Snaps, Stud and Duds From Packers’ Shocking Loss at Bears

Here’s our weekly analysis of the snap counts and some of the noteworthy performances from the Green Bay Packers’ crushing loss at the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson (23) runs for a gain against Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker on Saturday. | Dan Powers-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – All the Green Bay Packers had to do was not fumble. Not blow coverage. Not fumble a snap.

The Packers outplayed the Chicago Bears for most of Saturday night’s NFC North showdown at Soldier Field but made almost none of the important plays in a stunning 22-16 overtime loss.

Here’s our weekly look at the snap counts, plus one stud and one dud from the game.

Packers Snaps on Offense

The Packers played 72 snaps on offense.

Quarterbacks: Jordan Love played 26 snaps before suffering a concussion. Malik Willis played the final 46 and got Micah Parsons’ seal of approval while going 9-of-11 passing for 121 yards and adding 10 carries for 44 yards.

https://x.com/MicahhParsons11/status/2002586590703727006

Running backs: Josh Jacobs’ fumble on first-and-goal at the 4 early in the third quarter was his final touch of the game and the last of his 28 snaps. Call it an injury-related benching. Emanuel Wilson played 33 snaps and Chris Brooks played 15.

Wilson didn’t just play more. He was more effective. He carried 14 times for 82 yards (5.9 average) compared to 12 carries for 36 yards (3.0) for Jacobs.

Receivers: Jayden Reed (46 snaps), Romeo Doubs (45) and Christian Watson (45) logged the lion’s share of the snaps. Doubs was cooking early and caught 5-of-6 for 84 yards. Reed had a quiet night before his 31-yarder in overtime. Watson was targeted six times but caught only two for 17 yards.

Next up were Dontayvion Wicks, who played 30 snaps, and Matthew Golden, who played 22. Back in the lineup after missing three games, Savion Williams played three snaps on offense and returned kickoffs. With the full group of receivers on the field, Bo Melton, a hero in the first game against Chicago, played one snap. Combined, those four players caught two passes for 12 yards (both by Wicks).

Tight ends: Luke Musgrave played 55 snaps, the third-most of his career and the most in more than two years. He got a heavy workload as the Packers went with only two tight ends with Josh Whyle inactive with a concussion. John FitzPatrick played 26 snaps before suffering an Achilles injury, leaving Musgrave flying solo.

Musgrave caught all three targets for 38 yards, including a 26-yarder. Slowly, he’s becoming more of a factor following Tucker Kraft’s torn ACL.

Offensive line: With Zach Tom inactive, Jordan Morgan, who had lost the starting job at right guard, got the start at right tackle. The No. 1 line of Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Aaron Banks at left guard, Sean Rhyan at center, Anthony Belton at right guard and Morgan went the distance. Darian Kinnard played 11 as an extra tight end.

Morgan was charged with the only sack by PFF, and the line gave up just eight pressures. PFF didn’t charge any pressures to Walker. Rhyan helped power the Emanuel Wilson-led rushing attack.

“It felt like he did a good job. There was a lot of reasons behind that,” coach Matt LaFleur said of the decision to start Morgan at right tackle. “For one, I think just he’s a very talented young player, and he definitely feels more natural at the tackle position. So, we gave him an opportunity.

“And also, if you notice lately, we’ve had DK playing a ton of tight end. A lot of it’s just due to our situation at tight end, but also I think he went out there and performed well. So, I would say it was twofold in regards to why we did what we did.”

Packers Snaps on Defense

The Packers played 64 snaps on defense.

Defensive ends: In the first game without Micah Parsons, Kingsley Enagbare played the most snaps with 43. Rashan Gary, who’s supposed to be the stalwart of the unit, was next with 37, followed by Lukas Van Ness with 26.

Kyle Monangai is tripped up by Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary (52) and cornerback Carrington Valentine. | Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Gary had a team-high four pressures but has gone eight games without a sack. According to PFF, he has 13 pressures the last three games after recording only 12 the previous five games.

Fresh off injured reserve, Brenton Cox played 18 impactful snaps and rookie Barryn Sorrell played 10. Arron Mosby didn’t get any snaps on defense but shook off an early injury to play 16 on special teams. He led the coverage units with two tackles.

Defensive tackles: Karl Brooks was the workhorse of the group with 49 snaps. Nobody else was close, with Colby Wooden playing 29, Jordon Riley 23 and Warren Brinson 21. Brooks had only one assisted tackle to show for all that playing time. Brinson’s third-down sack might have clinched the game had he not been guilty of a facemask, which gave the Bears a first down and led to a field goal.

Linebackers: Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper played every snap and Isaiah McDuffie played 26 in addition to his team-high 17 on special teams.

Walker led the team with 14 tackles, including one of the team’s two tackles for losses, and added a pass breakup. Cooper, who needs to be a focal point in picking up the slack for Micah Parsons, had only three tackles.

Cornerbacks: Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine went the distance. PFF charged Nixon with only two completions, but they were the fourth-quarter and overtime touchdowns. Valentine was flagged for defensive holding in the second quarter but no damage was done.

With safety Evan Williams out with a knee injury, the adjustment was moving Javon Bullard out of the slot and inserting Nate Hobbs. Hobbs was physical and impactful in 38 snaps. He had played only 20 snaps in his first two games since missing a month to deal with a sore knee.

Safeties: Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard played every snap. Plus, McKinney played 10 more on special teams. They each had a pass breakup. Bullard had nine tackles. Zayne Anderson, who replaced Evan Williams at Denver, was relegated to special teams.

Packers Stud vs. Bears

This is almost impossible. Had the Packers won, Malik Willis would have been an easy choice in coming off the bench to lead the way. Instead, he fumbled a fourth-and-1 snap in overtime.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) spins to avoid a sack during the fourth quarter at the Chicago Bears. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Emanuel Wilson might have been an easy choice given his productivity after Josh Jacobs’ fumble. But he dropped a backward pass on second-and-goal at the 5, leading to one of the team’s five red-zone failures.

Romeo Doubs was the best threat in the passing game but botched the onside kick.

Ultimately, if not for a myriad of other problems, the Packers would have taken over first place in the division because of their quarterback. Passing and running, Willis continues to impress every time he gets an opportunity.

“Adversity is a part of life,” Willis said. “In my faith, I believe in Jesus Christ, and he went through the worst adversity and gave it all to us. If he could do that, I can worry about football and take a little adversity. You know, people get banged up, people lose and win games. Obviously, we want to win them all, but we just got to continue to move forward, because it’s already written. We just got to stay on the path”

Packers Dud vs. Bears

On fourth-and-4 from the 6 in the final moments of regulation, the Bears lined up with receivers Jahdae Walker and Olamide Zaccheaus in a tight tandem to the right. From an alignment perspective, Nate Hobbs was lined up nearest to Walker and Keisean Nixon nearest to Zaccheaus.

Zaccheaus ran a curl about a yard shy of first-down marker while Walker ran midway through the end zone before taking his route to the outside. Nixon and Hobbs converted on Zaccheaus, leaving Walker wide open for a touchdown to force overtime.

Pro Football Focus charged the touchdown to Nixon. Whoever was to blame, it was a monumental miscommunication that could be the difference between the Packers winning the NFC North or missing the playoffs altogether.

In overtime, Nixon gave up the game-deciding touchdown bomb. He was beaten by a step, with Caleb Williams delivering a perfect pass.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER