Breaking: After Packers Defeat Bears Are Still Criticizing……

It’s a perfect 10.

And with it comes a trip to the postseason.

The 208^th meeting between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears had everything you could want.

Intensity. Drama. Enormous stakes.

When the Packers prevailed on Sunday afternoon, though, and left Lambeau Field with a 17-9 win, they also clinched a playoff berth few believed was possible four months ago.

Green Bay improved to 9-8, earned the No. 7 seed and will travel to second-seeded Dallas for a wildcard game Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

“Well, that was fun,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said afterwards. “Really happy for our football team. The ability to persevere throughout the course of the season, to prove a lot of people wrong, but it’s really ultimately about their ability to stay together and continue to fight.

“I’ve said it so many times, when you go through adversity and you just keep your head down you keep working and keep sticking together, and you come through it, usually you’re better for it. I think we are a calloused football team.”

To reach the postseason, the Packers had to beat their oldest rival. Not only did Green Bay accomplish that, it continued its remarkable, three-decade domination of the Bears.

The Packers won their 10^th straight game against Chicago, which ties the longest winning streak in this rivalry that started more than a century ago. Green Bay also improved to 50-15 against the Bears since the start of the 1992 season and now leads this historic series 107-95-6.

In the process, LaFleur improved to 10-0 against the Bears during his five years as Green Bay’s head coach.

“This was an opportunity that we worked for all season long,” Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love said. “Obviously coming into it, this was a huge game for us. Our last couple of games have really been playoff games. We’ve had to win those. So just with our back against the wall, I’m just proud of this team. We fought, stuck together and put ourselves in position to make a playoff run.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly from the Packers’ enormous win:

THE GOOD

JORDAN LOVE: What a remarkable first season Love just completed as Green Bay’s starter.

Love was brilliant again Sunday night, completing 27-of-32 passes for 316 yards. He also threw two touchdowns, no interceptions and had a passer rating of 128.6.

Love finished his first season as Green Bay’s starter with 32 touchdown passes, which ranked second in the NFL. He also threw for 4,159 yards, just 11 interceptions and finished the year with a 96.1 passer rating.

“He’s just resilient,” LaFleur said of Love. “Those are things you cannot coach. You can sit there and talk about it till you’re blue in the face. However, that’s something he possesses and I admire him for that, his ability to stay even keel, to battle through adversity, to lead our team.

“He did an outstanding job and he’s been doing it. He’s certainly proved himself over the back half of the season. I don’t think there’s many questions left, to be honest with you. He’s just got to continue to do what he’s been doing and show up each and every day with that same mindset, and I think great things are in store for him.”

AARON JONES: The Packers are simply a different team with Jones on the field.

Jones carried 22 times for 111 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. That marked the third straight week Jones eclipsed 100 yards — and the Packers were 3-0 in those contests.

“He’s gone for over 100 yards the past couple of weeks, which is something that’s not easy to do, so it gives our whole offense a big boost when you can run the ball, get other guys in there and then obviously it helps the passing game out,” Love said of Jones. “When you can run the ball the way he runs the ball, it just sets up more opportunities for everybody else. Like I said, he’s just a phenomenal player, you know, love to have him out there.”

DONTAYVION WICKS: The Packers were without speedy Christian Watson. Steady Romeo Doubs then left after the first series with a chest injury.

As has been the case all year, though, someone stepped up and this time it was Dontayvion Wicks.

On the Packers’ second series, Wicks had a 10-yard touchdown reception that gave the Packers a 7-3 lead. Then on Green Bay’s opening possession of the second half, Wicks had a 12-yard score in which he ran an inside slant, hauled in a pass at the 3, then ran through Chicago’s Kyler Gordon and Eddie Jackson on his way to the endzone.

Wicks, a rookie fifth round draft pick, finished the year third on the team in receptions (28), yards (520) and touchdown catches (four).

“It means a lot because we’ve been working together the whole year, had some ups and downs and we got to the point that we got the chemistry,” Wicks said of his rhythm with Love. “We know what each other wants and that just comes from the work that we put in that everybody don’t see.”

A BERRY-GOOD DEFENSE: After a season of largely subpar play, Green Bay’s defense excelled for a second straight week. It remains highly unlikely defensive coordinator Joe Barry will return in 2024, but his unit is finishing this season with a bang.

The Packers held the Bears to 192 net yards, just 75 rushing yards and sacked quarterback Justin Fields five times.

Chicago was just 3-for-11 on third downs (27.3%) and had only 13 first downs.

In the last two games, Green Bay has allowed just 19 total points. In the three previous games, the Packers allowed 29.3 points per contest.

“Joe B’s been dialing it up,” outside linebacker Preston Smith said. “He gets a lot of hell in the media. But we’ve come together, we play for Joe B. just like he comes every day to coach us. He comes with the energy that no matter what’s going on, we’ve got this together and we are all together. He’s been dialing it up the last couple weeks and we’ve been playing really well.”

DYNAMIC DRIVE: Green Bay put together an 11-play, 92-yard touchdown drive early in the second quarter to take a 7-3 lead. Love hit Dontayvion Wicks with a 10-yard touchdown pass that capped Green Bay’s longest march of the year.

Along the way, Love found Jayden Reed for 32 yards, Love fired a 10-yard laser to Bo Melton on third-and-5, and Aaron Jones ripped off a 12-yard run on a terrific block from right tackle Zach Tom.

The Packers reached the Bears’ 10-yard line, where on third-and-1, Wicks came left to right, Green Bay’s offensive line excelled, and Love found the rookie wideout for a go-ahead TD. The Packers never trailed again.

RIDICULOUS ROOKIE: Green Bay’s rookie second round draft pick Jayden Reed continued his magnificent season with a four catch, 112-yard night.

Reed finished the regular season with a new franchise record of 64 receptions. Reed led the team in both catches and yards 783 and tied for the team lead with eight touchdown receptions.

Reed also had a 59-yard reception early in the fourth quarter that set up a field goal that gave Green Bay a 17-9 lead.

“Man, we just resilient, man,” Reed said. “Through the ups and downs of all the doubts that people had on us and everything, we just kept chopping and we got to this point.”

KNOCKOUT BLOW: Green Bay picked up four first downs and ran out the final 6:08 of the game. The Packers marched 61 yards in 12 plays, using eight running plays and four passes to make sure Chicago never touched the ball again.

Packers center Josh Myers was asked if there’s anything better than running out the clock.

“No. Absolutely not,” Myers said. “I mean, you heard the stands. It sounded like they loved it more than a touchdown. And with all the tradition between the Bears and the Packers, to be able to finish the game that way is just awesome.”

THIS AND THAT: Lukas Van Ness had a sack and Karl Brooks tackled running back Khalil Herbert for a 3-yard loss on a screen pass to slow the Bears’ opening drive. Chicago settled for a 50-yard field goal from Cairo Santos. … Rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine made a sensational pass break up early in the fourth quarter to kill a Chicago drive and force a Bears’ field goal. … Brooks had a huge sack late in the game that killed Chicago’s final opportunity.

THE BAD

ANDERS CARLSON: It’s been a rocky year for Green Bay’s rookie kicker.

Carlson missed his first field goal try — a 41-yarder — and has now missed at least one kick in eight of the last 10 games.

Carlson finished his first regular season 27-of-33 on field goals (81.8%) and 34-of-39 on extra points (87.2%).

Despite Carlson’s struggles, special teams coach Rich Bisaccia believes his future in bright.

“I think we’re excited about the direction he’s going in,” Bisaccia said. “We think he’s improving all the time. I don’t know what’s really going on or kept up with much of the other kickers unless we’re playing against them. We’d love to clean up the PATs, we’d love to keep getting a little bit more consistent in everything we do, but I think we’re pleased with the direction he’s going at this point.”

BUTTER FINGERS: The Packers have run Jordan Love less than many expected this season. In fact, through the first 16 games, Love had 47 carries for 248 yards.

Maybe this is why: late in the third quarter, the Packers led 14-6 and had a third-and-2 at midfield. Love escaped the pocket and ran for the first down, but cornerback Tyrique Stevenson forced a fumble that Jaquan Brisker recovered.

That was Love’s ninth fumble of the year. Fortunately for the Packers, they only lost three of those.

THIS AND THAT: Matt LaFleur challenged a fourth quarter reception to D.J. Moore and lost. … Chicago had a fourth-and-5 from the Packers’ 43 midway through the fourth quarter, but Green Bay outside linebacker Rashan Gary jumped off sides. … Chicago’s Velus Jones averaged 28.3 yards on his four kickoff returns.

THE UGLY

CLOCK MANAGEMENT: Matt LaFleur’s clock management at the end of the first half was a colossal disaster and cost the Packers a chance to try a field goal.

First, Green Bay defensive end Kenny Clark sacked Bears quarterback Justin Fields with 1:55 left on a third-and-6 play. Instead of calling timeout before Chicago’s field goal attempt, LaFleur let the clock run.

Chicago’s Cairo Santos drilled a 39-yard field goal with 1:17 left in the half — so LaFleur’s decision to bypass the timeout cost his team roughly 35 seconds.

The Packers then drove to the Bears’ 22-yard line with 11 seconds left. On second-and-10, Love fired a short pass in the right flat to Dontayvion Wicks, but the Packers’ wideout was tackled inbounds.

Green Bay raced to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball and give Carlson a field goal opportunity. But time expired before Love received the snap and the half ended in dreadful fashion for LaFleur & Co.