The National Football League returned to the stage in full force this September.

From a journeyman quarterback stunning the nation (but most especially New Orleans) with his elevated play to a questionable rookie looking similarly world-class, we've finally moved past all the politicization and grandstanding (more or less) and gotten back to the nuts and bolts of America's game.

And yet, in all the craziness that is inevitably Week 1 of the NFL season, I don't know if you can isolate a more vintage, more "wow" moment than the one Aaron Rodgers displayed in the Packers-Bears game on Sunday night.

Meeting for the 197^th time in their storied rivalry, the Packers and Bears each sported impressively retooled rosters after disappointing seasons for the both of them last year. The Packers were returning from their first losing campaign since Rodgers' rookie season while the Bears had endured another year at the bottom of the NFC North with a 5-11 record.

Both clubs sported new coaching hires, as well. Former Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy had taken over as head coach for the ousted John Fox, while Green Bay's new look was spearheaded by Mike Pettine as defensive coordinator and Joe Philbin returning to his post as offensive coordinator.

Oh, and none of that to mention that mere days before the game the Bears traded for Oakland's superstar linebacker, Khalil Mack.

In short, this game had all the trappings of a properly titanic clash between two of the NFL's oldest.

What we got didn't disappoint.

The game began as poorly as can be imagined for the Packers. Mack had an enormous impact, knocking Green Bay's offensive line left and right. The Packers young secondary couldn't corral Chicago's second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Before anyone blinked the Packers were looking up from the bottom of a 17-0 hole.

And then Armageddon: Aaron Rodgers was sacked and didn't get back up.

If you, dear reader, are even a barely cognizant Packers fan, you'll know that the team has traveled that road before. Rodgers' collarbone has been broken twice, once in 2013 against (of all teams) the Bears, and again just last season against the Minnesota Vikings.

With that in mind, seeing Aaron Rodgers hit the ground again would be catastrophic on any day, but after the first half of football the Packers had just played, it was more than that. It was soul-crushing. It was ripping your soul out, spit on it, stomp on it, and then do the hokey pokey awful.

In all honesty, I turned the game off. I figured Green Bay was toast.

And then, the most remarkable thing happened.

Hobbled though he was, Aaron Rodgers actually came back on the field after halftime. I was stunned. He'd been carted off the field after all. What was he doing? As it so happens, he was engineering one of the most legendary (and that is legendary with the utmost emphasis) comebacks in the history of football.

Managing to eke out a field goal in the third quarter, the Packers still trailed 20-3 going into the final frame. Not wasting a single other possession, the Packers scored three consecutive touchdowns, all dime passes from Rodgers, including a beautiful 75-yard catch and run to Randall Cobb, to take the win.

But, and perhaps most importantly, we cannot accredit this win to Aaron Rodgers alone.

That is, following what would be the go-ahead score for Green Bay, there was still over two minutes for the Bears. And the score was only 24-23, meaning that a single field goal from Chicago would've sealed the deal the other way.

Cue the Packers defense, which has been oft-maligned by fans and pundits alike given former defensive coordinator Dom Capers' generally uncreative approach to stopping the opposing team.

Thank goodness, in that moment Dom Capers was far from Green Bay.

Not to knock the man personally, but the difference between his defense and that of Mike Pettine was noticeable, if not so apparent given the need for a record-breaking comeback on the part of Rodgers & Co.

For starters, 23 points is a pretty good tally to hold your opponent to. But even more than that, what's most striking is the situational awareness that this Packers defense, particularly its young secondary, seemed to play with. There has long been the adage that comebacks begin with defense and that was never truer an example than at Lambeau Field. Allowing only three points to the Bears in the second half (and that field goal coming in a precarious, goal-line stand) the Packers defense did everything they needed to do to give Aaron Rodgers even a chance.

And oh boy, did he take it.

I think what drove it home for me, however, was the final sequence. On the Bears' final drive of the night, the defense forced them into a 4^th & 9 deep in their own territory. With no choice but to go for it, isolated in man coverage, it seemed that the Packers secondary had sealed the game.

And then Clay Matthews committed the worst kind of penalty: a personal foul that gave the Bears 15 yards and a first down. Taking advantage of this new momentum, Trubisky completed a 12-yard pass for the Bears and it seemed that the Packers' hard-fought win was slipping out right from under them.

And yet, unlike in so many years passed, the defense held. Especially that young secondary headed by Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, Josh Jackson, and Josh Johnson. Throwing downfield three times, Trubisky could not find an open Chicago receiver for his life, and on his fourth attempt, the Packers stripped the ball to end the game.

And so, a contest that has since become a resounding testament (and rightly so) to Aaron Rodgers' grit and legendary status ended on a primo defensive effort by the Nick Perry.

Not a bad way to cap off Week 1, NFL. Not bad at all.