The Green Bay Packers used two touchdown passes from Jordan Love to Dontayvion Wicks and five sacks of Justin Fields to beat the Chicago Bears and clinch a playoff spot on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
The season finale win over the Bears — the Packers’ 10th straight win in the rivalry — will send Matt LaFleur’s team to Dallas for the NFC Wild Card Round.
Here’s a quick recap of the Packers’ 17-9 win over the Bears in Week 18:
Final score: Packers 17, Bears 9
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| CHI (7-10) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| GB (9-8) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
Scoring plays
First quarter
CHI 3, GB 0: Cairo Santos 50-yard field goal (8:54)
Second quarter
GB 7, CHI 3: Dontayvion Wicks 10-yard catch (7:20)
GB 7, CHI 6: Cairo Santos 39-yard field goal (1:17)
Third quarter
GB 14, CHI 6: Dontayvion Wicks 12-yard catch (9:47)
Fourth quarter
GB 14, CHI 9: Cairo Santos 35-yard field goal (13:03)
GB 17, CHI 9: Anders Carlson 25-yard field goal (10:54)
It was over when…
…Jordan Love hit Jayden Reed for 15 yards and Tucker Kraft for 15 more yards to convert third downs, and Aaron Jones ripped off a 10-yard run on 2nd-and-9 to allow the Packers to kill off the rest of the fourth quarter clock. Green Bay’s final drive gained 61 yards and consumed the final 6:08 of the clock.
Game balls
QB Jordan Love: He completed 27 of 32 passes, hit Dontayvion Wicks for a pair of scores and was two near-completions away from four touchdown passes. Masterclass performance.
RB Aaron Jones: He rushed for over 100 yards for the third consecutive game and finished with 141 total yards. His late 10-yard run was the playoff-clinching dagger.
DL Karl Brooks: The rookie had a tackle for loss on third down, forcing a field goal attempt, and his sack of Justin Fields in the fourth quarter set a punt (and the Bears never got the ball back).
Key stat
240: The Packers outgained the Bears 432 to 192, including a 308-to-117 advantage in the passing game. Overall, the Packers averaged 7.2 yards per play to the Bears’ 4.2. Green Bay had more first downs (24 to 13), more plays (60 to 46), more rushing yards (124 to 75) and more time of possession (31:24 to 28:36).
Jordan Love watch
Love was nearly perfect throwing the football. He had five incompletions, and two were dropped touchdowns. Love did have a fumble on a busted play, but he was terrific, especially late. He hit Jayden Reed for 59 yards to set up a fourth-quarter field goal, and his third-down completions to Reed and Tucker Kraft kept the final, win-sealing drive alive. Love set new season highs in completion percentage (84.4), yards per attempt (9.9) and passer rating (128.6).
Highlights
Injury updates
#Packers injury update: WR Romeo Doubs (chest) is questionable to return. #CHIvsGB
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 7, 2024
Receiver Romeo Doubs left with a chest injury in the first half and didn’t return. Right tackle Zach Tom tried to play through a finger injury. Coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t sure if receiver Christian Watson, who was a surprise inactive, would be able to go next week in Dallas.
What's next
The season isn’t over. The Packers, who clinched the No. 7 seed in the NFC, will go to Dallas to play the Cowboys in the wildcard round. Mike McCarthy’s team finished 12-5, won the NFC East and secured the No. 2 seed. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb lead a high-powered offense, and few teams take the ball away quite like the Cowboys. The last time these two teams met, Christian Watson was flipping after one of his three touchdowns. The last time these two teams played in Dallas, Aaron Jones was waving goodbye on the way to four touchdowns. What does next week have in store for the young Packers?
