3 Takeaways from Packers' Week 18 Win vs. Bears
The Green Bay Packers are headed back to the postseason. Green Bay entered Week 18 with a win-and-in scenario. Beat the Chicago Bears, and they would claim at least the NFC's No. 7 seed. A loss would end the team's playoff hopes.
It wasn't the prettiest of games for the Packers, but they physically outplayed the Bears, made enough big plays on each side of the ball and escaped with a 17-9 victory.
Green Bay's offseason decision to move on from Aaron Rodgers and move forward with quarterback Jordan Love now looks like the right one. The Packers are the youngest team in the NFL, and their future appears very bright.
The present looks pretty darn bright too, because Green Bay isn't done yet. It will face the Dallas Cowboys next weekend. Here's what we learned during the Packers' Week 18 win over the Bears.
The Packers Are Ready for a Postseason Atmosphere
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Head coach Matt LaFleur has been here before with the Packers. Many of the team's players, however, have not. It's fair to wonder if a youthful team like Green Bay can deal with the pressure that the postseason provides. Sunday's win answered that question emphatically.
This was a win-or-go-home game for the Packers. This was, for all intents and purposes, a playoff game. And while Green Bay had home-field advantage, it also faced a familiar and dangerous opponent. \
The Bears aren't a playoff team, but their defense has played like one over the second half of the season.
The Packers responded by playing one of their most inspired games of the season. The defense was flying all over the field, Love had a terrific game, and young playmakers like Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks made clutch plays.
The Packers might be young, but they're both capable and confident. They're not going to be an easy out for any postseason opponent.
Aaron Jones Appears Back to Pre-Injury form
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Running back Aaron Jones is one of Green Bay's elder statesmen. He was expected to be the security blanket that helped Love as the quarterback built chemistry with pass-catchers like Reed, Wicks and Tucker Kraft.
The problem is that injuries (mostly a hamstring issue) have limited Jones for most of the season.
Over the last few weeks, though, Jones has been fantastic. He topped 100 rushing yards against the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers, and he hit that mark again against a very stout Chicago defense.
The Bears came into Week 18 ranked first in rushing yards allowed and fourth in yards per carry allowed. Jones tallied 111 yards on 22 carries, while adding five catches for 30 more yards.
Having Jones back to 100 percent (or close to it) is huge for Love and the Packers. It will allow them to carry offensive balance into the postseason and will provide Love with that all-important outlet in the backfield.
Jordan Love Certainly Looks Like a Franchise Signal-Caller
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The biggest takeaway from this one is that in his biggest game as a pro to date, Love delivered. Easy completions weren't always there for the 25-year-old, but he repeatedly made eye-popping plays when it mattered.
Love finished 27-of-32 for 316 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He's been on fire over the last month-plus, but performing like this on a playoff-caliber stage is nonetheless impressive.
It's too early to say that Love is definitively the long-term answer in Green Bay, but it certainly feels like he can be. LaFleur has learned to trust his budding signal-caller, which has been big for the offense.
"There was a point in time where you realize if we're going to generate explosives, you'd better call the plays that can generate explosives," LaFleur said, per Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. "...when you do that, you start trusting everybody a little bit more, so it makes it a lot easier to call."
Only time will tell if Love can replicate the year-to-year success that Rodgers had for the Packers. For now, though, he's one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL, and he's taking the Packers to the postseason.
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