The Packers’ 2025-26 season came to an end Saturday as the Packers lost to the Chicago Bears 31-27 in the Wildcard Round of the NFL playoffs at Soldier Field.
Late in the fourth quarter, Chicago took a four-point lead, giving Packers quarterback Jordan Love the opportunity to march down the field and win the game with 1:43 remaining. Love and the offense quickly moved down the field by way of completions to Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden and Romeo Doubs. Green Bay eventually worked down to the Chicago 28-yard line with seven seconds left.
On the ensuing play, Love fumbled the snap, picked up his fumble and worked around the pocket, looking for an open receiver. Nobody was able to get open; in a desperation attempt, Love’s pass to the end zone was batted down, giving Chicago the win and ending Green Bay’s season.
“This one is going to hurt for a really, really long time,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
The ending of the game was a far cry from the beginning. In the first half, Green Bay looked dominant. After Chicago jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Packers rattled off 21 straight points to go into halftime with Love looking as good as he had all season.
Coming out of the half, things quickly changed. Chicago ramped up its defense and pass rush, effectively killing Green Bay’s run game and making throws difficult for Love.
Coming out of halftime, Green Bay’s first four possessions of the second half totaled 14 plays, resulting in four punts. During Chicago’s first four possessions of the second half, it combined for 13 points, bringing the difference to just five points.
“The second half – you just look back on it and we just couldn’t get anything going,” said Love. “We came out, a couple three-and-outs to start and it was really disappointing. It is lack of execution and finding ways to make plays that really just hurt us.”
In the midst of Chicago’s comeback, it was Golden who was able to provide his first real spark of the season for the Packers.
Following Chicago cutting the lead to five in the fourth quarter, Green Bay elected to shy away from the run game. This resulted in 40 yards on the drive for Doubs, setting up a first-and-10 for the Packers from the Chicago 23-yard line. Love completed a pass to the flat to Golden, who broke tackles and avoided defenders, scampering in for a 23-yard touchdown, the first of his NFL career.
Chicago matched with a touchdown and converted on a two-point attempt on its next possession bringing the score to within three points. On Green Bay’s ensuing possession, kicker Brandon McManus was set up with a 44-yard field goal. His attempt was missed, giving Chicago prime field position.
The miss for McManus was his third miss on the day (two field goals and one extra point). Chicago responded by working its way down the field and scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:43 remaining.
“One of those kicks was a long kick at the end of the half,” said LaFleur, on McManus’ struggles. “Obviously, the conditions are windy, but the difference was they made theirs and we did not.”
McManus finished the game missing both of his field goal attempts, while converting three-of-four extra point attempts. Bears kicker Cairo Santos made all three of his field goal attempts and hit both his extra point attempts.
Love finished the game completing 24-of-46 passes for 323 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Doubs was the biggest benefactor of Love’s day, as he finished the game with 124 yards and one touchdown on eight receptions. Golden had his best day as a pro as well, finishing the game with 84 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Reed and Christian Watson were the only other two pass catchers with multiple receptions, as both also found the end zone in the game.
In the run game, Josh Jacobs, who had been dealing with a knee injury toward the end of the regular season, finished the game with 55 yards on 19 carries.
For the Bears, quarterback Caleb Williams completed 24-of-48 passes for 361 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Tight end Colston Loveland hauled in eight passes, finishing with 137 yards. D.J. Moore added another 64 yards and a touchdown on six receptions, while Olamide Zaccheaus was the recipient of Williams’ other touchdown pass.
Chicago’s run game was somewhat neutralized, as D’Andre Swift was held to 54 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while Kyle Monagai mustered 27 yards on eight rushes.
With Green Bay’s Super Bowl hopes ending in Chicago, it now marks 15 years since the Packers have participated in the Super Bowl and five years since it made an NFC Championship. Since Jordan Love became the starting quarterback for Green Bay, the Packers have entered every postseason as the seventh seed, not winning the NFC North since 2021.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of work,” said LaFleur, on how Green Bay gets over the hump for the future. “We are not where we want to be. I know we have fought through a lot of adversity this year; unfortunately, we didn’t do enough to overcome that adversity. That’s all of us collectively. We have to do more; we have to be better.”
Green Bay will enter the 2026-27 season without a first-round draft pick, as the pick was a piece in the trade to land Micah Parsons.
