The Green Bay Packers faced a tense moment in their 16-22 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 16. After Jordan Love left the game due to a concussion, backup quarterback Malik Willis was involved in a botched fourth-down snap with offensive tackle Sean Rhyan. The very play eventually cost Green Bay the game. After the overtime defeat, Willis addressed the breakdown and made it clear where he believes the blame belongs.

“If I’m going to do something like that, I just have to preface it in the huddle before we get into that situation,” he said, via NFL columnist Zach Jacobson’s post on X. “I can’t blame him [Sean] for not expecting that. I can’t blame anybody. It was on me.”

According to Jacobson, Malik Willis took full responsibility for a botched fourth-down snap that played a role in the ultimate loss to the Bears. The quarterback explained that there was a miscommunication between the two, explaining that Rhyan wasn’t expecting a change in cadence. Willis tried to rush the snap as time was slipping away, but his partner couldn’t keep up.

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“So we were just a little off timing, off-kilter there,” Willis added, via Jason B. Hirschhorn’s post on X.

During the Week 16 contest, Willis entered the field to fill in for Love, who suffered a concussion after a brutal hit from Bears defensive lineman Austin Booker. Despite the pressure and little time to adjust, Willis had played well for most of the night until the overtime fiasco. After losing the coin toss, the Packers opened the extra period and marched down to Chicago’s 36-yard line.

On fourth-and-1, head coach Matt LaFleur chose to keep the offense on the field. That’s when Willis fumbled the snap, leading to a turnover on downs at the worst possible time. The mistake sealed any comeback hopes, with the Bears coming out on top just after four more plays. While the loss wasn’t entirely Willis’ fault, the timing stung.  

Before overtime, the 26-year-old led three scoring drives, including a 33-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Romeo Doubs. Malik Willis wrapped up the game with 121 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, and an impressive 142.8 passer rating. Now the big question is: How will this loss affect the Packers’ path beyond the regular season?

The Packers miss chances to clinch a playoff berth 

The Packers would have secured th

>Malik Willis on botched snap that doomed Packers in OT

>Miscommunication on fourth down proves decisive vs Bears

>Green Bay misses playoff clinch, faces win-or-bust finish

eir spot in the playoffs had they won against the Bears. The math was simple. All they needed was to win and for the Detroit Lions to lose on Sunday. A victory would have pushed them atop the NFC North and moved them up to second place in the NFC standings. However, this plan fell apart, with the Packers now stuck in the middle of a tight playoff race.

For now, Green Bay remains seventh in the NFC playoff picture. Currently, strong teams from the NFC West are sitting in the sixth and seventh spots. They will stick in playoff positions irrespective of Sunday’s outcome. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams have already secured their slots, while the San Francisco 49ers hold the other wild-card spot.

With everything factored in, the Packers have little room to slip up. They need the Bears to lose twice while winning both their remaining games. This way, they will have 11 victories and can jump ahead of them. In a nutshell, Green Bay’s Week 16 loss has pushed all the pressure to Week 17 instead.