The Green Bay Packers Playoff Loss Was More of the Same Problems

The Green Bay Packers 2025 season came to a painful but appropriate finish Saturday night in Chicago. After taking a 21-3 halftime lead on the Bears, the Packers found a way to lose the football game by making untimely mistakes on special teams, taking bad penalties and being outcoached in the second half. In other words, this team stayed true to its identity until the very end. They lost this game the way they lost all year. The one team this Packers squad could not overcome ultimately was themselves. The Packers playoff loss was more of the same problems that plagued them all season.

The Packers Playoff Loss Was More of the Same Problems: A Great First Half

The first half was outstanding. The Packers offense scored touchdowns the first three times they had the ball. That included drives of 85 and 87 yards.

Matt LaFleur did a great job of play calling and scheming things up for Jordan Love while the quarterback threw for 139 yards and three touchdowns. The first play on offense was a jet sweep to Jayden Reed that gained 13 yards and got the offense moving. Receivers were open because of the way LaFleur called plays and how Love and his receivers executed. Romeo Doubs played very well, and receivers were open and made plays.

On defense, the Packers held the Bears to 122 yards and just six first downs. They came up with key fourth down stops and kept the Bears running game in check.

The Packers led 21-3 at the break and looked to be in total command of the football game. And they were set to receive the second half kickoff with a chance to put the game away. Except they didn’t.

Things Fall Apart After Halftime

In the third quarter, the Packers had three possessions and gained a total of 29 yards. It went punt, punt, punt. They picked up only one first down. They punted on their first drive off the fourth quarter as well.

The Bears coaching staff adjusted to the things the Packers offense had done successfully but LaFleur and the Packers coaching staff never successfully counter adjusted.

Defensively, the Packers continued to limit the Bears running game and succeeded in shutting down Chicago in the red zone. The Bears first three drives of the second half resulted in two field goals and one interception in the red zone. The lead was cut to 21-9. But that’s when things started to fall apart.

The Bears scored touchdowns on their final three drives of the game. Even when the Green Bay offense scored a touchdown, the defense couldn’t answer. Caleb Williams was inconsistent but came through in the clutch. The Packers couldn’t get a stop when they needed it and watched the Bears surge back.

Everyone on the Packers sidelines had to feeling a sense of déjà vu. Gradually they let the game slip away.

The Packers Playoff Loss Was More of the Same Problems: The Same Old Problems on Special Teams

The Packers ultimately lost because they made the same mistakes they had been making all season. Special teams were awful. They allowed a 37-yard punt return by Devin Duvernay. Josh Jacobs returned a kickoff for the first time in his career and ran it back for 33 yards, but he fumbled. Fortunately, the Packers recovered.

Kicker Brandon McManus missed two field goals and an extra point in this game. The first miss was from 55 yards away right before the half and isn’t an issue. But the extra point and the 44-yard miss were costly. The Packers took a delay of game penalty right before that miss which only made things harder for McManus. If McManus made the missed extra point, the Packers would have only needed a field goal to force overtime.

There is no way Rich Bisaccia should be back as the Packers special teams coordinator regardless of whether LaFleur keeps his job as head coach. Special teams hurt the Packers again.

Self-Inflicted Mistakes

We saw more of the same mistakes we’ve seen all season from the Packers in the penalty department. Keisean Nixon took another personal foul penalty for jumping on a pile after the whistle. That cost the Packers 15 yards.

Rasheed Walker was called for a holding penalty and a false start with the second one costing the Packers yards during their critical final drive when they were desperately trying to get the winning points.

Twice the officials called Love for intentional grounding although one of them was certainly questionable.

The Packers Playoff Loss Was More of the Same Problems: A Lack of Growth

A championship team doesn’t blow an 18-point halftime lead in the playoffs. A championship team doesn’t lose two games to their biggest rivals in this kind of improbable and ugly fashion.

The Packers overcame injuries to key players and some other obstacles to reach the playoffs this season, but ultimately, the team’s inability to grow and make progress and address the same problems that hurt them all year and even in previous seasons under LaFleur.

Ed Policy now has some tough decisions to make about whether or not LaFleur can ultimately get more out of this team, or if this is his ceiling as a coach. But ultimately, this team lost this game they way it lost too many games all season long and that doesn’t bode well for the coaching staff. A long and critical offseason has now begun.