After a shocking 24-22 loss to the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers finished the regular season with an 11-6 record. The record is an improvement on last season, but their 1-5 division record speaks for itself. There is a lot wrong with this Packers team, and there isn’t a lot of time to fix their problems.
What is Wrong With the Green Bay Packers?
The Streak is Over For the Green Bay Packers
The Chicago Bears have finally beaten the Green Bay Packers. It almost happened earlier this season, but a blocked field goal resulted in a Packers 20-19 win. All signs were pointing towards a Bears win before DJ Moore fumbled. Green Bay took advantage with a field goal but left too much time on the clock. Caleb Williams was able to lead a game-winning drive to finish the Bears season on a high note. Regardless of the outcome, the Packers are still in the playoffs.
One of the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s game were the injuries. Christian Watson has had his career plagued with injuries, and this game was no different. Lambeau Field is well taken care of, but a non-contact knee injury took Watson out of the game. He was carted to the back and looked visibly distraught. Watson’s injury was not a good sign, but Jordan Love was the next man to go down. Out of precaution, Love was kept out for the entirety of the second half. Love’s injury doesn’t seem too significant at least as he was making some throws on the sideline. With all of the key defensive players already out, Green Bay does not need two of their key playmakers going down.
Blame the Coaches
Matt LaFleur might be one of the fastest head coaches to 100 career wins, but this loss is on his shoulders. He will be the first person to take accountability, which is a great sign of a coach. There were so many questionable decisions in this game, but the biggest was calling a field goal in the final minute. Brandon McManus has been one of the lone bright spots for Green Bay lately, but LaFleur hesitated before calling on his kicker. With the cold conditions, his decision made sense. He wanted to be 100% sure the team didn’t want to go for it, but that timeout left way too much time on the clock for Chicago.
Speaking of Chicago, that final drive showed signs of a horrible defensive scheme. Jeff Hafley was receiving high praise to start the season, but that praise was quickly met with questions. He’s far from a bad defensive coordinator, but the final play of this game would’ve gone down differently with 99% of coaches. The Packers were playing prevent, and a very generous one at that. In the final shot, the Packers three defenders were so far back they weren’t in sight of the camera. Their players were playing 10 yards past the target field goal line, which was an additional 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. This defensive scheme isn’t going to cut it against the top teams in the league, as seen in their losses.
One and Done?
It’s not over yet, but Packers fans aren’t too optimistic about the postseason. Last year, they were riding on a high and went to Dallas and took care of business. This year, they head to Philadelphia to face a team that was able to rest their starters. Jalen Hurts is still questionable, which could be a game-altering injury. Jordan Love seems like he’ll be good to go, but Malik Willis is always ready. Willis finished the Bears game 10-13 with 136 yards. He only had one carry for three yards, but he was used pre-Love injury. The Packers dialed up Love as a receiver out left with Willis at shotgun. When they aren’t running a jet-sweep on 4th and 3, the Packers come up with some great plays. Josh Jacobs only had four carries against Chicago, but he’s itching to go next week. There are so many variables against Philadelphia, but opening as a 3.5-point underdog is respectable. The Packers have what it takes to get the job done, they just need to go out there and do it.
