Week 18 was supposed to be a path toward redemption for the Green Bay Packers. However, what they were met with was a surprise 24-22 loss against the Chicago Bears, driven by the latter’s placekicker Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal as time expired. With this, the Bears ended their 11-game loosing streak against the Packers. However, for the Jordan Love-led team, their record dropped to a 11-6, making them the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, earning some strong reactions from the locker room. But before we get to that…

As the rookie QB Caleb Williams-led Bears handed the playoff-bound team another loss, after the Packers’ Week 17, 27-25 defeat from the Minnesota Vikings, Packers’ injured QB, Jordan Love, expectedly seemed downcast and disappointed. During the post-game press conference, he was asked, “Matt [LaFleur] was just saying that some guys in the locker room had some strong words. What do you just get the sense of the vibe around this team, after this finish of the regular season going into [the Philadelphia Eagles game]?”

To this, the 26-year-old responded, “I think everybody in the locker room feels that. And it’s obviously not the note we wanted to end on, with the loss to Vikings and then turn around a loss here. But, it’s the reality of our situation. We got to find a way to improve this week, get better and look forward to seeing [the Eagles]. But it’s a disappointing finish, disappointing loss to end that game right there.”

While the Packers’ own record isn’t that bad, what’s surprising is they lost to a team that has been struggling all season, and were on a 4-12 record ahead of the game. So, of course, the locker room atmosphere will be that of anger and frustration, which LaFleur also confirmed: “The guys had some strong words in the locker room. I think their mind will be in the right place, and it all starts with our energy, how we attack it coming into the building. We said this way back when, during training camp. It’s ‘standards over feelings.'”

Later, the team’s guard Sean Rhyan remarked, “Losing to these f—ing guys right before the playoffs, it’s a kick in the gut. We’ve got to flush it and start a new season. That’s all we can do.” 

However, Love—who finished with 69 yards, and zero touchdowns—is not giving up that easily. Talking about what the team can collectively do better, he said, “There’s a lot of areas that we can clean up, and we got to be better at. The same kind of messages are going through that locker room…we got to go out there and make these plays and execute and, we just have to be better.”

Well, you can’t help but be disappointed after losses like that. If they play like this in the playoffs, they’ll be heading home early. Honestly, folks, this final week turned out to be crazier than we thought. The Broncos shut out the Chiefs, the Jets crushed Miami’s final hopes, and the Bills lost to the Pats. Everyone’s excited to see what’s coming ahead in the postseason.

The Packers will be facing the Eagles in the Wild Card game. The two consecutive losses will surely affect their confidence. On top of that, the wild card round will be at the Eagles’ home turf, Lincoln Financial Field. The Pack needs to get it together, especially after Jordan Love’s injury in Sunday’s game.

Jordan Love suffered an injury ahead of the Wild Card round

Most teams decided to give their key players a breather before the playoffs. The Chiefs went with Carson Wentz instead of Patrick Mahomes in the finale. Though they lost, it didn’t make much of a difference to them. The Rams also let Matthew Stafford rest a bit before their game against the Vikings. The Packers, however, stepped onto the gridiron with their QB1, but it didn’t turn out well. During the second quarter of the game, Love hurt his elbow while trying to attempt a pass. “I just landed on it on the ground and, yeah, kind of pretty much lost all feeling in my hand and was pretty much just went numb,” said the QB.

After Jordan had to step off the field, backup QB Malik Willis took over. Willis managed just 136 yards with zero TDs. While his team was losing, Jordan checked to see if he could get back on the field to save them. Sadly, his hand wouldn’t allow it. “I was trying to get some throws, and the same thing…kind of…my…pinky really didn’t feel it. [It] was pretty numb and, you know, we just made the decision to hold me back.”

After Love, the team’s WR Christian Watson also had to step off the gridiron after hurting his right knee. They carted Watson off the field in the early second quarter. While coach Matt LaFleur mentioned that Jordan Love would be good to go for the next game, there isn’t much positive news on the Packers’ WR situation. “I think he’ll be good. He was just in no shape to be in to play today. He tried.” As for an update on Watson, the HC said, “I’m not super confident about that right now.”

Well, that’s not a very good picture to look at ahead of the playoffs. Fans hope that Jordan Love gets fit for the Wild Card game. It’s gonna be really wild and they would need Love there.