Barnett suffered the season-ending injury in the Packers' 28-27 loss at the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 9.

"I'm trying to get back on the field next year," Barnett said after Green Bay snapped a two-game losing streak with a 37-3 rout of the visiting Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Barnett, who was walking with crutches, watched the game from a private box at Lambeau Field. He said he faces at least six to eight months of recovery.

Barnett came away impressed with how A.J. Hawk played in his first pro start at middle linebacker Sunday after he was moved from the weak-side spot in the starting lineup.

"He came in and stepped up and did his responsibilities," Barnett said. "Learning pretty much a whole different position is kind of hard in one week, but he was able to come in and execute."

Packers coach Mike McCarthy on Monday also had high praise for Hawk after watching the game tape.

In relaying the defensive signals that came through on the radio in his helmet, Hawk "quarterbacked" a previously struggling Green Bay defense that held the Bears to 234 total yards and nine first downs. Chicago converted only three of 12 third downs and was dominated in time of possession, 37:28 to 22:32.

"I thought A.J. played very well," said McCarthy, who cited Hawk's smooth ability to communicate calls to teammates on the field. "Didn't even look like we missed a beat with the boundary communication and so forth, and he was productive.

"I thought he did a great job playing downhill in his gap responsibility in the run game, and he was productive in the passing game."

Hawk tied fellow linebacker Brandon Chillar, who started at the weak-side spot, for the team lead with seven tackles in the game.