The Packer Rule

This past Saturday night the Green Bay Packers played the Chicago Bears in prime time with kickoff at 7:20 pm. I watched much of the game, but with the Da Bears down by seven points with 1:59 remaining, I decided to go bed. The Bears had just made a field goal. I set aside my cardinal rule, which is: No, and I mean no, Packer lead is ever safe. Sure enough, we turned on the news when we got up Sunday morning, and heard that the Packers had lost. Another Packer meltdown. It was at this point that my wife reminded me of my cardinal rule regarding the Packers. 

I am not sure why I broke my cardinal rule about the Packers, perhaps because I was tired. Or, my wife was already in bed asleep, and I wonder if I would have woken her up with a minor reaction to the pathetic play of the Packers. She can hear squirrels on the roof, so my change in breathing and blood pressure in reaction to yet another Matt LaFailure situation would likely have woken her up.

Romeo Doubs mishandling the On-side Kick

Listening to the news, weather and sports Monday morning, so over a day later, the sports person referred to it as a "collapse of epic proportions." If a Packer d lineman had not grabbed the Bear QB facemask on a third and twenty, giving them 15 yards plus an automatic first down late in the 4th quarter, this scenario would likely never have happened. if they had scored on one of their several trips in the redzone, this may not have occurred. If a fumbled snap had not occurred late in the game, this may not have occurred. The thing is people like to point to one play, the botched on-side kick, but there were several other key plays that failed too. It could be a play early in the game. For example, the Packer coach not going for a field goal, but trying for a first down. Or, in my mind, the lack of touchdowns in the redzone. The Packers were more likely to score a TD beyond the twenty than inside the twenty. It is not like the Bears have a great defense, so yet again the team played down to its competition. Or, the Pack is so bad, the Bears played down to their competition. 

Hats off to Da Bears, who have so far come back to win six games they were losing after the two minute warning. This is the most of that type of victory since the merger of the AFL and NFL  in 1970. Yes, they keep such statistics. The Packers had a ten point lead just before the two minute warning when Chicago kicked a field goal to pull within seven. 

Player circled in red caught the game tying TD 
with less than 25 seconds in the fourth quarter
Coverage error by the Packer Defense

Even Artificial Intelligence commented on the seeming desire for the Packers to lose games in the final quarter, if not final minutes of a game. This year they collapsed in week 3 to Cleveland with less than 10 minutes to go, but the heartbreaker had to be the Bear loss. Packer meltdowns are notable. Years ago they were beating Philadelphia in Philly and Philly came back to win after getting a first down on a fourth and 26, yes a fourth and over a quarter of the field for a first down, and the vaunted Packer defense gave them a first down to let them go on and win the game. I think that is when I created my cardinal rule regarding the Packers.

Replay view of same play as above

The Monday morning WI State Journal, referred to the collapse as "Error after error in critical moments led to collapse en route to a 22-16 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears at Solider Field." The Packers held a ten point lead with about 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter. As I have said, no Packer lead is safe.

Chicago Bear DJ Moore making game winning 
47 yd TD pass, catching it in end zone.

The Packers with five losses are on the brink of missing the playoffs. They are fortunate that my sister's least favorite pro football player, Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Lions on Sunday. In four of the five losses Green Bay led by 10, 3, 9, and 10 points. In the one tie they led by 13. The losses to Cleveland and the Bears were ten point leads with four minutes left in the final quarter. The loss to the Bears, one commentator said, was a "comedy of self-inflicted errors." The ability for the Packers to lose games in the fourth quarter is not just a fluke.  

In OT, Fourth down and 1, mis-snap, failed to get 
first down. The Bears then scored on their subsequent drive

I believe the situation goes back to coaching on several fronts. First, the coach has not instilled sufficient discipline, second, they lack the ability to close out a game, sometimes due to the coach getting too conservative (and now has gone the other way, perhaps in some situations), the inability of the coaching staff to prepare players for the second half. It is almost like Matt LaFailure does not expect the other team to make adjustments. It is also on the players on their inability to play a full four quarters and perhaps get comfortable with a small lead, and allow their minds to wander. 

The Packers used to be good at home, but Matt LaFailure has denigrated that record losing two home games to so-so teams this year. They have Baltimore up at home next, and I dread how Matt LaFailure will handle that game. His record as Packer coach is pretty good with a .665 winning percentage, but he is 3-5 in playoff games. Compare that to Vince, who was .754 winning percentage and was 9-1 in playoff games. Matt is no Vince. The game has changed, but it is much more offensive friendly than it was in the 1960's. 

Matt has trouble in the red zone (20 to goal line) going 0-5 against the Bears. This is not new, in a playoff game that sent Tampa Bay to the Super Bowl, the Packers had the ball with a fresh set of downs inside the five yard line and could not score. 

Yet, the comparisons to when Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers won Super Bowls in seasons when they turn 27 years old are still being made, with one guy saying the 2020 Packers lost a comparable situated game.

Packer Head Coach reacting to bad snap exchange (above)

The Bear loss was reminiscent of the Packer 2014 playoff loss in Seattle, where the Packers flubbed getting the on-side kick. The tight end who went against protocol to block the kicking team guy to allow the player behind to get the ball, was released the following day. I am not sure why this franchise is so prone to pathetic losses. It is as if they have rigged the game to be the lackey to the favored Roger Goodell team. The thing is, it was the Bears, who until this year, were a team that succumb to losses in the fourth quarter. Now they have found a way to pull themselves out. The question that the front office and the coaches need to answer is why the team is so prone to seal their own fate This is a franchise where no lead is safe, at any point in the game when they are playing.