The Green Bay Packers avoided a nightmare scenario after the bye week, capitalizing on a late Jordan Love touchdown drive and a blocked field goal as time expired by Karl Brooks to lead Soldier Field with a 20-19 victory Chicago Bears escape on Sunday.
Instead of watching a makeable field goal kick fly through the uprights and fall to 6-4, the Packers got an incredible block from Brooks and an 11th straight victory over the Bears.
At 7-3, the Packers are in a prime playoff spot, but no one doubts that Matt LaFleur's team will need to improve quickly to advance through the final seven games of 2024.
Here's what went right, what went wrong, and what it means for the Packers' future:
What went well
— The Packers were explosive in the passing game. Jordan Love averaged 20.0 yards per completion, and he found Christian Watson for three plays of 25 or more yards and Josh Jacobs for two plays of 20 yards. The 60-yarder for Watson set up the go-ahead touchdown late on.
– Under Rich Bisaccia, special teams finally made a game-changing play. Karl Brooks' blocked field goal saved the day.
– Watson set 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 converted 21 touches for 134 total yards. He had two runs of at least 10 yards and two catches of 20 yards, as well as a touchdown run of 7 yards.
– Love scored a free-play touchdown with too many men on the field and a first-down conversion after an offsides penalty by using his cadence. The former quarterback would be proud.
– Rashan Gary made his biggest play of the season when he passed through Braxon Jones and sacked Caleb Williams on the final drive for 3rd-and-20. The Packers need more. Much more. But it's a start.
– The Packers had three players rush for 10 or more yards: Jacobs, Love and Emanuel Wilson. Love's 15-yard scramble set up his 1-yard touchdown, while Wilson's run came one play before Love's free-play touchdown pass to Jayden Reed.
– The Packers only had three penalties for 25 yards, although one ended up 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 in number of plays (68-43) and time of possession (36:31 to 23:39). On the final possession, the Bears converted on 3rd-and-20 to extend the drive and set up the field goal attempt.
– The Packers scored three touchdowns in the red zone, but 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 faced 4th-and-goal the six.
– The Packers gave up 179 rushing yards, including a career-high 70 yards from Caleb Williams and a 39-yard rushing touchdown from D'Andre Swift.
– Green Bay’s defense had no chance. Two of the team's three sacks came on the final drive. Jeff Hafley's group lacked disruptive theatrics and often suffered death from thousands of paper cuts.
– Safety Xavier McKinney missed two tackles, including one as the last defender on Swift's touchdown run.
– Linebacker Quay Walker repeatedly failed to make stops in big spots.
– The Packers only had seven drives total, so going 1-for-5 on third down and 0-1 on fourth down had a big impact.
— Cornerback Jaire Alexander left the game with a knee injury and did not return. He obviously wasn't 100 percent capable of starting the game. Will it be available next week?
What it means
The Packers avoided a terrible, potentially season-altering loss after the bye and picked up another ugly win to improve to 7-3. Matt LaFleur's team still hasn't played anywhere near its best, and the unfulfilled potential is both encouraging and concerning. Obviously the Packers can play better. Your A Level stuff might be just as good as anyone else's. But we're now 10 games into an 18-game schedule and it's reasonable to be concerned about whether all the inconsistencies will either keep the Packers from reaching their top level or whether they'll come back in January to deal them a major blow relocate. It's mid-November and we just haven't seen long, consistently high stretches of play from the Packers. This team is 7-3 and is still capable of winning 10-12 games. But the Packers need to be better, especially as they face a particularly difficult stretch over the next three weeks.
Highlights
What's next?
A visit from the San Francisco 49ers. 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 to show it than beating the reigning conference champions. The 49ers have been the class of the NFC for years. The Packers could clinch a decisive victory in 2024 with a win on Sunday.
