He didn’t remind fans giving him the middle finger that he still owned their team as he secured his 25th victory in 30 rivalry games.

When Rodgers threw a 2-point conversion pass to a wide-open Marcedes Lewis to seal the Packers’ 28-19 win, he hurried to greet his teammates in the end zone and then twice saluted Bears fans in the stands.

Afterward, the 39-year-old quarterback, who has teetered on the edge of retirement in recent years, went sentimental rather than confrontational when asked about his salute.

“You never know when it’s going to be your last time playing at a place,” Rodgers said. “I’ve had a lot of great moments in this place. And as much as the fans don’t really like me, I do have respect for the city of Chicago and their great sports fans here. And the stadium. It’s been a lot of fun over the years to go to battle, win or lose.”

In the spectrum of Rodgers performances against the Bears, this one — while dealing with thumb and rib injuries and playing a Bears defense with multiple rookies — wasn’t near the best.

But it was good enough to help the Packers win their eighth straight in the rivalry and surpass the Bears in all-time regular-season wins. The Packers now lead the NFL with 787.

Rodgers completed 18 of 31 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. And he led the Packers to 18 fourth-quarter points to secure the comeback win after the Bears led 19-10 in the third quarter.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields, whom Rodgers called “a talented quarterback who has a chance to be around for a long time,” produced flashier numbers — 254 passing yards and 71 rushing yards, including a 55-yard touchdown run.

But Fields also threw two fourth-quarter interceptions that pushed the game in the Packers’ favor — and helped Rodgers walk away as king of the series once again.

“You definitely draw a lot of confidence and good memories off this matchup,” Rodgers said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of success during my time against them. I’ve enjoyed playing here. … There were probably a lot of people that felt good at 19-10. So did I.”

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It was a tough one to put into context for the Bears defense.

The Bears were missing starting safeties Eddie Jackson (injured reserve, Lisfranc injury) and Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and starting cornerbacks Kyler Gordon (concussion) and Kindle Vildor (ankle). Cornerback Jaylon Johnson was the only usual starter in the Bears secondary.

In their place, the Bears started veteran backup DeAndre Houston-Carson and 2022 seventh-round pick Elijah Hicks at safety, undrafted rookie Jaylon Jones at cornerback and undrafted rookie Josh Blackwell at nickel. They joined a Bears defense that also included undrafted rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn.

Houston-Carson, who made his second start this season, started by talking about how proud he was of the young players, saying the extra film work and communication during the week helped prepare them to step in and hold the Packers to 10 points over the first three quarters.

But he went on to say it’s “sickening” to lose another close one to the Packers, giving up a late score when Christian Watson zipped around the edge of the Bears defense for a 46-yard touchdown before the 2-point conversion. Watson also scored on a 14-yard pass from Rodgers at the end of the first half with Hicks covering him.

A.J. Dillon, who rushed for 93 yards, added a 21-yard touchdown run for the Packers early in the fourth quarter on a drive in which Jones was called for pass interference and Johnson was called for holding.

“We know everybody was doubting us, talking about backups and this and that, saying we have to go against Aaron Rodgers, and we take that personal,” Houston-Carson said. “We approached this week probably with a different type of mentality. So I’m really proud of the guys. Disappointed at the end that we couldn’t finish it off, but not discouraged at all because we gave everything we had both in preparation and on the field.”

The new-look secondary didn’t get many favors from the Bears front.

The Bears didn’t record a sack for the third time in five games. They didn’t even record a quarterback hit, failing to seize the opportunity against a physically ailing quarterback.

“The line played really good today,” Rodgers said. “I moved around a decent amount, held on to the ball at times, and I went to the ground one time. So that’s like a dream game for somebody in my position with a pretty sore rib cage.”

As complimentary as Rodgers might have been about Chicago and Bears fans, he still got in some digs.

He was asked if he maintains his ownership after Sunday’s performance.

Rodgers paused for four seconds and then said: “Yes. A lot of middle fingers.”

And then he smirked.