ClutchPoints
The Green Bay Packers came dangerously close to handing the Chicago Bears a momentum-changing gift on Saturday night, thanks to one of the most chaotic play designs of the postseason.
With Green Bay holding a comfortable lead in the second half, the offense dialed up an unexpected wrinkle: a tackle-eligible screen pass to reserve offensive lineman Darian Kinnard. Filling in for injured starter Zach Tom, Kinnard reported as eligible and became the target of a short pass from Jordan Love deep in Packers territory.
The play initially worked. Kinnard rumbled forward for six yards, showcasing surprising balance for a 300-plus-pound lineman. Then everything unraveled. As Bears defenders converged, the ball was knocked loose, creating a heart-stopping moment for Green Bay fans.
What followed was pure chaos. The loose football was accidentally kicked forward by Kinnard, sending it skidding upfield and appearing to set up a perfect recovery opportunity for Chicago. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. dove to secure it, but instead knocked the ball out of bounds. Because the ball exited the field after the fumble, it could not be advanced, allowing the Packers to retain possession at the original spot.
Darrian Kinnard LOSES the ball but the Bears were unable to recover
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 11, 2026
For all the madness, the stat sheet will forever show Kinnard with a six-yard playoff reception — a strange footnote in a game that nearly swung on a single bounce.
Chicago did manage to force a punt shortly afterward, but the missed recovery was emblematic of a night where crucial moments slipped through the Bears’ fingers. Even later, another loose-ball scramble on a kickoff again favored Green Bay before Chicago finally flipped the storyline in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, the Bears completed a dramatic comeback, but the Kinnard play remains one of the wildest sequences of the game, and a reminder of how thin the margin can be in the postseason.
For Green Bay, it’s a moment worth learning from. Creative play-calling can create advantages, but in January football, protecting the ball often matters more than catching defenses off guard.
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