Acme Packing Company
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears met for the third time in the postseason since 1941. It did not end the way the Packers had hoped as Green Bay fell to Chicago 31-27 in the NFL Wild Card round in Chicago, a game where the Packers dominated most of the first half, but will look back on the failures of what was ultimately an incomplete game, culminating in a slow second-half collapse.
The game began with an opening drive score by the Bears to take a 3-0 lead. The Bears chipped away at the Packers’ defense, making the Bears earn every yard. Quarterback Caleb Williams hit two 12-yard completions to Luther Burden and D.J. Moore, as well as a 9-yard run on third down by Kyle Monangai on a 3rd-and-1 to move the chains.
The Bears ended up 4-for-5 on third down on the opening drive after Kingsley Enagbare nearly stalled their drive with a 4-yard loss when he shot through the blocking on an apparent wing trap run. He wasn’t fooled.
But Caleb found D.J. More on 3rd-and-12 for a 12-yard gain. Eventually, the defense tightened and held on 3rd-and-5, forcing an incompletion after sustaining a nearly eight-minute drive.
The Packers went right to work after taking the kickoff and a 10-yard holding penalty that pushed them back to start their opening drive on the 15-yard line. Jaydeen Reed to the offense’s first play on an end around for 14 yards to the 29.
The Packers methodically moved the ball 85 yards in 9 plays. Jordan Love completed a 33-yard deep ball off of a play action mirrored corner concept, where it looks like the outside receivers are going to run deep crossing routes. Doubs breaks out to the corner with a good bit of separation, and Love dropped it in.
A few plays later, Love connected on 3rd-and-2 with Christian Watson for the touchdown. Operating under center, Love executed a play-action fake and booted out to his right on a naked bootleg.
Watson started on the left and ran the slide route to the flat from behind the line of scrimmage. The slide route put Nixon on the nickel in the flat, and from there, Watson did the rest, outrunning Bears nickel Nick McCloud to the front pylon.
The Bears’ next drive went into the second quarter with them converting a 4th-and-2. The Packers got some pressure on 3rd down with Quay Walker blitzing up the middle on a simulated pressure, but he was unable to chase down Williams, who was able to get off a throw rolling to his right.
That set up a 4th-and-2 and an easy decision to go for it. The play call was a 3×1 short dagger concept; the Bears easily converted against cover-1 5-man pressure, where the two inside defenders had trouble passing off the #2 and #3 receivers. It looked like straight man coverage, so it’s not clear what the communication issue was.
The Bears tried to convert another 4th...
