SPORTS LINE
Green Bay Packers.
Matt LaFleur might have work to do to keep his job. After what has been a rollercoaster of a season, there are some who think that new team president Ed Policy could choose to make some changes during the NFL offseason. One of those changes could be considering a coaching change. Despite being one of the NFL’s winningest coaches, at least in the regular season, his job security with the Packers is reportedly not firm. Currently in his seventh season with the team, LaFleur entered Sunday with a 76-39-1 regular season record, including three straight 13-win seasons (and three-straight NFC North titles) when he had Aaron Rodgers across the first three seasons of his tenure. He has only missed the playoffs once in his tenure, which was in 2022, when the Packers went 8-9. But he also has repeatedly fallen short in the postseason.
Last year, the Packers were eliminated in the wild-card round by the Eagles. LaFleur has done a good job for the Packers during the regular season. However, the team has been unable to win when it matters most. His postseason success simply hasn’t been there. Green Bay has fallen apart late in the season this year. Injuries have played a large role in that collapse.
The Packers entered this season with massive expectations, having pulled off a blockbuster trade to acquire star edge rusher Micah Parsons and with Love in his third season as a starter. But Parsons tore his ACL in Week 14, and the Packers have struggled down the stretch of the regular season, carrying a three-game losing streak into Sunday. This team is at the very least in the playoffs, though. That’s more than the Vikings or Detroit Lions can say this season. The time and date for the Green Bay Packers’ wild-card playoff game against the Chicago Bears is set. The Packers and Bears will meet for a third time this season after they split their season series. And for the second time, they’ll be playing on a Saturday night. The No. 7-seeded Packers will travel to Chicago for the NFC Wild Card playoffs after the Bears secured the conference’s No. 2 seed with Philadelphia’s 24-17 loss to Washington. The postseason matchup will take place at Soldier Field on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. CT on Prime Video.
The Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks are monitoring the market as the February 5 trade deadline approaches. The team could go in either direction as a buyer or seller, but the team is leaning towards trying to gather pieces that could help the team get back into the playoff mix. The Bucks are certainly making the effort to build a winner around Antetokounmpo because they have seen what can happen if they accomplish that. He is still just 31 years old and has some of his elite years ahead of him, but it takes more than one player to win a championship. The problem with the Bucks at the moment is that they don’t have a true number two option behind Antetokounmpo. It’s why the team struggled so much when he was on the sidelines with a calf strain.
That player used to be Khris Middleton, then it was Damian Lillard. While the plan is to have that be Myles Turner, he doesn’t fit the bill as much as the others have. Getting someone like LaVine, Porter Jr., or Grant could give the Bucks that number two option. All three of those guys have proven to be the best player on a roster at some point in their careers. Recent intel suggests that the Bucks are in on Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., according to league sources. Milwaukee is “monitoring” the 27-year-old former NBA champion’s situation in Brooklyn, but they are not alone. From 2023 to 2025, he missed just five games over two full seasons. He’s missed five this year, but one was a SEGABABA, and the most recent was due to illness. So, he seems pretty healthy.
