Green Bay knew all week that there was an opportunity to get a hand on a place-kick, and they made it happen to win the game on Sunday.
Rich Bisaccia’s special teams units have been inconsistent at best since he took over as the Green Bay Packers’ special teams coordinator. Penalties continue to be an issue at times, as does decision-making by the team’s returners. Of course, there’s the kicking game, which has been a mess for the past season and a half. And the protection teams have had their issues as well.
But on Sunday, Bisaccia’s preparation and detailed understanding of special teams paid off, as the Packers got a critical blocked field goal from Karl Brooks to escape Soldier Field with a win. According to his players and his boss, Matt LaFleur, Bisaccia had been talking all week about blocking a kick, and although it took until the final seconds to get it, his guys made it happen — exactly in the way he expected they would.
Brooks managed to push through the line and get a hand up, tipping Cairo Santos’ kick and making it fall well short of the uprights. And with that, the Packers pulled off a 20-19 win, their 11th straight over the Bears.
While Brooks was the final hero, Christian Watson delivered several magnificent plays to help the Packers get in position to score points all day long. He also deserves plenty of praise for his performance on Sunday, so let’s look back at all of the players who were essential to the victory.
Key to the game: Karl Brooks’ block was preparation personified | Packers.com
Bisaccia’s insistence on getting a block this week paid off at the most critical time, as T.J. Slaton and Brooks took advantage of the holes in the Bears’ protection at the guard spot.
Packers DL Kenny Clark: We knew ‘we were going to block’ Bears’ game-winning field goal attempt | NFL.com
Clark said he was sure that they were going to get a hand on that final kick in the moment, while at first Brooks wasn’t even certain that he got enough of his finger on the ball to keep it from going through the uprights.
Packers ‘Just Wanted It More’ In Last-Second Win Over Bears | SI.com
The whole team acknowledged that they did not play a clean game, but they managed to make the plays that they needed to win — in all three phases.
Packers’ Christian Watson reminds everyone what he can do – ESPN
One of the biggest reasons for the Packers’ comeback and go-ahead touchdown was Watson’s 60-yard catch-and-run, which spurred him to a career high in receiving yards with 150.
Packers RB Josh Jacobs needs only 10 games to go over 1,000 total yards in 2024 | Packers Wire
Meanwhile, Jacobs put up another 134 yards from scrimmage on Sunday, his 5th game over 100 and 8th over 90 yards in ten games.
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