Packers monitoring Willis' shoulder issue as well as Love's progress after OT loss to Bears

Jordan Love isn't the only Green Bay quarterback dealing with a health issue as the Packers attempt to regroup from a brutal 22-16 overtime loss in Chicago that dealt a major blow to their hopes of winning the NFC North.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday that Malik Willis hurt his shoulder while playing the majority of the game in place of Love, who's in concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Austin Booker in the second quarter of Saturday night's game.

“I’d say he’s pretty sore,” LaFleur said of Willis. “That’s a legitimate deal that he’s dealing with, and he’s going to be another guy that we’ll see where he’s at as we progress.”

The Packers (9-5-1) remain unsure about Love's potential availability for their home game Saturday with the Baltimore Ravens.

“That's always a tough one to navigate,” LaFleur said. “There’s a lot of steps to getting through that. But I do think just my conversations with people, I have not specifically talked to him today, but it sounded like he was doing better.”

Green Bay's only other quarterback is Clayton Tune, who was signed to the practice squad in late August. Tune played 13 games and made one start with the Arizona Cardinals from 2023-24, and he went 14 of 23 for 70 yards with two interceptions and no touchdown passes.

LaFleur said running back Josh Jacobs and wide receiver Jayden Reed would be the Packers' two emergency quarterbacks.

Green Bay's injury issues at the quarterback position and elsewhere come at an inopportune time.

After blowing a 10-point lead in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and losing in overtime Saturday, the Packers are 1 1/2 games behind Chicago in the NFC North race with two weeks left in the season.

If the season ended today, the Packers would end up with the NFC's seventh and final playoff seed for a third straight year. That's not what the Packers were expecting when they made the blockbuster trade just before the season to acquire superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons, who's out for the season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament in a 34-26 loss at Denver that started Green Bay's two-game skid.

Green Bay did get some good news Sunday when former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 29-24 victory at Detroit. The Lions' loss means the Packers can clinch a playoff berth by winning just one of their final two games.

“The great thing about this game is it’s bittersweet now," defensive lineman Rashan Gary said after Saturday's game, "but we’ve got another opportunity to erase the taste out of our mouth this week and we have another opportunity to correct ourselves and still put ourselves where want to be at the end of the season.”

Green Bay controlled possession for nearly 39 minutes in a game that lasted just over 65 minutes. The Packers had a season-high 192 yards rushing, their sixth straight game with at least 115 yards on the ground.

In their first full game without Parsons, the Packers kept the Bears out of the end zone for the first 59 1/2 minutes of the game.

Green Bay reached the red zone on five separate occasions and failed to convert any of those opportunities into touchdowns. The Packers also blew a 10-point lead one week after squandering a nine-point, second-half advantage in a 34-26 loss at Denver. The Packers have been outscored 44-20 after halftime over their last two games.

A team that has occasionally been prone to special teams breakdowns had its worst mistake of the season when Romeo Doubs was unable to hang on to an onside kick, setting the Bears up for their tying touchdown in the last minute of regulation.

Without Parsons on the field, the Packers failed to produce a single sack for a second straight game.

Willis. He again showed he's one of the NFL's most reliable backup quarterbacks. Willis, who went 2-0 as a starter last season, played the majority of this game and guided a ball-control offense that had the Packers in position to win for most of the night even as they struggled to turn scoring opportunities into touchdowns.

While playing through a knee injury, Jacobs mustered just 48 yards from scrimmage (36 rushing, 12 receiving) and lost a fumble on first-and-goal from the 4 in the third quarter. He didn't have another carry the rest of the night.

WR Matthew Golden didn't catch a pass for the second time in three games. The rookie first-round pick had no receptions in either of Green Bay's two game with the Bears.

CB Keisean Nixon had the coverage on Caleb Williams' 46-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Moore in overtime. An apparent miscommunication between Nixon and CB Nate Hobbs allowed Jahdae Walker to get free for a tying 6-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-and-4 play with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The Packers have a major lack of depth at tight end after John FitzPatrick injured his Achilles tendon in a game that Josh Whyle didn't play due to a concussion. Green Bay already is missing Tucker Kraft, who was having a Pro Bowl-caliber season before tearing his ACL last month.

RT Zach Tom and S Evan Williams didn't play due to knee injuries.

4 for 48 — NFL teams had successfully converted just four of their 48 onside kick attempts this season, according to Sportradar, before the Bears managed to recover theirs during their comeback Saturday. Chicago's recovery improved the success rate for the season from 8.3% to 10.2%.

The Packers hope they can get a little healthier before playing for a second straight Saturday. Green Bay closes the regular season Jan. 4 at Minnesota.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt Lafleur during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers' Malik Willis throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers' Malik Willis signals a play during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love scrambles during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

HOUSTON (AP) — C.J. Stroud threw a touchdown pass, Derek Stingley returned an interception for a score and the Houston Texans beat Las Vegas 23-21 on Sunday for their seventh straight victory and the Raiders' ninth loss in a row.

Houston (10-5) has its longest winning streak since a nine-game run in 2018. The Texans remain a game behind first-place Jacksonville — a winner in Denver on Sunday — in the AFC South. The Raiders are 2-13.

Stingley’s touchdown came in the first quarter, and Ka’imi Fairbairn made three field goals to help the Texans to the win on a day when their offense struggled.

Houston led by two with about eight minutes left when Stroud found a wide-open Dalton Schultz for a 1-yard touchdown strike that made it 23-14. Nick Chubb had a 30-yard run on that drive and a 23-yard pass interference call on Lonnie Johnson Jr. against Collins got Houston to the 2 to set up the score.

Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty cut the lead to 23-21 when he scored on a 51-yard run with about 5 1/2 minutes left. The rookie burst through the line before shedding a defender and waltzing into the end zone.

Houston faced third-and-20 at its 7 after that when Darien Porter was flagged for pass interference on Nico Collins to give the Texans a first down. Collins grabbed a 24-yard reception on the first play after the two-minute warning and Houston ran out the clock for the win.

Jeanty, the sixth overall pick in the draft, had 24 carries for 128 yards with a touchdown run and added a 60-yard touchdown reception to keep the Raiders in it.

Stroud threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and Collins had four receptions for 59 yards.

Las Vegas finished with 315 yards to break a streak of six straight games with less than 17 points and fewer than 275 yards, which was the longest such streak since Cleveland in 2008.

Geno Smith threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns with the interception in his return after sitting out last week with back and shoulder injuries.

Jeanty put the Raiders on top when he grabbed a pass at about the 35 and dashed into the end zone, slipping out of a tackle on the way, for the 60-yard score with about 9 1/2 minutes let in the third. The score was the longest touchdown reception by a Raiders running back since Jamize Olawale had a 75-yard TD catch against Houston in 2016.

He joined Alvin Kamara (2017) and Christian McCaffrey (2017) as the only rookie running backs since 1970 to have five receiving touchdowns.

The Texans punted on their first two possessions of the second half before Fairbairn’s 49-yard field goal made it 16-14 with three minutes left in the third.

Stingley’s 31-yard interception return for a touchdown put the Texans up 7-0 early. The Raiders tied it on a 7-yard reception by Brock Bowers early in the second quarter.

Houston went on top 10-7 on a 55-yard field goal with about nine minutes left in the first half.

A 50-yard field goal by Fairbairn left the Texans up 13-7 at halftime.

Texans LB Jake Hansen injured his chest in the first quarter and did not return. … T AireontaeErsery injured his hand in the fourth quarter.

Raiders: Host the New York Giants next Sunday.

Texans: Visit the Los Aneles Chargers on Saturday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, middle, runs past Houston Texans cornerback Myles Bryant, right, to score during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., left, returns an interception thrown by Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Texans running back Nick Chubb, middle, runs against Las Vegas Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn (11) and safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith (7) runs against Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)