The Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears in what felt way to similar to the 2014 NFC Championship game.
The Packers led the Bears 16 to 6 with five minutes remaining in the game and still found a way to lose the game in overtime. A lot went wrong for Green Bay in this one. Now the Packers find themselves truly in a rough spot to even make the playoffs, let alone make a deep run in the tournament. Here is a quick breakdown on how we got here:
Packers Red Zone Struggles
The game started out extremely chippy to begin. The Bears were penalized a ton throughout the game, especially with a couple of roughing the passer penalties. On the first drive of the game, Jordan Love and Company were able to go right down the field on the Bears. That wasn’t the problem.
Inside the red zone, Green Bay couldn’t find pay dirt, and it started on that first drive. The Packers went for it on fourth and short yardage. But instead of trying to get the first down, Love threw into the end zone for an incompletion to Christian Watson. On the second offensive possession, the Packers went down the field easily again. But once again, they only scored three with a field goal. Same with the third drive as well.
Oh and on the fifth, the Packers got to the red zone again, but Josh Jacobs fumbled the ball and the Bears got the turnover. On the sixth drive, Willis (more on that in a second) hit Romeo Doubs in stride for the touchdown. With the seventh drive, the Packers made it to the red zone once again, but had to settle for another field goal.
The Packers went 0/5 in the red zone in scoring touchdowns. Just get a couple of those changes! Heck, just get one more field goal, the Packers win this game.
Most people are gonna want to blame the injuries, but this game solely falls on the Packers red zone inefficiencies.
Speaking of Injuries
The injuries continue to pile up for this snake bitten team. Love was injured (concussion) on the third drive of the game. Next week, considering it is a concussion, is up in the air. The good news is that Malik Willis played well in Love’s stead and honestly probably made himself some money this offseason.
John Fitzpatrick went down with a noncontact injury, which the Packers stated as an Achilles injury. This left Green Bay with just one active tight end. Jayden Reed and Christian Watson were injured at the same time at one point, but were able to get back into the game. Romeo Doubs and Aaron Mosby also received injuries.
So, of course, the injuries just keep piling up for this Packers team.
Packers Improbable Loss
The broadcast team deemed the Bears win as an improbable one, but it does seem like the Packers find themselves on the losing end of improbable wins more often than others. Does that fall on coaching? I don’t know, but this game was eerily like the 2014 NFC Championship game. The Packers were up 16-6 with five minutes remaining in the game.
They lost in overtime. The Bears got the ball after the McManus field goal with five minutes remaining. Green Bay had them stopped on a 3rd and 20 sack. However, Warren Brinson grabbed Caleb William’s facemask. That gave the Bears the first down. The Packers still got the stop and held the Bears to the field goal.
The problem? The Bears declared for an onside kick and got it. Romeo Doubs wasn’t able to get the ball cleanly, and the Bears recovered. The Bears, on fourth and four, unlike last week, were able to get the touchdown and kicked the tying score.
Overtime
The Packers, with the ball first in overtime, moved the ball well. However, on fourth and one in the Bears territory, Malik Willis and Sean Rhyan botched the snap. So, they were unable to get the first. Just a couple of plays later, Caleb Williams did his best Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse and the Bears won 22-16.
For Green Bay to make the playoffs, they will need to win out. If they do, they will most likely face the Bears again. Back in Chicago.
But regardless,
Go Pack Go!
——————
Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
——————
The post Packers Lose In Heartbreaking Fashion To Bears In Overtime first appeared on PackersTalk.com Blog Posts and Podcasts.