Here is what a healthy fear looks like: 14:55 to go in the fourth quarter and the Packers are up 29–7. Matt LaFleur keeps the offense on the field because a 22-point lead doesn’t feel like quite enough. Three full scores, each with two-point conversions is better. There’s a (football) maniac on the other side of the field with the highest-powered offense in the NFL, and he’s about to switch backup quarterbacks. And so, Jordan Love trots out onto the field with 11-personnel and motions the tight end to the slot. The clever, little short-yardage play creates a tiny bracket of space for Matthew Golden to settle and nab the ball for a two-point conversion and that precious 24-point lead over the Bears.
After a pick on the following possession, the very next play call with a 24-point lead: play-action and another deep shot, with Golden again on the other end. The Packers were playing with the Tecmo Bowl–era 49ers’ playbook on Sunday, which consisted of precision deep shots a quarter mile down the field, one after the next. Something tore the roof off Chicago’s defense and Love, according to Next Gen Stats, racked up more passing yards on deep throws than at any other point in his career and the most of any quarterback this season. Four of those explosive passing plays went more than 40 yards, which, for perspective, is more than the season total for 24 NFL teams. Christian Watson said it a few days ago, perhaps the one bit of bravado that leaked out of a Packers camp that had been prodded by the Bears, and really, on a consistent basis for the past year and a half: The Bears have holes defensively; they just had to find them.
