5 things we learned from the Packers’ win over the Bears
GREEN BAY — The victory cigar smoke filled the Green Bay Packers locker room air. Provided by the defensive backs, a number of players puffed their celebratory stogies in the aftermath of the team’s playoff berth-clinching 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday evening at Lambeau Field.
“I wish I would’ve gotten the memo because I would’ve lit one up too,” disappointed veteran right guard Jon Runyan said. “I would’ve liked to be included in that. I guess we’re going to have to wait for the Super Bowl now.”
Whether the seventh-seeded Packers (9-8) can go on an even more improbable run to the Super Bowl after earning a playoff berth in quarterback Jordan Love’s first season as the starter seems a smidge far-fetched.
Polzin: Packers punctuate ‘special’ season by answering plenty of questions
Then again, they’ve come this far, so bet against them in their NFC Wild Card matchup with the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at your own peril.
What’s undeniable is that this young group overcame its 2-5 start to reach the postseason, found out what Love is made of, and supercharged their growth with a trip to the postseason.
“It’s going to be great for our team,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ve got to go on the road and earn it. Certainly, going to Dallas is not going to be an easy task. … We’re going to have to be at our best in order to go down there and come out with a victory.”
A victory is exactly what the Packers earned on Sunday, with LaFleur running his career record against the Bears (7-10) to a sparkling 10-0 in the process.
Here are five things we learned.
Jordan Love was basically flawless
Love continued to show off his astonishing growth, having gone from being an inconsistent, indecisive quarterback during the team’s four-game October losing streak to being the player of whom LaFleur proclaimed Sunday, “I don’t think there’s many questions left, to be honest with you” when it comes to his future as the team’s franchise quarterback.
How Matt LaFleur’s play-calling shift, Jordan Love’s embrace of the opportunity reversed fortunes
Yes, Love did fumble at the end of a third-and-2 run near midfield with the Packers firmly in control of the game late in the third quarter.
But other than that — and a few glitches during end-of-the-half scoring opportunity the Packers squandered — Love was on point, finishing the day 27 of 32 for 316 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 128.6. And two of his five incompletions were near-touchdowns that wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Bo Melton had slip through their fingers.
Plus, Love did it without Doubs (who left with a chest injury and did not return), without deep-threat receiver Christian Watson (inactive for a fifth straight week with a hamstring injury) and with a spread-it-around approach that continues to work wonders.
From his two touchdown passes to Dontayvion Wicks, to hitting Jayden Reed for a 59-yard gain in the fourth quarter catch-and-run as part of Reed’s 112-yard game, to making crucial connections with Melton (five catches, 62 yards) and tight end Tucker Kraft (three catches, 31 yards), Love just kept chugging along.
“I’m just so proud of him,” veteran running back Aaron Jones said of Love, who finished his first regular season as the starter having completed 372 of 579 passes (64.2%) for 4,159 yards with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for a 96.0 passer rating. “I keep receipts, and I hope he does, too. He’s our guy. He’s our quarterback. And we’d do anything to protect him.”
Dontayvion Wicks honored one of his murdered Virginia teammates
The rookie Wicks scored a pair of touchdowns, and after the first, he looked skyward, in remembrance of his former college teammate, Lavel Davis.
Jordan Love boosts Packers offense’s grade in win over Bears
Davis was one of three Virginia football players murdered in a November 2022 shooting, during Wicks’ final season at the school. Two of the victims, Davis and Devin Chandler, a transfer from the University of Wisconsin football team, were Cavaliers wide receivers with Wicks. The third who was killed was junior defensive end/linebacker D’Sean Perry
For Wicks, knowing it would have been Davis’ birthday on Sunday made his six-catch, 61-yard, two-touchdown performance an emotional one.
“I had a heavy heart coming into the day, but I knew he’d be playing through me when I’m out there,” Wicks said of Davis. “It just gave me that motivation, the extra chip on my shoulder to go out and make big plays. To celebrate his birthday and making it to the playoffs, it was a two-for-one.”
Aaron Jones continued late-season emergence against NFL’s best rush defense
The veteran running back was the catalyst for the Packers’ season-opening win at Soldier Field, and he was the workhorse who made sure they earned their playoff berth on Sunday.
3 things that stood out from the Packers’ playoff-clinching win vs. the Bears
Crossing the 100-yard threshold for the third consecutive game — after the Packers had not had a 100-yard rusher all season — Jones ran 22 times for 111 yards against the Bears’ No. 1 ranked run defense, and he sealed the victory with a 10-yard run on second-and-9 on the play immediately after the two-minute warning.
Jones finished the season with 667 yards on 142 attempts despite missing six games and parts of two others with hamstring and knee injuries.
“You can all see it. He’s a difference-maker,” LaFleur said. “His ability to be out there and get explosive gains and fight for some tough yardage, break tackles both in the run game, pass game … he does a great job. He definitely takes a lot of pressure off other people.”
Joe Barry’s Packers defense got more aggressiv
Criticized for not being aggressive enough at times this season, defensive coordinator Joe Barry made sure he took the fight to the Bears on Sunday, with his defense sacking Fields five times while also making sure he didn’t destroy them with his running ability (eight rushes, 27 net yards).
How the Packers’ defense stepped up in critical moments to clinch playoff berth vs. Bears
On a Lukas Van Ness sack on the Bears’ opening drive, Barry sent five rushers as Van Ness got home. The play set the tone for the day, as Fields was frequently under duress. Later, Barry sent both inside linebackers on blitzes, resulting in a Devonte Wyatt sack.
At the same time, the Packers hemmed Fields in and prevented his rushing ability from destroying their game plan.
On the day, the Bears managed just 192 net yards of offense, were 3 of 11 on third down, were 0 for 2 in the red zone and did not score a touchdown.
“We know any time we can take away his first read, whether we in man or zone, he’s pretty much going to take off,” inside linebacker Quay Walker said of Fields. “Whenever we can keep him in the pocket and allow him just to play quarterback and not allow him to run, we got a real, real good chance of winning the game.”
Christian Watson’s hamstring injury may keep him out of playoffs
The Packers’ best down-the-field deep threat seemed to be trending toward a return to action, having practiced on back-to-back days before resting on Friday in hopes of playing against the Bears.
Polzin: What I liked and didn’t like from the Packers’ playoff-clinching win vs. Bears
As it turned out, Watson missed his fifth straight game — and eighth of the season — with the hamstring injury, which happened late in the Packers’ Dec. 3 win over Kansas City. And LaFleur admitted that the narrative that Watson was on track to play was misleading.
“He just wasn’t ready to play. I had a pretty good indication that it was probably trending that way. A little gamesmanship on my part. Sorry to lie to everybody,” LaFleur said. “I know it’s really frustrating (for Watson). We’ll see where he’s at this week. I definitely wouldn’t rule him out; I just really don’t know.
“But that’s something that we’re going to have to tackle certainly when we get to the offseason.”
Leave a Reply