Packers Could Get Playoff Rematch Against Bears, But There’s Work To Do

CHICAGO – For the better part of 58 minutes, the Green Bay Packers were the superior team on Saturday night against the Chicago Bears.

And then they let it all – including the NFC North lead – slip through their fingers.

The Bears shocked the Packers 22-16 in overtime. You could say it was a comedy of errors, except it was no laughing matter.

“It does hurt,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Feel like you’re rubbing salt in the wound there. But that’s the reality of it. It should hurt because these guys, all of us, we put a lot into this thing and we had opportunities. You’re up two scores late in the game and unfortunately, it flipped pretty quick.”

Had the Packers made the play or two necessary to finish off the Bears, they would have been in first place in the NFC North. As former coach Mike McCarthy famously said after the Vikings won the division, the Packers don’t hang division championship banners at Lambeau Field.

Still, a huge prize was within reach, as the Packers would have been in control of the No. 2 seed. The No. 2 will open the playoffs with a home game against the No. 7 seed in the wild-card round. If they win that game, they’ll host a playoff game in the divisional round, as well.

That’s two home games to earn a trip to the NFC Championship Game.

Instead, it’s practically the seventh seed or bust for the Packers. The No. 7 seed is bad news, like the Packers learned last year. If the No. 7 wins at the No. 2 in the wild-card round, it would have to play at the No. 1 in the divisional round.

But, at this point, it beats the alternative.

If the Detroit Lions beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the Packers (9-5-1) would have a half-game lead over the Lions (9-6) in the race for the final playoff spot.

So, it’s little wonder why a potential rematch against the Bears wasn’t on anyone’s mind.

“I’m not even there with my mind,” LaFleur said. “I’ve got to process kind of what happened, how it happened and just try to find ways for us to not put ourselves In these tough situations, because the majority of the game I felt like we were pretty much in control of the game. Certainly, it’s extremely disappointing when you can’t finish the job.”

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) and Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) embrace after the game. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Packers will close the regular season with a home game against the Baltimore Ravens next Saturday night before visiting the Minnesota Vikings in the finale. The Ravens are just a game behind Pittsburgh for the AFC North lead so will have plenty to play for. The Vikings aren’t going anywhere but quarterback J.J. McCarthy has played much better of late.

After Sunday’s home game against the Steelers, the Lions will finish with games at the Vikings and Bears.

Added together, Green Bay might have to sweep its final two games just to get into the dance. If it does rebound and earn the No. 7 seed with a 11-5-1 record, chances are it would play at the Bears, who have a one-game lead over the Eagles in the race for the No. 2 along with the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“I think we’re going to take it one week at a time, and we got to make it there first,” said quarterback Malik Willis, who replaced Jordan Love for the final two-and-a-half quarters. “We got to finish out the season the right way, and then we can worry about whatever’s after that, after that.”

According to The Athletic’s playoff simulator, the Packers have an 82 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. That would grow to 92 percent if they can beat the Ravens but fall to 64 percent if they lose.

“Got to” move on, defensive back Javon Bullard said. “We still got two more games left in the season. We can’t dwell on that sh**. We got to keep going. We got to win out, to be honest with you. We got to win out. We got to stick together, gel together. Go back and fix our mistakes and get ready for Baltimore.”

If not, a season that started with Super Bowl dreams could end in disappointment in Minneapolis in two weeks.

“We control what we control,” cornerback Nate Hobbs said. “We don’t have any control of ranking, seed, none of that anymore. Chicago, I give props to them. They kept fighting. They kept battling. It felt like tonight, God already chose who was going to win the game because it was so many things that went their way that just wasn’t normal.

“It’s like, you got to live with those, you know what I’m saying? We played our butts off. We controlled most of the game and I feel like God set it up that way. It was already written.”

That’s an interesting way of looking at things. Regardless of whether it was divine intervention or too many unforced errors, LaFleur was happy with how his team fought, though there are no columns for “battle” in the playoff standings.

“Certainly, the game didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” LaFleur said. “I was so proud of our guys, man, to be able to handle all the adversity and continue to battle and fight. Unfortunately, some of those plays at the end of the game didn’t go our way. We had a fumble in the red area, we didn’t field an onside kick, certainly the fourth down right there in overtime where we botch a snap. Just too many errors in critical moments that got us beat.

“So, give Chicago credit. It was a hell of a game. We knew they were a team that was going to fight to the end. It was a playoff-type atmosphere, which we expected, but I was really, really proud of the way our guys competed. The way they battled. It’s tough. It’s always tough in this league to have to rebound and get it together but that’s exactly what we have to do and that’s exactly what we will do to get ready for a tough Baltimore team.”

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