The end of the NFL regular season is officially upon us. The Green Bay Packers will host the Chicago Bears in the final game of the season this Sunday. Green Bay has already clinched a playoff berth so their season will continue on. However, with one game left, the Packers’ focus is pretty clear. Green Bay needs to prioritize the details in order to avoid those pesky self-inflicted mistakes.
The Packers fell short against the Vikings in Minnesota last Sunday. It was another game against a team with a better record that was filled with harmful mistakes. At this moment in the season, a team’s identity is set. It seemingly appears that the Packers are a good team but not a great team. Green Bay has a 0-5 record against teams with a better record than them. The biggest parallel in all 5 losses are the untimely mistakes.
The Packers began the day in Minnesota with an impressive opening drive which only ended with a Josh Jacobs fumble. Throughout the rest of the first half, the Packers failed to score a touchdown in the redzone, dropped a 4th down pass, and were plagued by costly penalties. Green Bay had dug themselves into a deep hole. The Packers have proven that they can compete with the Vikings, the Lions, and the Eagles but they are yet to prove that they can beat them. The first item to fix in order to beat these three teams is to focus on the details and reduce the harmful mistakes.
The Packers Look to Address Their Concerns Against Chicago
The Packers look to sweep the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Green Bay appears to be destined for the 7 seed in the NFC playoffs unless, they defeat the Bears and the Cowboys beat the Commanders. Matt LaFleur told the media on Wednesday that the starters will play but they might be a little extra cautious with any players battling an injury. With that being said, Green Bay must leave the field this Sunday with fewer turnovers, fewer drops, and fewer penalties.
Since the path to the Super Bowl will be entirely on the road, the margin of error becomes as thin as it can get. Especially, since it looks like the Packers will head to Philadelphia, Detroit, or Minnesota. All three are tough places to play. The Bear game presents a chance for the Packers to clean up their issues and gain some confidence heading into the playoffs. With a little more focus, the Packers hope to find a method to addressing these self-inflicted mistakes.
The Packers had chances to beat the Eagles, the Lions, and the Vikings but they either dug themselves too big of a hole or missed opportunities to grab control of those games early on. The Seahawk game is exactly the formula the Packers will need to use in the playoffs – start fast, score early, minimize the mistakes, and be opportunistic. Look for the Packers to prioritize those four items and to play a detail focused game against the Bears.
