The Green Bay Packers let their regular-season finale get away on Sunday as the Chicago Bears kicked a final-play field goal for a 24-22 victory in the NFL’s oldest rivalry.

But Green Bay already had secured a spot in the NFC postseason field and will play the Philadelphia Eagles in a first-round game at 3:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Entering the postseason off a loss isn’t ideal, but Green Bay quarterback Malik Willis said the setback against the Bears could end up helping the Packers.

“It’s a blessing in disguise, I feel like,” Willis said. “I feel like God gave us the opportunity to go out here and play a hard-fought game and not come out on the right side of it to understand that those little mistakes are what’s going to separate a good team from whoever that you get to play, and that ultimately decides who wins and loses a ballgame. That protection miscue where I fumbled and I got hit, just all these different plays that got left on the field, unfortunately, it makes you lose a game.”

Willis made two starts in place of Jordan Love earlier this season and produced a pair of victories. Willis might have played anyway on Sunday, but he had to take the field with 12:19 left in the first half when Love hit his funny bone and numbed his hand and forearm with Green Bay trailing 14-3. With the Packers already locked into the playoffs, Willis went the rest of the way even though he hurt his thumb.

Willis completed 10-of-13 passes for 136 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and had a 3-yard run.

Willis lost a fumble on a sack on a first-down play from the Bears 32-yard line to derail a scoring opportunity. But he had a 41-yard completion on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive before Green Bay took a 22-21 lead on a field goal with 54 seconds remaining.

“I though Malik went in there, and I thought he played tough, man,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I thought he did a lot of good things. He gave guys an opportunity.”

Willis was among the 22 former Auburn players who got on the field on the 18th Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.

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Two other former Auburn players were involved in the Chicago-Green Bay game:

• Byron Cowart started at defensive tackle for the Bears. Cowart made two tackles and recorded one sack. Cowart entered the NFL in 2019 and came into the 2024 season with one career sack. But he had one sack in each of his past two games to boost his season total to 2.5. 
• Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden made three tackles.

In the other Sunday games:

Carolina Panthers 44, Atlanta Falcons 38 (OT)

• Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Chandler Wooten started at linebacker for the Panthers. Wooten made nine tackles. 

Washington Commanders 23, Dallas Cowboys 19

• Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) made five tackles and broke up one pass.
• Cowboys defensive end Carl Lawson made one tackle.
• Cowboys defensive tackle Justin Rogers was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Cowboys wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Indianapolis Colts 26, Jacksonville Jaguars 23 (OT)

• Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby ran for 39 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries and caught a 3-yard pass. Bigsby scored on a 1-yard run as Jacksonville tied the score at 7-7 with 8:12 left in the first quarter.

• Colts offensive tackle Braden Smith is on the non-football illness list and eligible to play.
• Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) made two tackles on special teams.

New England Patriots 23, Buffalo Bills 16

• Patriots defensive tackle Marcus Harris (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play. 
• Jonathan Jones started at cornerback for the Patriots. Jones did not record any stats.

Philadelphia Eagles 20, New York Giants 13

• Jack Driscoll started at right guard for the Eagles. In his first start of the season, Driscoll tied the franchise record for the most games by an Auburn player with his 67th regular-season appearance for Philadelphia. Long snapper John Hudson played in 67 games for the Eagles from 1991 through 1995.
• Darius Slayton started at wide receiver for the Giants. Slayton was targeted once but did not have a reception.
• Eagles tight end C.J. Uzomah is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, New Orleans Saints 19

• Buccaneers linebacker K.J. Britt (Oxford) made three tackles and recorded two tackles for loss.
• Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Buccaneers running back D.J. Williams is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Houston Texans 23, Tennessee Titans 14

• Titans defensive tackle Marlon Davidson (Greenville) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Roger McCreary (Williamson) started at cornerback for the Titans. McCreary made three tackles.
• Texans offensive tackle Kilian Zierer is on the practice squad and not eligible to play. 

Arizona Cardinals 47, San Francisco 49ers 24

• Cardinals defensive tackle Angelo Blackson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Cardinals inside linebacker Owen Pappoe did not record any stats.

Denver Broncos 38, Kansas City Chiefs 0

• Bo Nix (Pinson Valley) started at quarterback for the Broncos. Nix completed 26-of-29 passes for 321 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and ran for 47 yards on seven carries. Nix completed his first 18 passes in the game, with three going for touchdowns.

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• Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham played for the third time this season as he handled the Denver offense on its final possession. He had an 8-yard scramble and lost 1 yard on a kneel-down.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Los Angeles Rams 25

• Derick Hall started at outside linebacker for the Seahawks. Hall made one tackle and registered one quarterback hit.
• Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (Jackson) made four tackles on defense and one tackle on special teams.  

Los Angeles Chargers 34, Las Vegas Raiders 20

• Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson made all four of his kicks – field goals of 40 and 47 yards and two extra points.
• Chargers long snapper Josh Harris handled the snaps for five field-goal attempts, two extra points and one punt.
• Raiders wide receiver Shedrick Jackson (Hoover) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Raiders tight end John Samuel Shenker did not record any stats. Las Vegas elevated Shenker from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.

New York Jets 32, Miami Dolphins 20

• Dolphins wide receiver Anthony Schwartz is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Jamien Sherwood started at linebacker for the Jets. Sherwood made six tackles.
• Jets safety Jaylin Simpson was designated as a game-day inactive. 

Detroit Lions 31, Minnesota Vikings 9

• Lions cornerback Carlton Davis is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Week 18 started on Saturday, when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 35-10 and the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 19-17.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AmarkG1.