The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears split their rivalry series in the regular season, setting the stage for a must-see rubber match at Soldier Field in the Wild Card Round on Saturday Night. What seemed like a blowout in the first half turned into a playoff classic, or a late-game collapse depending on how you look at it.
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the Packers vs. Bears game, with Chicago winning at home and knocking out its hated rival with a little embarrassment to end Green Bay’s season.
Winner: Caleb Williams, QB, Chicago Bears
It’s almost as if the Bears put themselves in a massive hole, to give the Packers hope, only for Caleb Williams to come in and crush it in clutch time. Williams was largely bad for the first three quarters of this game, wildly missing open receivers and turning it over twice. The fourth quarter came and he flipped a switch. It really came down to that insane throw on 4th-and-8 with Chicago down by 11, with Williams rolling out and just flicking his wrist right before getting taken down by a shoe-string tackle and dropping it in the bucket for a conversion. It lit up Soldier Field and really got WIlliams’ swagger going, as demonstrated by another fourth-quarter comeback against the Packers.
Loser: Brandon McManus, K, Green Bay Packers
The Packers’ special-teams unit always finds a way to haunt them. It seemed minor at the time when Brandon McManus missed a 55-yard field goal at halftime but it certainly proved consequential given the club’s second-half implosion. McManus had a small chance at redemption later on with an extra-point attempt that would’ve made it a 12-point game. Instead, he inexplicably missed another kink and Chicago promptly marched down field for a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it a three-point game. Green Bay gave him a shot at redemption with a 44-yard field goal that would’ve forced the Bears to score a touchdown to win. McManus missed a again, single-handedly taking 7 points off the board for the Packers tonight. Just as special-team woes proved costly in the team’s last trip to Soldier Field, it set the team back again on Saturday night.
Winner: Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
For Green Bay to have any shot at winning on Saturday night at Soldier Field, it needed an outstanding performance from Jordan Love. That’s exactly what he delivered in the first half. With Chicago having no pass rush to speak of, Love went 9-for-12 with 139 passing yards (11.6 yards per attempt) and three passing touchdowns. In the process, he joined Lynn Dickey as the only players in Packers history to record three first-half touchdown passes in a playoff game. Things got ugly for Green Bay’s offense in the second half, but Love and the receiving corps overcame bad play-calling, a defensive collapse and LaFleur to at least have a shot at the victory.
Loser: Chicago Bears’ Pass Rush in the First Half
It’s not like the Packers offensive line came into the Wild Card Round healthy. Green Bay played without center Elgton Jenkins and right tackle Zach Tom who is arguably one of three best players on the active roster. It didn’t matter. The Bears’ pass rush was practically invisible for the entire first half. On two pressures, Love went 0-for-1 and took a sack. From a clean pocket, the Packers quarterback went 9-for-11 with 3 passing touchdowns.
Winner: Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers
Romeo Doubs came up clutch twice for the Packers’ offense on Saturday night. Christian Watson converted a 4th-and-1 but had the football knocked out while trying to Superman his way into the end zone. Fortunately for Green Bay, the football stayed in bounds and Doubs recovered it to prevent a touchback. Four plays later, he was rewarded by Love with a touchdown on 4th-and-goal from the 1. Those were the two big plays Doubs made versus Chicago, but he also consistently did a good job of getting open for third-down conversions. Doubs later made a sensational grab for a 34-yard gain late in the fourth quarter, eclipsing the 100-yard mark,
Loser: Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers Head Coach
Reporting from NFL insiders coming into the game suggested that the Packers want to sign head coach Matt LaFleur to a contract extension this offseason, but the asking price is the issue. Green Bay’s coach did himself no favors with his play-calling in the second half. Even after it became evident that Chicago’s defense had dialed up its aggressiveness and would be blitzing more, LaFleur seemingly never had an answer. Drive after drive with a big lead, the Packers offense stalled. Blame for the second-half collapse and the poor clock management late in the fourth quarter has to fall squarely on LaFleur’s shoulders; given his playoff record now, team president Ed Policy and general manager Brian Gutekunst might be pondering whether his contract demands should be met.
Winner: Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Colston Loveland is a star in the making. This performance was also just the latest in a string of excellence from the rookie. Loveland came into the night with 278 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in the final four regular-season games. He stepped up for the Bears offense in this one, making some massive plays downfield to finish with 125 receiving yards on 7 receptions and a two-point conversion. We could be talking about Loveland as one of the five best tight ends in the NFL next season.
Winner: Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers
Matthew Golden ended the regular season in unfortunate company, joining Kadarius Toney on a very short list of first-round wide receivers who failed to find the end zone. It appears he was just saving it for the NFL playoffs. Green Bay found itself in a desperate spot, needing a score midway through the fourth quarter after watching an 18-point halftime lead turn into a five-point game. Golden took a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage, made a defender miss, and then avoided three more before getting upfield and dodging two more would-be tacklers for the crucial touchdown to make it a two-score game again. Golden built off that momentum, finishing with 84 yards and a score.
