5 Packers Heading Into Playoffs On Thin Ice Following Bears Loss

In a year where the Green Bay Packers were expected to grow and mature, they instead stumbled through a frustrating season finale, falling to the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. The 24-22 loss was a fitting end to a campaign marred by inconsistency and unforced errors.

Yes, the Packers improved their win total by two games from last season, but progress on paper doesn’t erase the weekly parade of mental lapses and missed opportunities. Heading into the playoffs on a two-game skid, Green Bay has more questions than answers, and the margin for error is razor-thin as they prepare for a Wild Card clash on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here are five Packers on thin ice heading into the playoffs after a disappointing loss to the Chicago Bears.

Rich Bisaccia

The Packers' special teams were supposed to be a solved problem when Rich Bisaccia arrived in 2022. His reputation as one of the NFL’s best special teams coordinators came with high expectations for a unit that had long been a thorn in Green Bay’s side.

Yet three years later, the issues remain stubbornly the same, and Sunday’s loss to the Bears felt like a microcosm of the frustration.

The Bears pulled off one of the oldest tricks in the book on a punt return, and the Packers fell for it hook, line, and sinker. DJ Moore feigned catching the punt on the left side of the field, luring nearly the entire Packers coverage unit to him. Meanwhile, Josh Blackwell caught the actual punt on the opposite side at the six-yard line and waltzed untouched into the end zone.

Later, long-snapper Matt Orzech sent a snap high and wide of punter Daniel Whelan. To his credit, Whelan salvaged the play, getting off a 35-yard punt, but it was yet another unforced error that highlighted the unit’s lack of reliability.

For three years, Bisaccia has been tasked with turning around Green Bay’s special teams, and for three years, the gains have been minimal. With the playoffs on the horizon, these mistakes loom even larger. One miscue in a high-stakes game could cost the Packers dearly, and the patience for Bisaccia’s tenure may be running out.