GREEN BAY – The Packers knocked off the archrival Bears for the 10th consecutive time in the Matt LaFleur era, this time by a score of 17-9 on Sunday at Lambeau Field to clinch an NFC Wild Card playoff spot.
Green Bay earned the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs and will travel next week to face No. 2 seed Dallas. The game is slated for Sunday, Jan. 14, at 3:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on FOX.
The Packers left a lot of scoring chances out there, but the offense rolled up 432 total yards in dominating the Bears everywhere but on the scoreboard. Chicago gained just 192 yards, was 3-for-11 on third down, and never found the end zone, settling for three field goals.
After the Packers stopped the Bears at midfield midway through the fourth quarter, Green Bay took over on its own 6-yard line with 6:08 to go, leading by eight points, and ran out the rest of the clock.
WR Dontayvion Wicks, returning from a chest injury that forced him out of the last 1 ½ games, caught two TD passes from QB Jordan Love, who was 27-of-32 for 316 yards with the two TDs and a 128.6 passer rating. RB Aaron Jones had his third straight 100-yard rushing game, with 111 yards on 22 carries. He added five receptions for 30 yards as well.
WR Jayden Reed had four catches for 112 yards, while WR Dontayvion Wicks had six catches for 61 yards and both of Love's passing scores. WR Bo Melton had five catches for 62 yards, as the Packers played without Christian Watson (inactive) and Romeo Doubs, who left the game in the first half with a chest injury.
For the Bears, QB Justin Fields was 11-of-16 for 148 yards and a 97.9 passer rating. RB Khalil Herbert, who was coming off back-to-back 100-yard games, had 12 carries for 28 yards, with Fields adding 27 yards on eight rushes. WR DJ Moore had four catches for 64 yards.
Here's a recap of all the action:
Bears lead Packers 3-0 after first quarter
Chicago won the coin toss and elected to receive. Justin Fields connected with Equanimeous St. Brown on an 18-yard completion to the Green Bay 26, but Lukas Van Ness sacked Fields for a 6-yard loss on the next play.
On third-and-13, Karl Brooks tackled Khalil Herbert for a 3-yard loss on a screen. Cairo Santos banged a 50-yard field goal off the left upright to put the Bears ahead 3-0 with 8 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first quarter.
On third-and-6, Jordan Love avoided a Chicago Blitz and found Aaron Jones out of an empty set for a 7-yard completion. Love then hit Dontayvion Wicks off a double-move on a corner route for 18 yards to cross midfield.
Jones broke a 14-yard run while following solid blocks by tight end Tucker Kraft and left tackle Rasheed Walker. Love nearly connected with Romeo Doubs in the end zone on second-and-5 from the Bears' 14. Jordan Love was sacked for a loss of eight on third down and Anders Carlson missed wide left from 41.
Rashan Gary tackled Fields for a loss of four at the Green Bay 42 to end the first quarter.
Packers lead Bears at halftime 7-6
The second quarter began with the Packers sending a six-man blitz and defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt sacking Fields for an 8-yard loss to force Chicago to punt.
Green Bay started on its own 8-yard line but gained 32 yards off a deep pass to Jayden Reed across the middle. An 8-yard pass to Wicks and 2-yard Bo Melton run moved the ball across midfield.
Melton converted a third-and-5 by plucking an 11-yard pass from Love out of the air at the Chicago 30. Jones gained 11 yards on the next play, moving Green Bay into the Bears' red zone.
Jones gained six yards on a run up the middle to set up third-and-1, with the Packers choosing to use their first timeout with 7:25 left in the first half. Running a playaction, Love went through his progressions and found Wicks for a 10-yard touchdown to pull Green Bay ahead 7-3 with 7:20 left in the first half. The 11-play, 92-yard drive was the Packers' longest of the season.
Chicago converted on fourth-and-1 with a Fields sneak at midfield to continue its next possession. Fields then hit D.J. Moore on a crosser for 33 yards. Prior to the two-minute warning, Cole Kmet caught a 6-yard curl to bring up third-and-6.
Kenny Clark came on a stunt and beat guard Teven Jenkins for an 8-yard sack on third down. Santos made a 39-yard field goal to cut Green Bay's lead to 7-6 with 1:17 left in the half.
With two timeouts in his pocket, Love opened the next drive with a 24-yard pass to Melton. Jones then caught a 13-yard check down to move into Bears' territory. Kraft caught back-to-back 8-yard passes to set up a first down at the Chicago 22 with 16 seconds left in the half.
Love hit Wicks for a 3-yard completion at the end of the second half but the side official ruled he was tackled in bounds and time expired in the half.
Love surpassed 4,000 passing yards on the season during the first half.
Packers lead Bears 14-6 after three
Wicks made the first defender miss on a 9-yard pick off a quick pass to open the second half. Melton came free for an 18-yard catch off a corner to move across midfield. Jones then found a lane for a 16-yard to the Bears' 30.
A 7-yard Jones run and 4-yard pass to Malik Heath moved Green Bay into the Chicago red zone for the third time. Jones surpassed 100 total yards for the third straight on the carry. On third-and-3, Love fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to Wicks on a slant to extend the Packers' lead to 14-6 with 9:47 left in the third quarter.
Chicago ran the ball seven straight times on its next possession but had its drive halted at the Bears' 49 when Preston Smith pressured Fields into a Quay Walker sack for a 3-yard loss on third-and-7.
Melton gained 12 yards on an end-around on first down and Green Bay pushed the ball to the midfield before Love fumbled on a third-and-2 keeper, which Jaquan Brisker recovered at the Packers' 42.
Packers beat Bears 17-9, advanced to playoffs
The fourth quarter began with Moore catching an 11-yard slant on third-and-7. Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur challenged the play but the ruling on the field stood.
Fields avoided a Smith sack on the next play and connected with Kmet for 27 yards to the Green Bay 17. Alexander broke up an end-zone pass for Robert Tonyan on first down and Keisean Nixon dropped Roschon Johnson for no gain on second down.
Carrington Valentine nearly intercepted Fields on third down but couldn't bring it in. Santos made a 35-yard field goal to cut Green Bay's lead to 14-9 with 13:03 remaining.
The Packers opened their next series with a 59-yard completion to Reed with most of those yards coming after the catch. On third-and-4, Love connected with Melton for what was originally ruled a 7-yard touchdown. It was overturned upon review and Carlson made a 25-yard field goal to extend Green Bay's lead to 17-9 with 10:54 remaining.
Fields rolled out and found Hebert for a 16-yard pickup. Kingsley Enagbare tackled Herbert for a loss of one on second-and-4 and Rashan Gary batted down a Fields pass at the line of scrimmage on third down. Gary jumped offsides on fourth-and-5, resulting in a first down.
Kenny Clark forced a hold from Bears center Dan Feeney on second-and-6, with Karl Brooks sacking Fields for a loss of six on the next play. Fields missed Tonyan high and the Bears were forced to punt with 6:08 remaining.
Starting at their own 6, the Packers moved the ball to the 29 after a 10-yard pass to Luke Musgrave and a 15-yard strike to Reed across the middle. His 112 receiving yards are the most by a Packers receiver this season.
Jones gained the next first down with back-to-back carries for 11 yards. Chicago used its first timeout with 3:15 remaining. Jones is now the sixth player in team history with more than 8,000 career yards. On third-and-8, Green Bay used its second timeout with 2:25 remaining.
Love stepped up in the pocket and hit Kraft for 15 yards to force the Bears to use their final timeout with 2:17 left. Jones gained a yard on first down to run the clock down to two minutes.
Jones broke a 10 yard run on second-and-9 and the Packers were able to kneel out the win after eating the final 6 minutes, 8 seconds of clock.
