Wild Card Weekend: Packers Winners and Losers vs. the Bears

And just like that, the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 season is over. After a hot start to the year with big wins over the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders, the team found themselves on a downward trajectory after major injuries to their most important playmakers. A 4-game losing streak turned into a 5-game losing streak after the Packers fell 31-27 against the Chicago Bears in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Simply put: it’s a devastating way to end the season, but we can all rest now. Let’s dive into the winners and losers from the Packers’ final game of the season.

Winner: Matthew Golden

My boy, my baby boy. We’ve been waiting all season for Matthew Golden’s coveted first NFL touchdown, and Saturday night, he finally got his moment. After a year full of limited opportunities in the receiving game, Golden was one of Jordan Love’s go-to players against the Bears on an offense that just couldn’t get the run game going. He was running routes really well, and used his speed to extend plays. He also had his “wow” moment, a 23-yard touchdown catch on a play which could’ve ended 10 yards sooner. The effort on this play was stunning—I didn’t think Golden had this in him. He finished the night catching 4 of 5 targets for 84 yards and a score. The rookie looked phenomenal in the game that mattered most, and I can’t wait to see what year 2 looks like.

Winner: Jordan Love

Simply put: I’m not sure what else Jordan Love could’ve done for the Packers last night. He’s finally entered “if he’s your quarterback, your team has a chance” territory, but the problem is…the team. The offensive line did Love no favors, and it didn’t help that Sean Rhyan and Jacob Monk, their #2 and #3 options at center, both went down during the game. The run game did absolutely nothing, with Josh Jacobs averaging a paltry 2.9 yards per carry. There were egregious drops from the receivers, which has been the story of the last two years.

Despite all of this, Love was still able to throw for 323 yards and 4 TDs with 24 completions on 46 attempts. He spread the love (I’m sorry) last night, throwing to 9 different pass catchers, and all 4 of his TD passes were to different receivers. He’s finally a calm and composed veteran under center, but the rest of the team needs some serious work for this offense to stop the late-game slides.

Loser: Brandon McManus

Brandon McManus left 7 points on the field after two missed FG attempts and a missed XP attempt. The Packers lost by 4. If I’m doing the math correctly, this guy needs to not be a Packer anymore.

Loser: Matt LaFleur

I disagree with the sentiment that Matt LaFleur has been on the hot seat all season, but I do think his seat warmed up after an inexcusable collapse to the Bears in the playoffs. After being up 18 points, it was the Packers’ game to lose, and they did just that. They lost. For whatever reason, LaFleur seems set on running the ball in early, long yardage situations. If it works, fine! But it doesn’t work. I counted 6 third-and-longs last night as a direct result of running the ball for a gain of 1 or 2 beforehand. The team was only able to run for a total of 99 yards last night, and it was clear early in the game that it wasn’t working.

The team scored once in the second half—a concerning trend throughout the year. We saw collapses against the Browns. The Cowboys. The Broncos. The Bears once, and now the Bears twice. Again—I don’t think I agree with firing LaFleur, because I’m not sure who would be an adequate replacement. However, something has to change. Is it the offensive coordinator? Is it play calling duties? I’m not sure, but this game was one of the worst of LaFleur’s 7 year tenure.

Loser: Jeff Hafley

FIRE JEFF HAFLEY. Just kidding, but also…what? The defense did a really great job in the first half of the game, limiting the Bears to just 3 points in their first drive, and ending their next three drives in turnovers. They were even okay in the third quarter—just three more points from the Bears, and another Caleb Williams interception. If you want to stop reading here, I don’t blame you.

In the fourth quarter of the game, the Packers allowed 25 points. The Bears scored during every drive of the game’s final quarter, and they did it rather quickly—their longest drive of the quarter was just 2:30. Offenses collapse sometimes. I get it. Defenses collapse sometimes. I get it. When both collapse at the same time, you cannot win football games.

With the season officially over for the Packers, we are all finally out of our misery, for the time being. When the 2026 season begins in September, we should have both Tucker Kraft and Micah Parsons back from their torn ACLs—two players whose presence could’ve saved last night’s game. The roster and coaching staff will no doubt look a little different, with the possible departure of guys like Romeo Doubs, Elgton Jenkins, Rashan Gary, and Jeff Hafley, among others. Will the team be able to do what it takes to keep their Super Bowl window open? We’ll find out a year from now. Stay tuned.