Packers: Five players key to victory in Week 17 vs. Bears

3. Special teams

The Bears take a great deal of pride in their special teams. Cordarrelle Patterson is as good of a return man as there is in the NFL and the Packers’ special teams have been anything but.

Green Bay has allowed two returns for touchdowns and many big gains. They have also allowed blocked kicks including one last week against the Titans that was luckily and unjustly overturned by a penalty.

For Green Bay to go far they have to get that area figured out and improve a great deal.

The playoffs are full of good return men and flipping the field or a momentum-changing play could mean the difference in a win or a loss.

The good news is the Packers offense is humming along and don’t have to punt much. But the defenses will get better, as will the offenses.

To that same thought, if Green Bay can start getting some contributions from their return men, they could add another element to an already dangerous team.

Tavon Austin has had many big returns from punts in his past and is still capable of adding a few more plays to his highlight reel. It would also be great for someone to become a threat on kickoff returns and give the Packers short fields to work with.

For now, the focus will have to be limiting Patterson and not allowing big returns to shift the game.