Rastall Ramblings: Packers Collapse In Chicago
Three cheers for the Green Bay Packers. They came into a ballyhooed rivalry showdown with the Chicago Bears with an injury report longer than a bar receipt on Oktoberfest weekend. They lost starting quarterback Jordan Love to a brain-scrambling hit to the head midway through the second quarter. Yet, they found a way to grit out a win.
Only scoring six points in their first four goal-to-go situations obviously wasn’t ideal, but Green Bay still has done enough to hold a 16-6 late in the fourth quarter.
Malik Willis has shined filling in for Love. The Packers’ rushing attack started looking as electric as it has all year. The defense, despite the loss of star edge rusher Micah Parsons to an ACL tear last week, pitched a shutout in the first half and still hasn’t allowed a touchdown tonight.
Just five more minutes and these undermanned Packers are in the driver’s seat to win the NFC North by winning the biggest game at Soldier Field in years, sweeping Chicago and putting a major damper on the Bears’ dream 2025 season.
It’s all over but the shouting.
A third-down sack of Bears QB Caleb Williams near midfield is going to leave Chicago facing fourth and a mile that, if they fail to convert, effectively ends the game. Well, it would have if Warren Brinson didn’t grab Williams’s facemask on the play, giving the Bears a fresh set of downs in a hopeless situation that they turned into a field goal.
Not to worry. The Packers just need to secure an onside kick, force the Bears to use their timeouts and get one first down to end the game. Alternate idea: Romeo Doubs slathers his gloves in butter, muffs the onside kick and gives Chicago new life.
I’ll admit, I’m starting to sweat a bit.
The Bears drove it down inside the 10, but all hope is not lost. That plucky Green Bay defense has forced a fourth-and-four situation with under 30 seconds left. Just one more stop and they’ve escaped by the skin of their teeth. Or Caleb Williams could evade a horde of pass rushers and find a wide-open Jahdae Walker for a touchdown that forces overtime.
Nothing can change the collapse that just happened, but there’s still time to regroup and salvage the day. The Packers offense quickly moved past midfield on the opening possession of OT. Yes, they’re facing a fourth-and-one situation, but they’ve done well running the ball with Willis in. Surely, they can convert this barring something crazy like a botched exchange on the snap.
Alright, so they’ve botched the snap and turned it over on downs. Maybe, against all odds and in defiance of the very concept of momentum itself, they can somehow make a heroic defensive stand and force a punt. Or they can give up a deep touchdown pass from Williams to DJ Moore to end the game and give Bears fans the type of iconic, deeply cathartic win against their most hated rival that they’ve been waiting years for. That works just as well.
All of that was deeply unideal. But you can still find a silver lining even after a steel-toe boot kick to the groin. Less than 24 hours after that Chicago collapse, Aaron Rodgers decided to be Green Bay’s emotional support senior citizen and helped guide the Steelers to a win over the Lions that leaves the Packers just one win (or one Lions loss/tie) away from clinching a playoff berth.
A third straight postseason berth is so close. It’s practically in their grasp already. Get that champagne on ice. Nothing can go wrong from here.
