A costly sack on Jordan Love in the wild-card round has resulted in a major financial blow for a Chicago Bears defender, as the league office made its displeasure clear. During the 31-27 wild-card loss to the Chicago Bears, edge rusher Austin Booker crossed the line. The sack didn’t sit well with the league, and it hit back by handing down one of its largest fines of the season. 

The NFL released its weekly fines on its game-day accountability page, spelling trouble for defensive end Austin Booker. The league slapped him with a $46,371 fine for helmet-to-helmet contact during a sack on QB Jordan Love. This incident unfolded during Saturday night’s playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter. 

Booker tackled Love for a one-yard loss, but the hit drew a flag for illegal contact. Despite the collision, the quarterback connected with wide receiver Jayden Reed on ‌an 18-yard touchdown pass to push his team’s lead to 14–3. Meanwhile, Booker’s fine stands as the biggest one issued to any player from the Bears this season.

According to the NFL rulebook, a first offense for tackling with the helmet results in a fine of $23,186. However, that number doubles to $46,371 for a second violation in the same season. And that’s exactly what happened in Booker’s case as he committed the offense three times in the 2025 season.

The first one came during the game against the New York Giants, while he drew two fines of $5,818 for roughing the passer against Green Bay in Week 16. It’s the very game in which the hits pushed Love into a concussion.

While Booker’s discipline on the field has caused problems, his productivity has been a key part of Chicago’s defensive push lately. The 23-year-old has posted 4.5 sacks over his last five games. Now, Chicago gears up to face the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round at Soldier Field on Sunday.

On the other hand, Jordan Love’s team enters the offseason after being knocked out of the playoffs for the second straight time. Despite the loss, the Packers are putting faith in head coach Matt LaFleur again.

The Packers extend head coach Matt LaFleur’s contract

There had been talks since the beginning of the 2025 campaign that head coach Matt LaFleur’s job was on the line. And when Green Bay witnessed a painful postseason collapse against Chicago, the speculation intensified. Still, the Packers are not letting a five-game losing streak or consecutive playoff loss define LaFleur’s leadership. 

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero recently revealed that the team has agreed to offer a multi-year contract extension to him this weekend. LaFleur has been serving as head coach since 2019. He is currently in his last year of the deal, but the Packers chose not to wait until it expires. The Packers clearly made the move to quiet speculation and prevent LaFleur from losing his authority in the locker room.

Had they not extended his contract, the talk of LaFleur losing his job would have put him under pressure. Additionally, allowing him to coach without an extension could have weakened his voice inside the locker room. So, Green Bay’s decision to act fast will pave the way for its strong leadership next year. Meanwhile, the team’s move to keep LaFleur for the long haul was expected, given his winning record.

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The 46-year-old coach holds a 76-40-1 regular-season record. He has also led them to six playoff appearances over his last seven seasons. However, his postseason 3-6 record hasn’t kept up with the team’s regular-season success. And yet the team hasn’t used it to measure LaFluer’s impact this time. Instead, the Packers are giving him another shot to translate regular-season success into a deep playoff run.