GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love says he lost feeling in his throwing hand before leaving Sunday’s regular-season finale, but he added that his injury shouldn′t impact his availability for the playoffs.
Love said after Green Bay’s 24-22 loss to Chicago that he was told it shouldn′t be a lingering issue and that it should go away by the time the Packers open the postseason. As the No. 7 seed in the NFC, the Packers (11-6) will play a wild-card game at Philadelphia (14-3).
“It’s feeling better,” Love said.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Love could have returned to the Bears game if necessary. Love was taking warmup tosses on the sideline after backup quarterback Malik Willis hurt his hand late in the game.
Green Bay kept Willis in the rest of the way.
“Once Malik said he was good to go, we felt like that was the route we wanted to go,” LaFleur said.
The Packers weren′t as optimistic about wide receiver Christian Watson, who was carted into the locker room after hurting his right knee on a non-contact injury during the same second-quarter series in which Love got hurt.
“I’m not super confident about that right now,” LaFleur said.
The injuries for two top playmakers leave the Packers with major concerns as they enter the playoffs on a two-game skid, though it appears they may have dodged a major issue with Love.
LaFleur knew he faced a no-win situation in deciding whether to rest his starters or play them in the regular-season finale after they already had clinched a playoff appearance. Green Bay still entered Sunday with a chance to move up to the No. 6 seed if it had beaten Chicago and Washington had lost at Dallas.
He ended up likely losing Green Bay’s biggest deep threat for the postseason.
Watson missed the Packers’ 27-25 loss at Minnesota last weekend with an injured left knee. This injury appeared to involve his right knee.
He was running a pattern and went straight down as the pass was thrown to teammate Dontayvion Wicks. He clutched his right knee afterward.
After Packers officials went on the field to examine him, Watson walked to the sideline and went into the injury tent. Watson then held his left hand to his head as he was carted into the locker room.
“It’s really tough, especially (with) Christian trying to bounce back from what he’s been dealing with and to be able to go out there and have that happen,” Love said. “It’s tough. I feel for Christian. But at the same time, it’s that same mindset we’ve talked about before. It’s next man up. So other guys are going to have to step up and play a huge role. Like I’ve said before, we have a deep receivers room.”
Watson has 29 catches for 620 yards and two touchdowns this season.
Later in that series, Love faced heavy pressure from Austin Booker and Gervon Dexter before flipping a pass to Josh Jacobs. Love was shaking his throwing hand after the play and later got his elbow examined on the sideline.
The Packers announced Love had an elbow injury.
“I landed on it, on the ground, I think, and just lost pretty much all feeling in my hand,” Love said. “It pretty much just went numb.”
Willis took over for Love during that drive, which ended with Jacobs’ 9-yard touchdown run. Television cameras showed Love gripping a ball as he sat on the sideline.
Love said he tried again to throw after halftime.
“I came back, was trying to get some throws and same thing,” Love said. “Kind of outside of my hand and pinkie, couldn’t feel it, was pretty numb. We just made the decision to hold me back.”
But he doesn’t expect anything to hold him back in Philadelphia.
The Bears won when Caleb Williams led Chicago to Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal as time expired to snap a 10-game skid.
The Bears (5-12) beat the Packers for the first time since 2018 and ended an 11-game losing streak in this rivalry. It was redemption for Santos, who had a 46-yard field goal blocked by Karl Brooks on the final play of a 20-19 loss to the Packers on Nov. 17.
Brandon McManus had put Green Bay ahead by making a 55-yard field goal with 54 seconds left. Williams got the Bears into field-goal range by throwing an 18-yard completion to DJ Moore, whose fumble had set up the McManus kick.
JETS 32, DOLPHINS 20
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers threw a season-high four touchdown passes — Nos. 500, 501, 502 and 503 of his storied career — in what could’ve been his final NFL game to lead New York to a victory over Miami.
The 41-year-old Rodgers is uncertain if he wants to continue playing for a 21st season, and it’s unclear if the Jets (5-12) — who’ll have a new general manager and coach next season — will want to move forward with him.
But if this was it for Rodgers, he left with a win and some history, becoming the fifth player to throw 500 regular-season TD passes.
He also helped shut the door on the Dolphins (8-9), who needed a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. But that became moot when Denver routed Kansas City, which rested Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and several other starters, to clinch the final AFC postseason berth for the Broncos.
Rodgers finished 23 of 36 for 274 yards and TD passes to Tyler Conklin, Davante Adams, Allen Lazard and Breece Hall, and an interception.
Garrett Wilson had four catches to join Brandon Marshall as the only players in franchise history to have 100 receptions in a season. Adams caught six passes for 88 yards for his fifth straight season with 1,000 yards receiving.
Ashtyn Davis had two interceptions for the Jets, who had four takeaways.
Tyler Huntley started at quarterback for the Dolphins in place of the injured Tua Tagovailoa, who missed the past two games with a hip injury. Huntley was 25 of 41 for 227 yards and a touchdown.
TEXANS 23, TITANS 14
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — C.J. Stroud completed all six of his passes for 50 yards and a touchdown Sunday on the Texans’ opening drive before going to the bench as Houston snapped a two-game skid going into the AFC playoffs with a victory over Tennessee.
The Texans (10-7) also avoided being swept by the team they replaced in Houston. The Texans won for the first time since clinching their second straight AFC South title Dec. 15 with a win over Miami.
Now Houston waits to see if the Texans are hosting either the Los Angeles Chargers, who played at the Raiders later Sunday, or Pittsburgh in an AFC wild-card game.
With the loss combined with New England’s win over Buffalo, the Titans ′ season of misery at least landed them the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft in April. Their 3-14 finish matches 2014 for the most losses in a season since relocating from Texas to Tennessee in 1997.
COMMANDERS 23, COWBOYS 19
ARLINGTON, Texas — Marcus Mariota threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with 3 seconds left, lifting Washington to a victory over Dallas and clinching the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs.
Mariota threw for two scores and ran for a TD after replacing Jayden Daniels. The Commanders (12-5) sat their dynamic rookie quarterback at halftime since playoff seeding was the only thing on the line, and the move ended up sparking an offense that produced just 64 yards before the break.
It turned out Washington didn’t need the rally to keep the sixth seed because Green Bay lost to Chicago on a late field goal.
The Commanders will visit either Tampa Bay or the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round next weekend. The Packers will visit NFC East champion Philadelphia, the No. 2 seed, in the wild-card round.
PATRIOTS 23, BILLS 16
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Joe Milton III passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his NFL debut, and New England cost themselves the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft with a win over AFC East champion Buffalo.
The Patriots (4-13) snapped a six-game skid when a loss would have guaranteed them the top draft pick. Instead, they fell to No. 4 behind Tennessee, Cleveland and the New York Giants.
Milton finished 22 of 29 for 241 yards in relief of rookie Drake Maye, who played only one series. Kayshon Boutte had seven catches for 117 yards and TD, and Joey Slye kicked three field goals.
PANTHERS 44, FALCONS 38, OT
ATLANTA — Bryce Young passed for three touchdowns, ran for two scores and led a 70-yard drive capped by Miles Sanders’ 1-yard TD run on the opening possession of overtime to give Carolina a win over Atlanta.
The Falcons’ playoff hopes had already ended minutes earlier when Tampa Bay rallied past New Orleans.
Rookie Michael Penix Jr. capped his late-season introduction as Atlanta’s starting quarterback with a strong game, passing for 312 yards and two touchdowns — both to Drake London, who had 10 catches for a career-high 187 yards. Bijan Robinson ran for 170 yards and two scores, but the impressive offensive performance wasn’t enough to extend the Falcons’ season.
The Falcons (8-9) and Panthers (5-12) each missed the playoffs for a seventh straight season.
COLTS 26, JAGUARS 23, OT
INDIANAPOLIS — Jonathan Taylor ran for 177 yards, including 33 yards on six consecutive carries in overtime to set up Matt Gay’s game-ending 38-yard field goal, and Indianapolis beat Jacksonville.
Taylor closed the season by matching a career-best streak with four straight 100-yard games. He also rushed for a touchdown Sunday to reach six scores during that span.
Joe Flacco was 23 of 40 for 263 yards, including a 40-yard TD pass to Alec Pierce, in his 105th career victory — perhaps the last of the 39-year-old former Super Bowl MVP’s 17-year career.
Indy (8-9) won its final two home games to finish 5-3 at Lucas Oil Stadium, although the Colts missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
CHARGERS 34, RAIDERS 20
LAS VEGAS — Justin Herbert passed for 346 yards and two touchdowns, and the Los Angeles Chargers secured the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs with a victory over Las Vegas.
The Chargers (11-6) closed the regular season with a three-game winning streak under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh and will visit the fourth-seeded Houston Texans (10-7) in the next weekend’s wild-card playoff round.
Las Vegas, which had won back-to-back games, finished 4-13 with coach Antonio Pierce facing an uncertain future.
This was the Chargers’ first victory at Las Vegas since 2020 and their first season sweep of their AFC West rival since 2018. That also was the last time the Chargers won at least 11 games.
Herbert showed off his arm and legs, taking off for a 41-yard run in the third quarter to set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Will Dissly for a 27-13 lead.
His top target was Quentin Johnston, the second-year pro who set career highs with 13 receptions for 186 yards.
SEAHAWKS 30, RAMS 25
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Geno Smith passed for 223 yards and threw his career-best fourth touchdown pass to Noah Fant with 3:19 to play, and Seattle finished their 12th winning season in 13 years with a victory over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams.
Jimmy Garoppolo passed for 334 yards and two TDs in his debut for the Rams (10-7), who had already clinched the NFC West title through strength of schedule before they hosted the Seahawks (10-7). The Rams rested Matthew Stafford and nearly all of his offensive starters to stay healthy for a home playoff game next weekend.
Coach Sean McVay didn’t care, but the Rams’ first loss since Nov. 24 dropped them to the fourth seed in the NFC playoff bracket behind Tampa Bay (10-7), which beat New Orleans. Los Angeles’ visitor in the wild-card round will be the fifth-seeded loser of Minnesota’s showdown with Detroit on Sunday night.
DK Metcalf, Jake Bobo and AJ Barner also caught TD passes for Seattle. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had four catches to tie Tyler Lockett’s single-season franchise record of 100 receptions.
CARDINALS 47, 49ERS 24
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kyler Murray threw for 242 yards and four touchdowns, two to Greg Dortch, and Arizona beat injury-depleted San Francisco.
Arizona (8-9) won four more games than last year, but still missed the playoffs for a third straight season. San Francisco (6-11) lost seven of its final eight to finish with its worst record since 2018.
The Cardinals led throughout the second half and took a 33-24 lead with 14:16 left in the fourth quarter when Michael Carter sneaked into the end zone just inside the left pylon for a 2-yard touchdown. Arizona put the game away with 5:47 remaining on Murray’s 12-yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. that made it 40-24.
Tony Jones Jr. ran for a 46-yard touchdown to conclude the scoring and give Arizona its highest point total since 2015.
Harrison finished with eight TD catches, tying the franchise’s rookie record held by Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
Joshua Dobbs — starting for the 49ers in the place of injured Brock Purdy — threw for 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He hit wide-open fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a 36-yard TD with 4:49 left in the third quarter to cut the Cardinals’ advantage to 26-24.
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