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The Green Bay Packers got another win over the Chicago Bears and in the NFL, and especially against a rival, you don't apologize for that.
Head coach Matt LaFleur was clear after the Week 11 win that he didn't care if it was by one point or 100.
“We'll never apologize for winning. It wasn't the prettiest of games. I think they got us in a lot of areas. But I do love the resiliency of our guys. The effort that we exhibited on that last play. Karl Brooks coming up with, obviously, a game-saving play. You know, I'm just really proud of our guys,” LaFleur told Larry McCarren of the Packers' radio network.
The Karl Brooks play that LaFleur was talking about was literally a fingertip that the big defensive end got on what should have been a game-winning field goal from Bears kicker Cairo Santos. To that point, the Packers had been playing losing football, though. They allowed rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to torch them for 70 yards as a scrambler and D'Andre Swift literally almost broke Xavier McKinney's ankles on a touchdown run. Jeff Hafley's defense allowed the Bears to go 9-of-16 on third downs and 3-of-3 on fourth downs while meanwhile, Green Bay's offense was a putrid 1-of-5 on third downs, 0-for-1 on fourth down, and the time of possession battle was lost, 36:21 to 23:39.
By every metric the Packers played a poor game that should have ended in a loss, but Brooks literally saved their bacon with the blocked field goal. A win is a win in the NFL, but this one didn't feel too good if you're a Packers fan.
As such, here are the three most disappointing Packers players in what almost was a bitterly disappointing game for Green Bay.
Packers QB Jordan Love keeps throwing interceptions
Jordan Love has been saying all the right things about his interceptions. He says he's working on cleaning them up while in the meantime, he wants to keep playing aggressive “gunslinger” football. That's always going to lead to the ball being in harm's way from time to time. Packers fans who grew up watching Brett Favre know that better than most.
Still, Love is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 11, despite the fact that he's played two fewer games than both Patrick Mahomes and Geno Smith (his co-partners in interceptions). Love has thrown an interception in every game he's played this season. And sure, he threw for 261 yards and a touchdown while also sneaking in what ultimately ended up being the game-winning touchdown against Chicago, but Love's play this season has not been good enough compared to his $220 million contract.
Had he not thrown the red zone interception against Chicago, the Packers very likely would have gotten at least three points out of that drive, which meant that they wouldn't have needed Brooks' game-saving heroics at the end.
Lukas Van Ness was a no-show for the Packers
Yes, the Packers traded veteran pass rusher Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers because he asked, but they wouldn't have done that (even just to be nice) if they didn't feel they absolutely needed Smith's presence for the rest of 2024. Part of the reason they felt good about letting Smith go was because last year's No. 13 overall pick, defensive end Lukas Van Ness, was expected to step up. He'd been getting rotational minutes as a pass-rusher, but the idea with trading Smith was that the extra snaps for Van Ness would allow him to step up and blossom.
So far, not so good for Van Ness.
He played against the Bears, but he didn't record a single sack. He was largely invisible, and by the game, he keeps looking more and more like a bust for General Manager Brian Gutekunst.
Tucker Kraft needs to do more for the Packers moving forward
When tight end Tucker Kraft is catching passes, making big plays and scoring touchdowns, Green Bay's offense looks unstoppable. He makes such a big difference for the Packers when it comes to opening up the rest of the offense. His presence down the seams opens up the sidelines for guys like Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed. As a blocker on the edge, he also provides a tremendous push for the Pack.
Kraft can do all the little things that make a tight end successful, but the Packers need him to be more involved in the offense moving forward if they want to reach their full potential. He was targeted only once against the Bears and he didn't record a catch. That's not good enough from a player who otherwise has superstar potential.
