Had you been told the Chicago Bears would have six points entering the fourth quarter of Saturday’s playoff affair and that Jeff Hafley’s defense would force two Caleb Williams interceptions, you’d feel pretty good about the Green Bay Packers’ chances.
That’s what happened, and yet the Packers still lost. While people are justifiably paying a lot of attention to the 25 points they surrendered in the fourth quarter, don’t forget who set the table through 45 minutes.
The first half was poetry in motion; Green Bay’s offense and defense were firing on all cylinders. It harmonized into a 21-3 lead for the Packers at the break.
In the second half, Green Bay got the first crack at the ball, but the offense sputtered out … and then did it again on three more drives. Meanwhile, the defense kept stepping up, delivering time and again.
Hafley’s defense deserves criticism for yielding an unbelievable 25 points in the final 15 minutes of Saturday’s all-out debacle. However, given the caliber of Chicago’s offense and the fact that Green Bay’s offense couldn’t even pick up a first down for much of the second half, wasn’t the dam going to break at some point?
Though the degree to which it broke is unacceptable, what else could you have possibly asked for from Hafley’s group? Ben Johnson was panicking in the first half, going for it on one fourth down after another, even one at Chicago’s own 32-yard line that they failed to convert. Hafley’s defense also won the turnover battle 2-0, an unlikely prospect against a Bears team greedy for interceptions.
Chicago’s defense was No. 1 in the NFL in takeaways this year, and its offense had the fewest giveaways. Yet Hafley’s defense forced two turnovers and numerous turnovers on downs.
The Packers put up 27 points. Typically, that should be enough. But when you start the second half with the drives the Packers did, it continued to put a strain on Hafley’s defense to keep Chicago out of the end zone, and with little time to catch a breath.
Green Bay’s drive charts to start the second half went as follows:
- Three plays, minus-two yards, 1:07 off the clock
- Three plays, eight yards, 1:39 off the clock
- Three plays, 13 yards, 2:36 off the clock
- Three plays, -10 yards, 0:51 off the clock
Green Bay’s offense went from a well-oiled machine to a scared bunch in a second half filled with one conservative Matt LaFleur play call after another. Meanwhile, the defense kept the team afloat until it eventually began taking on water.
Nobody is giving Hafley or the defense a pat on the back and saying they were star-spangled spectacular. Giving up 31 points in a playoff game is no great accomplishment. But the numbers don’t necessarily provide full context for the story; it was a taxed group because of a Green Bay offense that struggled for basic competence in the final two frames.
In response to another epic postseason collapse, LaFleur said the team needs to stay composed.
We’ve just got to do a better job of keeping our composure as a football team and going out there and doing the fundamental things that we practice all the time. I think when you get into these types of big games, when you don’t execute simple fundamentals, it comes back to bite you. That’s exactly what happened.
Sounds like a culture problem, but I digress.
Green Bay’s defense was put through the wringer when it lost Micah Parsons to a torn ACL. Rashan Gary promised the defensive front would step up in Parsons’ absence, but he didn’t, and neither did they. Gary was a cardio collector at best.
Hafley needed to make adjustments in a life without Parsons. In the first game without Parsons — ironically at Chicago in Week 16 — Hafley dialed up pressure early and often. He didn’t usually bring more than four rushers on Saturday night, but through the first three quarters, it wasn’t required.
Safety Javon Bullard, who hasn’t been shy to speak his mind throughout the year, didn’t think Chicago did anything too special during the come-from-behind win.
No disrespect to them but it ain’t (expletive) that they did. It’s us. We got to finish. We whooping they (expletive) the whole game. They ain’t do (expletive) special. We gotta finish. We ain’t finish last time, we ain’t finish this time. That’s some (expletive) we gotta work on within us.
Nobody claimed Bullard was a poet, but his overarching theme rang true. The Packers didn’t finish, and it ruined what was a gem of a performance by their defense through 45 minutes. Nobody will remember that. The story in retrospect will always be about the 25 points they surrendered in the final quarter.