5 Packers Heading Into Playoffs On Thin Ice Following Bears Loss

Jayden Reed

Jayden Reed’s second season started with all the promise in the world.

Through the first nine games, Reed looked like a budding star, racking up 36 catches for 620 yards and three touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. His versatility made him a focal point in Matt LaFleur’s offense, lining up in the backfield, in the slot, and out wide to create mismatches.

But the second half of the season has been a different story, and Sunday’s loss to the Bears only reinforced the troubling trend.

Against Chicago, Reed managed just two receptions for 48 yards, and his performance was marred by a costly fumble on an end-around play. The Bears capitalized, scoring a touchdown three plays later—a momentum-shifting moment in a game the Packers needed to win. It marked Reed’s third lost fumble of the season, a concerning habit for a player counted on to make big plays, not costly mistakes.

Reed’s overall production has dropped off dramatically in the back half of the season. After surpassing 50 receiving yards in six of his first nine games, he did so just once in the final eight. Over that stretch, he caught only 19 passes for 237 yards, becoming a shadow of the dynamic playmaker he was early on.

Perhaps even more concerning is his reliability as a receiver. Reed has dropped 16 percent of his targets this season, a glaring issue that wasn’t part of his profile coming out of Michigan State.

The Packers need the first-half version of Reed to show up in the playoffs. Without Watson, Reed has a chance to reclaim his role as a difference-maker and prove his early-season brilliance wasn’t a flash in the pan.