The Green Bay Packers avoided a nightmare scenario coming out of the bye week, using a late Jordan Love touchdown drive and a blocked field goal as time expired from Karl Brooks to escape Soldier Field with a 20-19 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Instead of watching a makeable field goal kick fly through the uprights and falling to 6-4, the Packers got an incredible block from Brooks and an 11th straight win over the Bears.
Now 7-3, the Packers are in a prime playoff spot, but no one doubts that Matt LaFleur’s team needs to get better fast to survive the final seven games of 2024.
Here’s what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers moving forward:
What went right
— The Packers were explosive in the passing game. Jordan Love averaged 20.0 yards per completions, and he found Christian Watson for three plays of 25 or more yards and Josh Jacobs for two plays over 20. The 60-yarder to Watson late set up the go-ahead touchdown.
— The special teams finally made a game-altering play under Rich Bisaccia. Karl Brooks’ blocked field goal saved the day.
— Watson exploded for a career-high 150 receiving yards. He had a 17-yard catch on 3rd-and-11 and three catches of at least 25 yards, including a 48-yarder and a 60-yarder in the second half.
— Josh Jacobs turned 21 touches into 134 total yards. He had two runs of at least 10 yards and two catches over 20 yards, plus a 7-yard touchdown run.
— Love got a free-play touchdown with too many men on the field and a first-down conversion from an offsides penalty using his cadence. The former quarterback would be proud.
— Rashan Gary made his biggest play of the season when he powered through Braxon Jones and sacked Caleb Williams on the final drive, setting up 3rd-and-20. The Packers need more. A lot more. But it’s a start.
— The Packers had three players with a run of 10 or more yards: Jacobs, Love and Emanuel Wilson. Love’s 15-yard scramble set up his 1-yard go-ahead touchdown, while Wilson’s run came one play before Love’s free-play touchdown pass to Jayden Reed.
— The Packers had only three penalties for 25 yards, although one came in the red zone before Love’s interception.
What went wrong
— The Bears were 9-for-16 on third down and 3-for-3 on fourth down. Not surprisingly, the Bears dominated by number of plays (68-43) and time of possession (36:31 to 23:39). On the final possession, the Bears converted from 3rd-and-20 to extend the drive and set up the field goal try.
— The Packers scored three red-zone touchdowns, but they also had two completely empty trips inside the 20 — one on an interception thrown by Love, and another on a turnover on downs when the Packers went for it on 4th-and-goal from the six.
— The Packers gave up 179 rushing yards, including a career-high 70 yards by Caleb Williams and a 39-yard rushing touchdown from D’Andre Swift.
— Green Bay’s defense didn’t have a takeaway. Two of the team’s three sacks came on the final drive. Jeff Hafley’s group lacked disruptive plays and often suffered death by a thousand paper cuts.
— Safety Xavier McKinney missed a pair of tackles, including one as the last line of defender on Swift’s touchdown run.
— Linebacker Quay Walker failed time and time again to make stops in big spots.
— The Packers only had seven total drives, so going 1-for-5 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down made a big impact.
— Cornerback Jaire Alexander left the game with a knee injury and didn’t return. He was clearly not 100 percent to start the game. Will he be available for next week?
What it means
The Packers avoided what would have been a terrible, potentially season-altering loss coming out of the bye and scored another ugly win to improve to 7-3. Matt LaFleur’s team still hasn’t played anything resembling their best game, and the unrealized potential is both encouraging and worrisome. Clearly, the Packers can play better. Their “A” level stuff could be as good as anyone’s. But we’re now 10 games into an 18-game schedule, and it’s fair to be concerned if all the inconsistency will either keep the Packers from getting to their top level or come back to bite them in a big spot in January. It’s mid-November and we just haven’t seen long stretches of consistently high-level play from the Packers. This team is 7-3 and still capable of winning 10-12 games. But the Packers must be better, especially with a particularly difficult stretch coming up over the next three weeks.
Highlights
What’s next
A visit from the San Francisco 49ers. While at Lambeau Field, the Packers can’t expect to play a “C” level game and beat the 49ers next Sunday. It’s time for the Packers to prove their status as a legitimate contender, and there’s no better way of showing it than beating the reigning conference champs. The 49ers have been the class of the NFC for years. The Packers could get a signature win in 2024 with a victory on Sunday.
