Packers’ Week 18 Wins and Losses Against the Bears
Now, the NFL’s youngest team is also the youngest to ever qualify for the playoffs. Who really delivered for Green Bay?
The Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs after defeating the Chicago Bears in the final regular season game, Baby. This isn’t the last Winners/Losers article of the year. The third-youngest team in the league faced off against the youngest team in the league, and the Packers prevailed 17–9 in the end. Let’s examine the players that made an impression in the most significant game of the Packers season.
Taking advantage of a porous Bears offensive line today, the Packers’ pass rushers dominated during the game’s most crucial moments. Quay Walker, Karl Brooks, Lukas Van Ness, Kenny Clark, and Devonte Wyatt were the ones who sacked Bears quarterback Justin Fields five times today (I’m positive that Rashan Gary got in there for a couple of them). This season, Justin Fields has accumulated 630 rush yards. It’s critical to intercept a team’s quarterback before he even gets the chance when they have a quarterback with this level of running ability. Fields was only able to gain 27 total rushing yards today thanks to the efforts of the Packers. Here, the defense as a whole deserves recognition as well because every point the Bears scored today came from
For WR Dontayvion Wicks, what a day. Wicks scored the only two touchdowns for the Packers today, catching six of seven targets for 61 yards. His hands have never looked stronger, and his first catch of the game was his longest of the day at 19 yards. Wicks appeared capable of being this young team’s #1 or #2 receiver overall. There were times when he was extending plays and breaking the ankles of Bears defenders, and it was stunning. His footwork today was impressive—almost Davante-esque. It was nice to have Wicks back after his absence from the game the previous week. Salutations, Dontayvion.
The Packers are facing an issue. They must figure out a ton of math to keep Aaron Jones, a running back, on the roster without taking on a crippling cap hit of nearly $18 million. Jones finished the day with 141 all-purpose yards, 111 of which came from his 5.0 average rush on the ground. Despite being one of the team’s smaller players, Jones did not give up easily today. There were instances where it appeared that three or four defenders were required to bring him down, and not all running backs possess this quality. Jones made sure that today would be a great game if it were his last one (although it’s not, because
To clear it up, I will: TE Tucker It was not ideal that Kraft had to go out of bounds multiple times tonight but was unable to do so. If the Packers had lost today’s game, Kraft might have been declared the loser for the evening. He isn’t a loser, though, because—I don’t know if you’ve heard—the Green Bay Packers have advanced to the postseason. In the run game tonight, Kraft made crucial blocks that gave Aaron Jones significantly more yardage. Additionally, Kraft had the catch that basically guaranteed the Packers a postseason berth. We’ll get to watch this tandem go forward now that fellow TE Luke Musgrave is back after being sidelined for several weeks due to a lacerated kidney.
Bokeem Miles Melton, where have you been living? The newest exciting wide receiver for the Packers caught five of seven passes for 62 yards, and he was open for nearly all of them. He had a touchdown reception today, but the officials waved it back because they said he gained possession of the ball by using the ground. Hard day for the people who say “Green Bay gets all the calls.” Even though it hurt to see, it didn’t matter in the end because, people, the Green Bay Packers are making the playoffs! Melton has started to benefit from his increased playing time while Christian Watson is sidelined due to a hamstring injury. In his last three games, he has 211 receiving yards. What will happen to his Cinderella story next?
The Bears’ slot coverage is one of their biggest weaknesses, and the Packers exploited this today. As a result, wide receiver Jayden Reed led the team with 112 yards and an average of 28.0 after catching all four of his targets. With his first career 100-yard game against his home team, Reed made a big impression, and there’s no denying his rapport with quarterback Jordan Love. In the upcoming years, this relationship will be particularly noteworthy (and hopefully lead to the Packers making the playoffs, too).
