This afternoon, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears meet again to close out the regular season against each other at Lambeau Field for the second straight year. Nothing but draft position and pride are at stake for Chicago as the Bears come to Green Bay at 4-12.

For the Packers, however, a place in the playoffs is at stake. Green Bay needs a win and a Washington Commanders loss to secure the No. 6 seed; Otherwise, if either result goes wrong, they’ll be locked in as the No. 7 seed in the NFC and play on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round next week.

Stay tuned below for updates on all of today’s game!

First quarter updates

The Packers won the coin toss and elected to take the opening kickoff as usual, but were cited for holding the kick to open the offense at their own 15-yard line. After the Packers got a quick first down on a Josh Jacobs run, they had to punt. However, Daniel Whelan made a crucial play on the punt, using his full potential to grab a bad, high snap from Matt Orzech and ultimately deflect the punt.

However, the Bears’ first drive was also a mess. Rashan Gary sacked Caleb Williams on the first play after Williams fumbled the snap, then Javon Bullard tackled Cole Kmet for a loss on second down. A short screen pass on third down led to a punt, but the Packers gained a few yards on the punt conversion and started their second drive at their own 40.

Additionally, the Bears’ punt ensured they didn’t score a single touchdown on their opening drive all season.

Jordan Love’s touchdown failed on the ensuing drive, and the Packers opted to punt from the other side of the 50. On the punt, the Bears deceived Green Bay’s coverage team by having the return man run away to one side of the field for the football . Instead, one of Chicago’s vices dropped back to return the kick and weaved through a wide-open field for a 94-yard touchdown to open the scoring with a 7-0 Bears lead. It was virtually the same game the Rams played against the Seattle Seahawks ten years ago, with similar effect.

Finally, the Packers’ offense got going through the air, with Love hitting Dontayvion Wicks for 15 yards and Luke Musgrave for 19 yards to reach the Bears’ 22-yard line. However, they had to settle for a field goal attempt, and Brandon McManus scored from 37 yards to put them on the field.

After the Bears made another three, the Packers took the lead and promptly shot themselves in the foot again. On the first play of the next drive, Jayden Reed made a jet sweep from left end, but fumbled after deflecting a perfect hit on the football from Jaylon Johnson. Former Packers safety Jonathan Owens recovered and gave Chicago the football deep in Packers territory at the end of the first quarter.

Second quarter updates

Two plays into the second quarter, the Bears found the end zone on offense. After a pass to DJ Moore that took them to the four-yard line, D’Andre Swift sneaked up the middle for a close score and a 14-3 lead.

As the Packers tried to get back on track, they suffered a series of injuries that could prove serious in the postseason. First, Christian Watson went down with his hand on his right knee while running a route and was carried to the locker room. Then, a few plays later, Jordan Love left the game shaking his throwing arm after taking a hit in the backfield, forcing Malik Willis into the game.

Willis delivered immediately, throwing a dart to Tucker Kraft for 20 yards and then handing it off to Josh Jacobs for a 9-yard touchdown run to get the Packers right back into the game at 14-10. This result made Jacobs eight straight games with a rushing touchdown, breaking Paul Hornung’s team record.

Green Bay’s defense forced a punt on the Bears’ next drive, and Willis came back to try to give the Packers their first lead. After Jayden Reed managed to track down a deep ball from Willis and bring it in for 31 yards on 3rd-and-8, Chris Brooks turned up the middle for a big 13-yard run into the red zone . However, the Packers again had to settle for a field goal, hitting a 30-yarder on 4th-and-4 just after the two-minute warning to pull Green Bay within one point.

Chicago returned the ensuing kickoff to the 45-yard line, giving them good field position to attempt a two-minute drill. They converted an early 3rd-and-7 to move into Packers territory, but a false start and a couple of throws from Caleb Williams forced a punt with 37 seconds left. The Packers decided to run the ball and let the clock run out, entering halftime trailing 14-13.