Crucial special teams blunders and questionable coaching decisions cost the Green Bay Packers dearly against the Chicago Bears, igniting urgent questions about their playoff hopes.
The Green Bay Packers have two games to try to end this 2025 NFL regular season on a high note.
Can they do it? That's an open question, sadly. The Packers have all the talent in the world, even when missing key players like Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft and Devonte Wyatt. Heck, they were down Jordan Love against the Chicago Bears in Week 16 on the road and they were less than two minutes away from pulling out a win.
The problem, and it's a very big problem, is that the Packers didn't pull out a win.
A botched onside kick return with under two minutes to go in the game gave the Bears a chance to tie it. A botched coverage on fourth down allowed Caleb Williams to find undrafted rookie wide receiver Jahdae Walker wide open in the corner of the end zone, which ultimatly did tie it.
In overtime, a fumble from backup quarterback Malik Willis on a critical fourth down stole a chance for the Packers to score on their first drive. A few plays later, Williams found DJ Moore on a deep post route in the end zone that led to the game-winning touchdown.
It was a familiar story for the Packers. Heck, it felt a lot like the 2024 NFC Championship game, which saw the Packers lose a lead to the Seattle Seahawks thanks to a botched onside kick return. Seattle also won that game in overtime.
The stakes in this game weren't a trip to the Super Bowl, so it may hurt a bit less, but the NFC North was on the line in this one and the Packers blew it.
Heck, if they don't win their next two games, against the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings, they may not even make the playoffs.
Everything feels bad right now for the Packers, and that's not even mentioning Love's concussion or whether or not this team has what it takes to back into the playoffs and win a game.
Matt LaFleur will be under pressure to figure it out, but at this point, his ability to figure things out under pressure must be examined.
Andrew Kulha of PackersRoundtable and Anthony Moeglin of RoundtableSports talk about all this and more on the latest episode of the PackersRoundtable Podcast.
You can watch the full episode below:
