Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears in the season finale

 Green Bay, Wisconsin – The Bears finished the 2023 season with a 17-9 loss to the rival Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The offence failed to score a touchdown for the second time this season, managing only three Cairo Santos field goals while limiting itself to 192 yards and 13 first downs.

The defence was unable to stop Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who completed 27 of 32 throws for 316 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 128.6. Green Bay's Aaron Jones carried for 111 yards on 22 attempts.

Justin Fields completed 11 of 16 throws for 148 yards with a 97.9 passing rating. The Bears' running assault totaled 75 yards on 25 carries.

With the loss, the Bears finished fourth in the NFC North, 7-10. They've now lost ten straight games to the Packers, last winning in 2018, and eight straight games at Lambeau Field, last winning in 2015.

"To summarise what I told the players in the locker room, there are two sides to this," coach Matt Eberflus explained. "The recent loss has left us feeling disappointed... However, on the other hand, our season is coming to an end.

"I credited the players for the development that they had of this football club, and not only that, but of themselves, and I truly congratulate those guys for sticking with it after the 0-4 start and the leadership that those guys had to be able to do it, to complete the season 5-3. It's a testimony to everyone in the room, including the coaches, support staff, and everyone else, that they were able to accomplish that."

With Sunday's victory, the Packers (9-8) secured a wild card spot in the NFC playoffs. With the Buccaneers winning the Panthers and the Saints defeating the Falcons in Sunday's early games, Green Bay faced the Bears knowing it needed a win to make the playoffs.

Sunday's game was remarkable in that the two teams combined for only 13 possessions. On their six drives, the Bears swapped punts and field goals, whilst the Packers gained 432 yards on seven drives without punting.

The Bears converted only three of eleven third-down opportunities (27.3%), while the Packers converted seven of ten (70.0%).

"If you look at the third downs on both sides of the ball," Eberflus said, "they were able to sustain drives because of those conversions, and they stopped us because of our failure to convert. "It will always come down to that."

Another important statistic was that the Bears produced one sack of Love while allowing five sacks of Fields.

"I felt their pass rush, but not ours," Eberflus explained. "We just need to do a good job of determining what that is. We applied some pressure and accomplished some of those things, but I'll review it.

"My hat is out to the defensive players. They did an excellent job of getting together and playing some really solid football over the last eight weeks, and we did not play our best today."

Santos' 50-yard field goal on the game's first possession put the Bears up 3-0. Fields completed 4 of 4 passes for 32 yards during the drive.

The Packers had a chance to level the score late in the first quarter, but Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal wide left. The kick occurred after Tyrique Stevenson intercepted a pass intended for receiver Romeo Doubs in the end zone on second down and DeMarcus Walker sacked Love on third.

Green Bay eventually seized a 7-3 lead on Love's 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dontayvion Wicks midway through the second quarter. The touchdown finished the Packers' longest scoring drive of the season, which lasted 11 plays and covered 92 yards.

Santos' 39-yard field goal brought the Bears within 7-6 with 1:17 left in the first half. Fields extended the drive with a 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 from Green Bay's 43 and a 33-yard pass to DJ Moore over the middle on third-and-four from the 50.

With:11 left in the half and no timeouts, the Packers had an opportunity to extend their lead on second-and-10 from the Bears' 22. However, Stevenson stopped Wicks' onward movement inbounds after a 3-yard reception, and time expired.

Green Bay opened the second half with a 9-play, 75-yard drive finished by Love's 12-yard touchdown pass to Wicks, pushing the lead to 14-6.

The Packers were on the move again until Stevenson forced a Love fumble on a scramble, which Jaquan Brisker recovered at the Chicago 42.

The Bears turned the takeaway into Santos' 35-yard field goal, narrowing the score to 14-9 with 13:03 left in the fourth quarter.

With 10:54 remaining, the Packers countered with Carlson's 25-yard field goal, extending the lead to 17-9. The kick was set up by Love's 59-yard completion to receiver Jayden Reed on Green Bay's opening play from scrimmage of the drive.

With 6:08 left in the game, the Bears were still down 17-9 when Trenton Gill punted them to their own 6. However, Green Bay picked up two first downs and ran out the clock as Love completed 4 of 4 passes for 46 yards.

"The defence got them in a couple third downs where we needed those stops," said Eberflus. "That's where you have to win the game in the fourth quarter or at least get a chance to tie it there."

Receiver Darnell Mooney (concussion), quarterback Tyson Bagent (sickness), and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (shoulder) all missed Sunday's game. Other Bears inactives included running back D'Onta Foreman, lineman Ja'Tyre Carter, cornerback Greg Stroman Jr., and safety Quindell Johnson.

The Packers played without running back AJ Dillon (thumb/neck), receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), and inside linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (concussion/neck).

Line change: After Lucas Patrick was placed on injured reserve Saturday with a calf injury, Dan Feeney made his first start of the season at centre Sunday.

Feeney, who has played in 16 games this season, was flanked by left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Teven Jenkins, right guard Nate Davis, and right tackle Darnell Wright. It was the Bears' seventh different offensive line combination this season.

Unfortunately, Davis left the game in the first half due to a foot injury and was replaced by veteran Cody Whitehair.