​The first week of APC’s top plays of 2025 countdown closes with play number six, a pivotal late-season divisional clash. The Game After sweeping the Lions the previous week with a Thanksgiving tilt of note, the Packers met the Bears for the season’s opening matchup. Green Bay stood at 8-3-1, riding a three-game win streak, while Chicago came in at 9-3 on a five-game run. The winner would claim first place in the NFC North.
The Situation Green Bay led 14-3 at halftime but stalled on their initial possession after the break. Chicago answered with a 10-play, 64-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown and a two-point conversion, shrinking Green Bay’s lead to 14-11 with 8:08 left in the third quarter. The Packers advanced 22 yards on their first three plays but faced a crucial 3rd-and-3 at the Bears’ 41-yard line.
The Play Green Bay lined up in 11 personnel in a 3×1, Trips Nub look (three receivers to one side, with a lone receiver on the opposite side supported by a near-line TE). Before the snap, Love signaled to the right side, with Christian Watson relaying the call to Doubs outside. After the game, Jordan Love explained, “we just changed the route with Christian, and he did a great job creating separation and winning across the field against the defender with speed.”
This is an RPO, with the run play tagged as a Wide Zone with Josh Jacobs and a pass tag that features a WR screen variant the Packers frequently use on these RPOs. The standard flow has the outside receivers on the passing side blocking while the inside receiver runs a route underneath in the flat. Love can hand the ball to Jacobs or throw to Reed. It’s a pre-snap read based on numbers: if the offense has a numbers advantage on the passing side, Love will throw; otherwise, he’ll hand it off.
My theory is that Love’s hand signal indicated a route adjustment prompted by the defense. The base call remained Wide Zone with a WR screen tag, but Love had Watson and Doubs adjust to stalk-and-release routes: Watson on a slant, Doubs on a fade. This shifted it from a pre-snap read to a post-snap read, requiring Love to read a single defender or a section of the field after the snap.
The Bears’ cornerbacks lined up tightly to the line, with a single-high safety playing deep, suggesting man coverage and heavy pressure up front. At the snap, Love checked toward the passing side. Based on Chicago’s tendencies, it appeared Love was reading D’Marco Jackson (No. 48) as the conflict defender. If Jackson moved toward the line, Love would pull and throw; if Jackson dropped back, the play would unfold differently, aligning with the Bears’ defensive scheme.