Packers' inability to protect leads down the stretch proves costly in wild-card loss at Chicago

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers couldn’t finish games, so now their season is finished.

Green Bay’s inability to protect second-half leads all season proved costly when the Packers lost 31-27 to the Chicago Bears in an NFC wild-card playoff game that they’d led 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters.

This marked the fourth time they lost a game they had led by at least nine points in the second half. That doesn’t even include a 40-all tie at Dallas in which they led 13-0 in the first half.

Two days after that playoff collapse, the Packers (9-8-1) packed up their things Monday saying they must develop more of a finishing instinct to avoid continuing this habit of early playoff exits.

This pattern started when Green Bay followed up two impressive wins to start the season by giving up 13 straight points in the last four minutes of a 13-10 loss at Cleveland. The Packers blew three more late leads during their five-game skid that ended the season.

They led 23-14 in the third quarter of a 34-26 loss at Denver in which All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament. They allowed 10 straight points in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter of a 22-16 overtime loss at Chicago last month. They blew an even bigger lead at Chicago in the playoffs.

Chicago won its past two meetings with the Packers despite never running an offensive play while ahead in either game.

“I think everybody’s got to look in the mirror, and we got to find ways to be able to dig deeper when (stuff) gets harder, because it’s always going to get harder,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “If you go deep into the playoffs, the deeper you go, the harder the games are going to be. You’re going to have to play 60 minutes and find ways to scratch and claw and win these games.”

Green Bay’s second straight first-round playoff exit led to speculation regarding the future of coach Matt LaFleur.

Both LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst have one year remaining on their contracts now that the season is over. New Packers president/CEO Ed Policy said last summer he would prefer not having someone enter the final year of a contract without an extension.

Packers players spoke out in LaFleur’s support Monday. Wide receiver Christian Watson said LaFleur “100%” has built a championship culture.

“He’s definitely pushed me to be a lot better of a player,” Watson said. “He’s definitely a coach that I want to go out there and play for 100%."

The Packers’ longstanding struggles on special teams began long before LaFleur’s arrival in 2019. Those issues proved particularly costly during Green Bay’s late slide.

With the NFC North lead at stake, Chicago beat the Packers in overtime last month only after Romeo Doubs’ inability to recover an onside kick set the Bears up for their tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

In Green Bay’s playoff loss to Chicago, Brandon McManus missed an extra-point attempt as well as field goals from 44 and 55 yards. McManus had gone 13 of 13 on field goals over his last seven regular-season games.

The Packers gained just 4.14 yards per carry in the regular season, down from 4.75 last season and their lowest average since 2012. That issue was magnified in their playoff loss.

After rushing for 93 yards on 16 carries in the first half, the Packers ran for 6 yards on seven attempts in the second half. Only one of Josh Jacobs’ seven second-half carries exceeded a single yard.

One encouraging sign from Green Bay's playoff loss was the emergence of quarterback Jordan Love. After throwing three interceptions without a touchdown pass in a 22-10 wild-card defeat at Philadelphia last season, Love threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns without an interception against the Bears.

Parsons said he hopes to be back from his torn ACL by the start of next season but noted that a return in Week 3 or Week 4 is more realistic. Tight end Tucker Kraft, who tore his ACL over a month earlier, hopes to be back for the season opener.

Right tackle Zach Tom said Monday that a partially torn patellar tendon caused him to miss Green Bay’s last four games. Tom said he’s leaning toward undergoing surgery, which would result in a recovery period of about six months.

Offensive lineman Sean Rhyan injured his knee near the end of Saturday’s game. Rhyan said Monday that the knee was structurally sound and that he just had a bone bruise with some swelling.

The Packers enter an interesting offseason because they have so many players with expiring contracts. The list of Packers set to become unrestricted free agents includes Doubs, Rhyan, defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare, linebacker Quay Walker, left tackle Rasheed Walker and backup quarterback Malik Willis among others.

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Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers' Jayden Reed catches a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Romeo Doubs celebrates his touchdown catch during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Christian Watson loses the ball as he tries to leap into the endzone after a catch during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws as he is hit by Chicago Bears' Montez Sweat during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)