A double-digit playoff lead (21-3) in a Wild Card round game should feel like security, but the Green Bay Packers’ second-half game against the Chicago Bears told a different story entirely. They failed to score until the final six and a half minutes, and their defense surrendered 25 points in the fourth quarter alone, which dissolved their lead, resulting in a 31-27 loss at Soldier Field. This game exposed real problems, which made one of the captains of the Packers, LB Quay Walker, be vocal about something deeper than fourth-quarter execution & putting the HC position in a quandary.

“As bad as I want to stand right here and say we should’ve won that game, we didn’t execute. That’s been a problem for us, honestly, just finishing games. Even before I got here, I feel like that’s always been a part of this organization.” Walker further added, “When it comes down to big games, finishing games, whether you start strong in the first half, it comes down to can you finish. Nobody cares what you did in the first half. It comes down to when the fourth quarter hits double zeros. Whatever the case may be, do we have more points than them? That hasn’t been the case at all.”

In a post-game statement shared on X by reporter Ryan Wood, Walker offered an unflinching assessment about what cost his team the game and what has cost this organization throughout his tenure. His words hit hard because he’s seen this pattern up close during four seasons with Green Bay. The 2022 first-round pick from Georgia led the team with 128 tackles this year despite missing time with an injury, giving him credibility when he calls out an organizational issue that predates his arrival. The Linebacker’s assessment rang true on Saturday.

Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes on the Packers’ first three drives to build that 21-3 halftime lead, but Green Bay punted on its first four second-half possessions while the defense allowed 209 yards in the fourth quarter alone. When Caleb Williams led a 6-play, 66-yard drive down the field, he found D.J. Moore for a 25-yard touchdown with just 1:43 remaining to seal it.
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Kicker Brandon McManus compounded the collapse. He missed an extra point after Matthew Golden‘s touchdown, a missed 55-yard field goal attempt in the first half, and another crucial 44-yard attempt in the game’s final moments. Three missed kicks equaled seven lost points. When the clock finally hit zero, the Bears had more points, exposing exactly the finishing problem Walker identified. The Packers’ sad loss eliminated them from the 2026 NFL run and immediately put coach Matt LaFleur’s future under the spotlight, with many fans and critics making direct demands of him getting fired.

Quay Walker’s critique intensifies the Matt LaFleur question

Former Packers QB Kurt Benkert didn’t hold back after Green Bay’s playoff collapse. He blamed LaFleur for the loss on Saturday.

He went on X and posted, “This is 100% on Lafleur.”

But Matt LaFleur did not take full responsibility on his shoulders. The HC post-game explanation was that his team lost its composure. He also mentioned the game turning into the second half and said that his team was “disheveled.”

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“We’ve got to look at it. We’ve got to talk. There’s a lot of pieces. All you’re trying to do in the moment is, when mistakes are made, you’re correcting them. There’s not long discussions on the sideline. It’s just you correct the mistakes and try to keep it moving.” LaFleur said in the post-game interview, “And I felt like just our team got a little bit disheveled in the second half.”

Matt LaFleur is on a decline with his playoff record. LaFleur is 3-6 in his playoff career with the Packers, a clear contrast to his 76-40-1 regular-season record. Before the game, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that LaFleur was not “coaching for his job” Saturday night, with the organization planning to discuss a contract extension shortly after the season concluded. But that calculus may shift following the latest collapse.

Some reports from Newsweek suggested that LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst both have one year remaining on their deals, and if John Harbaugh expresses interest in the Green Bay job, policy might move quickly to make a coaching change. Yet quarterback Jordan Love has publicly defended his head coach.

“I definitely think Matt should remain the head coach. I got a lot of love for Matt,” he said through reporter Jason B. Hirschhorn on X. “I think he does a great job.”

With Quay Walker heading to free agency after declining his fifth-year option, the team faces potential roster turnover, coaching uncertainty, and fundamental questions about how a franchise that builds early leads repeatedly fails to close them out when it matters most.​