Paul Bretl | 1/4/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — There are two paths that the Packers could go down this week as they prepare for their regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears. Green Bay could rest their key starters in preparation for the playoffs or play everyone in an effort to right the ship following last week’s performance.
So which path will the Packers choose to head down? Like many things in the life, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.
From a preparation standpoint this week, LaFleur hasn’t given the players any sort of inkling that they may not play a full game on Sunday. Everyone is preparing to go the full four quarters.
“I think we’ve got to go in with the mindset that everybody can expect to play the entire game, and we’re going to play a football game to win the game, and that’s how we always approach it and always will approach it,” Matt LaFleur said. “Some guys could have less snaps than they normally might get, but that is to be determined.”
This is a different approach than what we saw during the 2021 season, the last time the Packers were in a similar situation, where they have the luxury to rest players in the final game of the season if that’s what LaFleur chooses to do.
At that time, LaFleur opted to tell his players during the week that they would only play the first half of that Week 18 finale against Detroit. Two weeks later in the NFC Divisional round, following Green Bay’s playoff bye, the Packers would suffer an early playoff exit to the San Francisco 49ers.
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Now, of course, LaFleur doesn’t believe that the decision two weeks prior to tell his players that they wouldn’t play the second half of a meaningless Week 18 game was the reason the Packers lost to the 49ers. But, in hindsight, it did leave a sour taste in his mouth and has led to a different approach this time around.
“It left a little bit of I’d say a sour taste,” LaFleur said of that loss to the 49ers. “I can speak for myself in the situation. Maybe our players didn’t feel that way, but it’s just not the way you want to go into it. I think that sometimes can be a little overblown, but you’d like to put your best foot forward every time you go out on the field, no matter who you’re playing, what the circumstances are, you always want to win the game. You feel like you get a little bit of momentum from that. But bottom line, win, lose or draw, you’ve got to get yourself ready to play. That’s for every game in this league.”
This week’s game isn’t completely meaningless either with the Packers still having the opportunity to clinch the NFC’s sixth seed with a win and loss by Washington against a very short-handed Dallas Cowboys team.
Not to say that being the sixth versus seventh seed doesn’t matter, but either way the Packers are going to have to face several difficult road environments if they hope to make a deep playoff run. So instead, the focus should be on the bigger picture, which is re-establishing last week’s lost momentum and carrying that into the postseason.
After what LaFleur called a “sloppy” performance this past week in Minnesota, in all phases there is “a lot to clean up,” he would add. Obviously, nearing the 12 win mark, there has been a lot of good this season, but the Packers are still chasing that elusive consistency, particularly on offense. And against those top-flight NFC contenders, it’s often been the same issues that have plagued Green Bay for much of the season that rears its ugly head in those pivotal games.
So, let’s circle back to the question, how does LaFleur manage Sunday’s game? As of now, it would appear that anyone who is healthy is preparing to play a full game. However, I would anticipate that decision to be fluid.
If Dallas is keeping things close with Washington and the Packers have the opportunity to get the sixth seed, I would anticipate that LaFleur will keep his foot on the gas.
In another scenario, if Washington is in control and the Packers put together two strong quarters of football, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see key starters exit the game early on. On the flip side of that, however, regardless of how the Washington game is going, if it’s another slow start by the Packers, if it were up to me, I’d keep the starters into the second half in an effort to put some good football on film heading into the postseason.
“I think that’s important,” said LaFleur about having a good performance going into the playoffs. “I think every time you go out on the field, it’s about you. You playing your best, controlling things that are within your control. Obviously, I think the prep’s been on point and I think that’s where, is the starting point.”
Another part of the equation when it comes to determining playing time is the injury report. As LaFleur pointed out early in the week, with two practice squad elevations, there are 55 players eligible to compete on gamedays and only 48 can be active.
When taking into account that Green Bay has two players who are questionable for Sunday’s game with injuries and four others who have already been ruled out, from a pure numbers standpoint, there will be starters who play all four quarters in this game regardless of how it unfolds or what happens in the Washington game.
“Part of the challenge is, I read what – I heard what Belichick said about this situation the other day, and I think there’s a lot of truth in that as well,” LaFleur said. “How do you pick and choose who you sit. Does that mean certain guys are more important than others? Because I think this is the ultimate team sport, and we need everybody.
“Certainly when you have more depth at certain positions, that gives you a little bit more flexibility in terms of what route you go, but at the same time, when you’ve got a, I mean our injury list, I wouldn’t say it’s a short list. We’ve got a lot of guys on there, and so that definitely limits your ability in terms of what you want to do going into the game.”
To state the obvious, a full four quarter performance on Sunday against the struggling Chicago Bears, isn’t all of a sudden going to mean that everything is fixed for the Packers. However, there is certainly something to be said for putting together a good performance and carrying that momentum into the playoffs.
During the bye week, GM Brian Gutekunst discussed the importance of playing your best football late in the season. The 2023 Packers are a prime example of this. While on paper, Green Bay was 9-8 and the seventh seed in the NFC, on the football field, especially on offense, they were operating as one of the better teams in the game and that had them on the cusp of going to the NFC Championship game.
“I definitely think there’s a part with how we play, how we finish a season, kind of that momentum that we carry into the postseason, for sure,” said Love. “I think play-wise you always want to play clean football.”