After every Green Bay Packers game, we will talk about three points that defined the matchup.

The Green Bay Packers are the youngest team to make the playoffs since 1978. Let that sink in for a moment. The transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love couldn’t have gone better. It’s a young team, but it’s also talented.

The big goal of the season was to determine if Jordan Love was the quarterback of the future. And he clearly is, they have found their guy.

It was a tough 17-9 win over the Chicago Bears. Mistakes showed how this team can still get better, but their arrow is obviously pointing up. They have a big challenge in the wild card round next week, but to be honest, it won’t be as big of a game as this one was.

The Packers reached the playoffs in Love’s first year as a starter, something the franchise didn’t do with Aaron Rodgers in 2008. The playoff experience is extremely important, and it matters for when they will be truly competitive over the next few years.

The 2023 season is a blast for the Green Bay Packers, and it almost doesn’t matter how it ends at this point.

Young, cheap and great

The Packers have the youngest offense in the NFL, and the youngest group of pass-catchers since 2017. It's also the least expensive offensive roster in the league. Green Bay entered week 18 as the ninth offense by DVOA, and it didn't disappoint in the biggest moment of the season.

Sure, the youth was evident in the end of the second half, when a series of bad management decisions cost them at least three points. But the talent is evident, and the unit will only get better over the next few years.

This team had the most receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in NFL history by first- and second-year players.

Defensive gameplan

We're here every week to criticize the Packers defense, and it's fair. And some of the frequent mistakes were there on Sunday, like mismatches of linebackers covering wide receivers — Quay Walker on DJ Moore was particularly bizarre.

But they also had a strong gameplan upfront, putting five defensive linemen on the field for most of the game, closing running lanes for Justin Fields and forcing him to progress through his reads.

And the plan worked in large part because the Packers interior defensive linemen played at a hugely high level. The rookie Karl Brooks, plus Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt were impactful as pass rushers, which is exactly what this unit is built to do.

Kicking game

Another game, another miss by Carlson. He missed a 41-yard field goal, right after Bears kicker Cairo Santos had converted a 50-yard kick. It's been hard to justify the use of a sixth-round pick to get him, a kicker that had never had much success as a college kicker.

The Packers hope is that he will develop over time, but so far there hasn't been any evidence to support that hope.

It’s a small aspect for the big picture, but the Packers need a better operation for the playoffs — and for next season as well.

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