#379 Packers Unscripted: Road woes

Sunday at Soldier Field seventeen, the Bears win. The Bears clinched the NFC North and as has been the case for the bulk of this season when the Packers are on the road, it was a game that was there for the taking, and the Packers unfortunately didn't take. Yeah. No, I think that's a really good way to sum it up. I think it was everything we thought it was going

to be as far as this game. I remember there was actually one exact point where I was recalling this right before the Packers scored They're only touchdown of the day with the Jamal Williams run. About two minutes before that, right after the Davante Adams twenty three yard catch on second and four. I believe it was. I was thinking to myself, I'm like, this is exactly the way I thought this game was gonna play out. I didn't think either team was going to get blown out. I thought

it was gonna be down to the wire. I thought it was gonna be the typical December NFC North chasing, you know, matchup that we've grown accustomed to. And for the Packers, as great as that drive was, afterwards, they just didn't respond with it. The defense gave up points, the offense had two straight three and outs, and in Davante Adams a credit to him his hundred catch on

the season, another hundred yard performance. Afterwards, talking to reporters in the locker room, said, it's just been that third quarter all season. It seems like, with a few exceptions where the Packers just went into a stall mode um,

they just weren't able to find their rhythm. And it happened once again, and against the team like you and I said all last week, Michael, against a team like the Bears, as proficient as they are, and the fact that they were going to be their antennas, We're gonna be up a little bit more in terms of the second half. You can't do that, and the Packers did and they got their seventh loss on the road. Yeah, I mean Green Bay was certainly uh fighting an uphill

battle in this one. You're banged up on both the offensive line and the defensive line, with some starters being out. You lose Aaron Jones at running back early in the ballgame. Jamal Williams stepped in played pretty well. I thought, Um, the Bears obviously a much cleaner picture of health than

the Packers are. But that being said, I think I think the most frustrating thing about it West is that you know, with the fake punt, the Packers stop it, they capitalize and score tie up the game fourteen fourteen after being down fourteen to three at half. But then

the Bears decided to get tricky again. When they're in scoring range to take the lead, they go with a wildcats shotgun thing with Tarik Cohen and Mitch Trubisk flanks out to the side and then Cohen botches the read option handoff just hands the Packers the football fumble green Bay recovers. We talked about turnovers and how important they

would be in the game. And it's like, there's the moment fourth quarter on the road, the home team is just blown its chance to reclaim the lead in scoring territory, scoring territory exactly. They wouldn't have had to gain another yard and they probably take a seventeen fourteen lead. Their Packers get the ball, the game is still tied, but three and out, you allow a touchdown three and out

along pump return and a field goals. Like the game just changed instantly, because whereas it seemed it was going to start to snowball in the Packers direction, the snowball just started rolling down the hill the other way. And uh, and another one got away from Green Bay. Yeah it did, and and that was probably the most disheartening thing. They

had two major momentum shifting plays, as you mentioned. There was that recovery by Dean Lowry being able to jump on that ball get the ball back to the offense, and then there was also uh, fatal Brown give him a lot of credit. This is a young man that came in, was with the Raiders two weeks ago, gets cut, the Packers claim him. He ends up making a phenomenal play, a solo tackle on third and three makes it fourth

and two, stopping the running back. I can't think of his I think it was, oh, that's right, number thirty three and yeah the third guy, yea, so he stops him and it's third, it's fourth and two. They tried to do some trickeration on that to do the fake punt direct snap to Benny Cunningham, Brown and Jake Kumarro are ready for it. They stop him and you get the ball at midfield, and both times the Packers just

were not able to capitalize on those. We know, what of a grind it's been for the defense and specially well the Packers did capitalize on the fake punt. They drove down and scored the touchdown. They did get there. Yes, absolutely, um, I guess I meant more from the standpoint of just the momentum factor. Yes, yeah, you're you're absolutely pull it

back in your regard. But yes, as far as points were pure points were concerned, yes, huge play for them, But you know, it's just was those things where it just you thought, maybe this is what it's gonna take to get the Packers going and get the Bears really reeling. In a credit to Mattnegie's crew, both of them, they ended up bouncing back with and they gotta win that they needed to clinch their first North title since two thousand ten. Yeah, the Bears are in the playoffs now,

they'll have at least one home game as a Division champ. Um. First playoff appearance since two thousand ten for Chicago when uh, when the Bears advanced to the NFC Championship game obviously at Soldier Field when the Packers won and went onto their title. But um, the Bears still in the hunt now for a potential first round by because the Rams

lose on Sunday Night Football. Now Chicago's only one game back and if if the Bears actually could tie up the Rams record wise by the end of the season, the Bears have the head to head there, So Chicago still looking for bigger and better things in terms of their positioning. Meanwhile, the Packers now two games left to go, officially eliminated from the playoffs with the loss and with Minnesota's victory over the Miami doll Fins. And uh, um,

you know Packers are a banged up team. We'll see how things look going forward here and umm, but you could you could just you could just feel it, you know, the postgame press conferences with Joe Philbin and Aaron Rodgers. I know you were in the locker room. I know the playoffs in some senses were you know, it was like a pipe dream, and there were still a lot

of things that needed to fall into place. But losing this game to a division rival, having them celebrated division champions championship kind of at your expense and everything that there were, um, it was this was a tough one to swallow for the Packers. A season that a season that has been a lost season on the road in terms of not being able to win a game away from Lambeau. The Packers came in confident that they would fight for this one, and they did fight for this one,

but they just once again came up short. Well when you say, like, I know what you mean by this by saying, as a pipe train, it was a five four or five percent chance, but you know, don't tell

Davante Adams that. Adams afterwards in locked room was like, you know, to us, it's still seemed very realistic because it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibilities for the Vikings to lose twice, especially after firing John d Filippo this past week, the the issues that they've been having offensively, and the fact that they were going through their own mid season dulgrums, and then you look at it, you're just needing Washington to lose, you need Philadelphia to lose,

Carolina to lose, and as it turned out, the week basically win as poor as it could for the Packers. But to Dante Adams to that locker room, they still felt like there was a chance if they took care of their own business, that things could be interesting at eight seven and one. But at the same time, as Adams also pointed out, you can put those charts on Instagram and Twitter, you can create all the graphics you want. At the end of the day, you have to win

the game. The Packers didn't do that. This is a tough one for Green Bay in a number regards. One. Obviously, you're going into an environment at Soldier Field that's going to be energized. They're excited about their nine win football team, as they should be. Um they got the tornado sirens blaring and all that jazz. But you know, then you lose Aaron Jones early on to the knee injury. Jamal

Williams does a really nice job filling in. But Jones, you have to imagine, with the way they were using him early on, was going to be a big part of that game plan. Um, you know, you're you're playing without Brian Balog on the right side. You know the issues that are going to be there trying to defend against Khalil Mack and Akeem Hicks. There's just so many

different components that factor into a game like this. And for the Packers perspective, while there were individuals I thought stepped up, collectively, the Chicago Bears just played better and they got the victory. Yeah, I mean, I take nothing away from the Bears defense. I do think it it might be the best defense in the NFL. It's certainly one of the top two or three at this point. But you look at that game, Wes and it's it's frustrating because it really looked like there were plays to

be made. And you know, Aaron Rodgers talked about it after the game, so did Joe Philbin. Yes, there were some misthrows. There's also you know, route running issues. There obviously are protection issues you just mentioned with Khalil Mack. You know, I think it was Mac and Floyd combined mine for four and a half of the five Chicago Bears Sacks a lot of questions about just what is going on with this offense, and I thought, I thought Joe Philbin said it best that that it's never just

one thing. I mean, yes, there's a throw missed here there, there's a protection breakdown here, there's a route running issue there. Rogers, without going into um a whole lot of detail, basically said, it's the details. And and that's frustrating when you're fourteen games into the season, because you know those are the types of things that are supposed to be ironed out in training camp in September. You know, then as you get later in the season, you're starting to click a

little better. And for whatever reason, and it's a number of reasons, it just hasn't clicked with this offense on any kind of a consistent basis, especially away from home. The one silver lining I took away from this, and I said it all last week, Mike. It was one of my subheads for one of the inboxes we did is we're about to learn a lot about both of these teams. I think we've learned over the last two and a half weeks. Chicago Bears are very real rent

in the NFC. I think they're a team with their defense and the way they're built. If Mitchell Robinsky protects the ball like he did in this game, they can go a long way. From the Packers perspective, this was a game you had to win because not only does it keep you in the playoff race, but these are the type of teams you're gonna have to beat if beyond that regular season, let's say you do, you know,

defy all the odds and get in. You have to beat the teams like the Bears, and you have to do it, you know, methodically, with with what is required to be able to play a complete performance. It's about execution in the clutch exact, quite frankly, and the Packers played a solid football game on the road for three

quarters and then and then in the fourth quarter. Whether you want to point to the three and outs and some misthrows, whether you want to point to a penalty on special teams that allows the Bears to start across the fifty and then a big punt return that's allowed later on, you had special teams breakdowns, and you had defensive breakdowns with a couple of defensive penalties on the go ahead touched on drive. You had miss tackles here and there. That miss tackles was kind of the issue

of the defense in the first half. They seemed to clean that up in the second half and then the penalty started to bite him. So but you look, you look at the fourth quarter. All three phases, all three phases had rough, rough moments and made the types of killer mistakes that cost you games. Because of your games in the NFL come down to the fourth quarter. You've got to make the plays in the fourth quarter and on the road. This year, the Packers just haven't done it.

The one I would have liked to have seen. I think there's two plays that stand out to me when I look back at the game. The one if if that I believe it was the post route that Equinomius st Brown was running in the end zone. It looked like he had a little bit of separation from him. If you're able to connect on that takes seven instead of three. There what that could do for you. Actually, I even thought that Hail Mary at the end of the first half was actually pretty competitive. That was Clote,

I mean, yeah, Davante. Davante Adams got his hands on it, looked like he had a chance. I think it was Eddie Jackson who kind of got his arm in there as well to just to mess it up enough that what had Yeah, that Adams couldn't get a clean catch on it, And the one I really to see if you're able to get that ball to Randall Cobb there, you know, get that explosive play down field. I believe

was on one of those three and out scenarios. What that could have done, because not only is it a huge play in a big moment of a game, but also that's Randall Cobb. I mean, you know the ghosts that kind of punt the Bears as it relates to Randall Cobbin, I could have really turned it. But as Clay Matthews said afterwards when he was talking to the media, I mean those not those plays specifically, but those type of plays, the type of plays you need to make

to win games. The Packers just haven't done that enough this season. And that's why you know in these eight losses, six of them have been within one score. Yeah, it's interesting that you mentioned Randall Cobb because there were a couple of instances there. One on the first three and out in the fourth quarter, and then on the second three and out there was the one Rogers is scrambling

a little bit and Cobb breaks free. Your classics scramble route, your veteran receivers with you, and Rogers Rogers just missed him with the throw. And then he said after the game that the wind just kind of took it, like he thought, you know what, you saw that he had him and everything, but it was those wind. Yeah, yeah,

the wind took that throw off target. And then on the next drive after another sack on first down, Packers are behind the chains, but Cobb is right there for the slant and the balls there and he drops it when he probably at least gets the first down, and if he breaks one tackle, he might be, you know,

potentially off to the races there. So it's just those types of missed opportunities, and it just seems that with the Packers the way things have gone on the road this year, those missed opportunities continue to happen in the fourth quarter, in the key moments when you're right in the game. They haven't been blown out, you know. Yes, the early games Detroit and Washington. They were coming back

from huge deficits. But since the bye week, all these road games against some very very good teams, they've been right there. But then the missed opportunities in the fourth quarters what costs you. And then because the other team is the team making those plays, you're always coming home with the loss. You and I were gonna have plenty of time in a couple of weeks here to kind of, you know, look back on this season and it stands

out to you. I think, you know, one of things the Bears really benefited from this year, in my own opinion, is, you know, when you finished a certain place in your division, it makes the schedule theoretically easier because you'll face teams from corresponding spots into those two spots in the schedule. I'm I've already been looking a little bit towards two thousand nineteen. The schedule is interesting for the Packers what they could potentially you know, do I think they had

ended up You know, you have to win games. This record is what it is. But the schedule that they ended up having this year, when you factor in what happened in November, the stretch they were on the teams they were playing. It's gonna go down as one of the more difficult ones. I think this Packers team has faced that being said, you have to win the games.

But uh yeah, I just there were so many quirky things about this season that I think it really, um, it's gonna make it one that when you think back on it, you know, the Packers hope it's an anomaly. You hope you can pull everything together, but it's uh, it's definitely been a strange year. Yeah, no question about it. Um. Well, quickly, here west the Green Bay Packers get ready for game day with the powerful noise canceling technology of BOS Quiet

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and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup. Official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, we mentioned obviously the Packers officially eliminated from any playoff contention. The mathematics are what they are. But I want to talk a little bit about what's going on in this NFC playoff picture. I already mentioned the Bears and the fact that they still have a shot now at a first round by because the Rams lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. But that uh

the two wild card spots in the NFC US. The Seattle Seahawks lose at San Francisco, first time the forty Niners have beaten the Seahawks. Yeah, you talk about a division rival that had just owned the other one. The forty Niners get their first win over Seattle in five years. Seattle still in the five spot for the wild card. The Minnesota Vikings get a win with their new offensive coordinator. They put up forty one points to beat the Miami Dolphins.

So Minnesota is sitting in the sixth spot at seven six and one. But you had the Eagles pull the upset against the Rams with backup quarterback Nick Foles. The Washington Redskins, on what is it, their fourth quarterback in the season, they win down in Jacksonville. I think it

was in Jacksonville, UM. So both of those teams from the NFC East are seven and seven and right on not only the heels of the Minnesota Vikings for the sixth spot, but now just one game back of the Dallas Cowboys for the lead in the NFC East because the Cowboys went to Indianapolis as one of the hotter teams in the NFL and got shut out. So the Cowboys are still leading the NFC East and currently in the four seed in the NFC, but they are eight and six and two of their division rivals are just

one game back with two games to go. Yeah, this was a humbling week, I thought, specifically in the NFC because a lot of narratives changed with with the results of Week fifteen. I mean, everybody leaves Philadelphia for dead, you know, with Carson Wentz being down, everything's working against them. Well, ain't Nick Foles still doing his thing against his former team in the Rams, although it's been a change in city and that's where it started for him last year was out in l a as well when he had

to step in for Carson Wentz. But then the Steelers, they just came off a demoralizing loss. Oh yeah, let's go beat the Patriots in the fact that you had, like the San Francisco beating Seattle just mind blowing. But the one that stands out to me the most as far as maybe a feel good type story, Josh Johnson, who entered the league in four won his first game as a quarter Sorry but I mean, I mean his first know what you're saying, as a quarterback. A starting quarterback.

Jess Johnson has played for thirty three of the thirty two NFL teams. He finally won a game for a Washington team that's on its fourth quarterback, the most recent of which they've signed two weeks ago. The first overall pick in the spring league draft. Just led Washington to a victory and there's still in the running for the playoffs. And hey, by the way, Dallas Cowboys hottest team in the league. Oh, we're gonna get shut out by the Colts. Dude, this is gonna be I wish the Packers are part

of it. Would it would it would be fun to be paying attention to this with the Packers in the mix, because because the results yesterday in the in the NFC just kind of made things crazy, everything's nuts, everything's turned on its head. And it's the great part of this league. You can't ever just say, Okay, well, this is what's gonna happen. This is exactly what's gonna happen, and then everything changes on you on a dime. It's gonna be

fun to watch these playoff games in January. And to be honest with you, Michael, whoever ends up grabbing those final two spots in the NFC, I wouldn't count them out from being the team that's gonna end up making to the super Bowl. It just seems like one of those years as long as you don't have to go to the Super Dome. Okay, So quick question along those lines before we go, though, So hot team in Seattle loses, hot team in Dallas loses teams like Washington and Philadelphia

that are left for dead win with backup quarterbacks. So what does that mean tonight? Do the Panthers and they're losing streak against New Orleans of all teams and get to seven and seven and keep themselves in the hunt and then the number one seed is up for grabs again because New Orleans loses, or do the Saints put their stranglehold on the one seed with a win tonight.

What you're saying, here's the biggest thing. If the Saints come out and they avoid the disaster that happened in Dallas, and they actually play the Panthers and win this game like they're supposed to, I think you're looking at the team that's ready to get on a run here and be the quintessential favorite in the NFC. I absolutely, I absolutely agree with you. They they they and they can

put that bull's eye on their chest tonight. They are the team to beat in the NFC if they win in Charlotte tonight, and if they don't, I have no idea. I think, honestly, I believe the only truth right now as far as this NFC race is concerned, is that you don't want to play the Saints at home anything else. That's the thing. If I've been saying it all along, If the road to the Super Bowl and the NFC goes through the Superdome, it's very hard to see somebody

going in there and beating the Saints. But if the Saints have to go on the road, I mean, hey, all bets are off at that point, and tonight's game Tonight's game is gonna play into how that sets up very significantly. And Sean Payton has been there for a long time. Drew Brees has been there for a long time. I'm sure they're fully aware that what this game means and potentially what momentum can be claimed if they're able

to pull this out the last three weeks of this season. Yeah, alright, Well with that, we will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com on Twitter, you can still find in him at west Hot. I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody, to see you next time. H