7 winners and 3 losers from the Packers’ signature win over Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears in Week 5

Green Bay improved to 3-2 with its best performance of the 2026 season, and a handful of key pieces finally showed up against Chicago.

Wendell Ferreira — NFL News Writer
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Oct 11, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) carries the ball defended by Chicago Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson (48) during the first quarter at Lambeau Field.
Oct 11, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) carries the ball defended by Chicago Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson (48) during the first quarter at Lambeau Field. Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

The Green Bay Packers got a much-needed and dominating 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field in Week 5. It was the best performance of the Packers’ 2026 season so far, on both offense and defense, and the offense in particular had its most complete game of the year. Green Bay is now 3-2, and Chicago drops to the same record.

The rivalry carried extra weight this time. The Packers came into this game after last year’s late-game meltdowns, and they needed a response against a division rival. They got one.

Winners

Matt LaFleur

Any list of winners has to start with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. He faced a lot of pressure entering this game, partly because of those late-game collapses and partly because of the contrast between his approach and Bears’ Ben Johnson’s approach to the rivalry.

LaFleur answered with an excellent game, both in play-calling and in putting his players in position to succeed. He is now 13-3 against Chicago as a head coach. His 81.25% winning percentage is the highest of any coach ever with at least 10 games against the Bears. The formula is clearly there.

Jordan Love

Quarterback Jordan Love also entered with pressure on his shoulders after an uneven first month. He responded with a fantastic game and surpassed 300 passing yards. He finished the game with 25/31 for 367 yards, two touchdowns, no turnovers, and a 137.5 passer rating.

The numbers tell only part of the story, though. Love made several great throws, and he had more time in the pocket than he did earlier in the season. That’s all Green Bay needs from him. When Love has time to throw and the offense stays balanced, he can play like an elite quarterback.

Christian Watson and Matthew Golden

The Packers have a difficult situation at wide receiver in terms of depth. Jayden Reed is out for the season with a neck injury, and Skyy Moore left this game with an ankle injury.

Even so, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both had excellent performances. The duo combined for 266 receiving yards and showed up in the big moments. Based on this game and the evidence of the regular season at this point, they can be one of the best young wide receiver duos in the NFL.

Laken Tomlinson

Evaluating offensive line play live is difficult before watching the All-22. Still, left guard Laken Tomlinson is a clear upgrade over Donovan Jennings, who started the season at that spot, especially in the run game.

According to PFF’s preliminary grades, Tomlinson posted a team-high run-blocking grade against the Bears and didn’t allow a single pressure. He is a big part of why the Green Bay offense has been much better over the past two weeks.

MarShawn Lloyd

This one is harder to evaluate because it’s tough to separate MarShawn Lloyd’s performance from a struggling Chicago run defense. Even so, the running back had the best game of his career and scored two touchdowns, deserving the praise.

His yards per carry weren’t great at 3.1. But Lloyd ran hard and appeared to show much better vision than he has throughout his NFL career. The run blocking, already solid this season, was even better in this game. For a player trying to resurrect his career to a certain extent, it was a meaningful step.

Xavier McKinney

Safety Xavier McKinney intercepted two passes. Without Micah Parsons and Edgerrin Cooper, McKinney is the best defensive player on the team, and he played like it as the leader of the unit. He made several impactful plays, held up well against the run, and showed his usual intelligence.

The Packers’ defense depends on big plays. If it doesn’t force negative plays such as sacks, interceptions, or penalties, stops are hard to come by, and that’s the reality for most NFL defenses in today’s game. A player like McKinney makes life easier for any defensive coordinator.


Losers

Jordan Morgan

Green Bay doesn’t have many losers from a game this complete. On performance alone, though, left tackle Jordan Morgan stands out. He allowed three pressures, including a big sack of Love late in the first half. He also committed a false start that put the offense in a tough spot during the team’s worst stretch of the game.

Anthony Belton appears to be setting himself up better on the other side, and the guard play has improved with Tomlinson and Travis Glover. As a result, Morgan now looks like the weakest link on the offensive line. He hasn’t been unplayable, but this isn’t what the Packers expected when they drafted him in the first round a few years ago.

Skyy Moore

Wide receiver and kick returner Skyy Moore lands here because of the ankle injury he suffered, not because of how he played. Moore has been a valuable returner, and he had a growing role on offense with Reed out for the season.

Golden handled punt returns well later in the game, and the Packers have Bo Melton and J. Michael Sturdivant available for kickoffs. Still, losing Moore for any stretch would be a blow for Green Bay and for a player who was having a good season.

Trey Smack

The rookie kicker had the worst game of his career so far, missing an extra point and two field goals. It didn’t matter in this game in particular, but hopefully for the Packers the mistakes don’t generate a lack of confidence for the rest of the season. After Brandon McManus was a big part of the meltdown in Chicago in the playoffs, watching a kicker miss like that against the Bears is at least uncomfortable.

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