NFC North

Green Bay Packers linebacker Rashan Gary suffered a torn ACL in Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN first reported the "initial belief" was Gary suffered a torn ACL.

Rapoport and Fowler both report that Gary will undergo an MRI to reveal the full extent of the injury.

The University of Michigan product was durable during his first three seasons and missed just two combined games.

He was a modest contributor in his first year with 21 tackles and two sacks, although he flashed the potential that convinced the Packers to select him with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. He followed with 35 tackles and five sacks in his second season and 47 tackles and 9.5 sacks in his third.

Gary has continued his rise in production in 2022, tallying at least one sack in each of the first four games. He leads the team with six sacks in nine games this year, adding 32 tackles.

Losing a key defensive playmaker could be brutal for Green Bay with the team coming off its fifth-straight loss to drop to 3-6.

Look for Preston Smith to continue as a defensive leader from one outside linebacker spot while Jonathan Garvin and Kingsley Enagbare see more playing time as well.

Aaron Rodgers said he doesn't regret coming back to the Green Bay Packers this season despite the team's fifth straight loss Sunday.

The quarterback dismissed the idea that he looks "miserable" on the field when asked during the postgame press conference (2:00 mark):

"I think that's an exaggeration, Pete," Rodgers said. "Frustration and miserability are two different emotions. When I decided to come back, it was all-in and I don't make decisions and then, you know, hindsight 20/20, you know, have regrets about big decisions like that. So I was all-in. This is a lot of life lessons, for sure, this year. But luckily, it's not over. Still a lot of games left. We'll be counted out probably by many. And we'll see how we respond."

Rodgers threw three interceptions, including two in the end zone, during the Packers' 15-9 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 9.

"Had some s--tty throws for sure," Rodgers admitted after the game.

The quarterback also had some negative body language throughout the game.

The Lions entered the day with the worst defense in the NFL in both points and yards allowed, but the Packers could only manage nine points in the poor offensive effort.

Green Bay hasn't topped 21 points in any of the last four games, averaging just 14.3 points per game during this stretch.

Injuries at receiver and along the offensive line haven't helped, but Rodgers now has seven interceptions in 2022, his most in a single season since 2016. It's been a major surprise after the quarterback won the league's MVP award in each of the last two years.

Rodgers has considered retirement instead of returning to Green Bay in recent years before he ultimately signed a four-year, $200 million contract extension this offseason. After falling to 3-6 on the season, this might end up being a mistake for both sides.

Green Bay fell to an ugly 3-6 on the season with a 15-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. What's more, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported running back Aaron Jones was walking with "a very noticeable limp and grimace in the locker room postgame" after exiting the contest with an ankle injury.

The good news for the Packers, though, is that Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Monday that X-rays came back negative and Jones should be able to play against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Week 10.

"A little sore," Jones told reporters after the game, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. "I was fine. They sent me for X-rays. X-rays were fine, but they decided to hold me [out]. It was frustrating, because I felt like I could have went, but they were being smart. I definitely respect them, because after I stopped moving around and I sat still for a while, it got kind of sore. I respect them."

The injury to Jones was just one of a number of potentially serious injuries the Packers suffered Sunday, as Demovsky noted:

Jones had nine carries for 25 yards and two catches for 20 yards prior to leaving the game, which left the Packers without arguably their best offensive weapon.

Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions, AJ Dillon averaged a mere 3.1 yards per carry and the offense managed just a single touchdown. The unit missed the two-point conversion after the score and never held a lead in the loss to the 2-6 Lions.

The timing of Jones' injury was particularly concerning for Green Bay considering he looked to turn the corner on the season during the Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He finished with 143 rushing yards in that loss after scoring two receiving touchdowns the previous game against the Washington Commanders.

Those were his first two touchdowns since a Week 2 win over the Chicago Bears.

Detroit was an ugly 30th in the league in rushing yards per game coming into Sunday's contest, so it would have followed that Green Bay had a game plan that was reliant on Jones.

Yet the injury, deficit it faced and overall struggles for the offense didn't help as the free-falling franchise lost a fifth consecutive game. This is a team that entered the 2022 campaign with Super Bowl-or-bust expectations, but now even the playoffs seem like a long shot at this point.

A long-term Jones injury would only worsen those playoff odds.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a disastrous game Sunday thanks to three red-zone interceptions en route to a 15-9 road loss to the two-win Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

All three picks were back-breakers.

On 1st-and-goal at the Detroit 5-yard line in the first quarter, Rodgers threw a pick to the Lions' Kerby Joseph to kill a 13-play, 88-yard drive.

On 4th-and-goal at the Detroit 1-yard line to begin the second quarter, Rodgers tossed his second interception, this time to Lions rookie Aidan Hutchinson.

The Packers found themselves down 8-0 in the third quarter but got a big break when Jaire Alexander picked off Lions quarterback Jared Goff and returned the ball to the Detroit 23.

However, the positive momentum died quickly after Rodgers threw another interception to Joseph two plays later.

Green Bay clawed back and made it a one-score game late. The Packers found themselves with one more chance for a game-winning touchdown and had 1st-and-10 on the Lions' 17. However, four incomplete passes effectively ended the game.

It's been a nightmare season for the reigning back-to-back NFL MVP, and the Packers now find themselves in serious danger of missing the playoffs. After the game, analysts and fans let Rodgers have it on Twitter.

The schedule won't get any easier for the Packers, who will now face the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys, the 5-2 Tennessee Titans and the 8-0 Philadelphia Eagles in their next three games.

The Chicago Bears lost again Sunday, but there is plenty of reason for optimism thanks to their young quarterback.

Justin Fields put on a show during the 35-32 loss to the Miami Dolphins with 178 rushing yards and four total touchdowns. He broke Michael Vick's record of 173 rushing yards, which was the most for a quarterback in modern NFL history.

Chicago is just 3-6 and not a realistic contender this season, making Fields' progression the most important thing for the franchise.

He's not exactly surrounded by game-changing talent either, which was never clearer than when he scrambled free from pressure and delivered a strike to Equanimeous St. Brown on a fourth-down play on the team's final drive. It was an excellent individual effort by Fields, but the wide receiver dropped it and the Bears' chances at a win.

That it came on the same drive as an obvious missed pass interference call by the officials on a deep ball to Chase Claypool only underscored just how uphill of a battle Fields is facing in his second year with his second different head coach and offensive coordinator.

Yet he has shown plenty of progress of late.

He led the Bears to a surprising road win over the New England Patriots in Week 7 and has accounted for 1,306 total yards, 11 total touchdowns and just two interceptions during the last five games.

Even better for Chicago is the fact it has the most cap space in the entire league for 2023, meaning first-year general manager Ryan Poles will have plenty of opportunities to add talent around the Ohio State product through free agency and the draft.

The Bears have been searching for a franchise quarterback for generations, and they may have one who is already breaking rushing records that belonged to Vick.

If nothing else, Chicago fans have realistic reason for hope when it comes to the quarterback position for the first time in years.

The Chicago Bears saw their playoff hopes for the 2022 season take a major blow on Sunday. But the future has never been brighter.

That may sound paradoxical, but the story from the team's 35-32 loss against the Miami Dolphins (6-3) was the play of young quarterback Justin Fields, who suddenly looks like a downright superstar.

FIelds finished Sunday's loss 17-of-28 for 123 yards, three scores and zero turnovers, adding 178 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The 3-6 Bears will be disappointed with the loss, but it's hard not to be excited about the continued development of Fields.

NFL Twitter was almost giddy with what they saw from him:

Fields' potential and talent has never been in question. What has been a point of angst for Bears fans, however, is how his coaching staffs have handled the young quarterback, often putting in a system that hasn't utilized his unique skill set.

That, combined with a questionable supporting cast, contributed to a disappointing rookie season and a similarly tough start to his sophomore campaign.

But hope abounds in Chicago. The system is transitioning to one that better fits Fields. While the Bears made a pair of trades that signaled a rebuild, moving on from linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Robert Quinn, they also pulled the trigger on adding young wideout Chase Claypool to give Fields another threat on the outside.

Claypool didn't set the world on fire in his debut, registering two catches for 13 yards and one rush for four yards. An adjustment period is to be expected. But the commitment to building around Fields was the bigger part of the story anyway, because Fields showed everyone what he can do Sunday.

And it was thrilling, even if it didn't result in a victory. That's OK—the future is going to be full of wins if this version of Fields continues to show up.

The Green Bay Packers didn't make a major addition to their passing game ahead of the NFL trade deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the team "made aggressive attempts" to land Chase Claypool and Darren Waller. According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Green Bay also inquired about the availability of D.J. Moore but was rebuffed by the Carolina Panthers.

Claypool was the only one of the three to change teams, as the Pittsburgh Steelers shipped him to the Chicago Bears for a 2023 second-round pick.

Schefter reported the Packers were willing to send their second-rounder and another late-round pick to Pittsburgh, but the Steelers thought Chicago's lone second-rounder presented more value.

The reports are unlikely to lessen the frustration fans are feeling about Green Bay's inactivity. They might even have the opposite of their intended effect since they come off as a clear attempt to shift the narrative.

If nothing got done, then it doesn't really matter whether general manager Brian Gutekunst turned over every stone in the hunt for another wideout.

There might be some nuance required, though. The Athletic's Mike Sando reached out to an NFL talent evaluator who said the exacting standards of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers may have complicated the situation:

There is so much there (in Green Bay) that we don't know when it comes to Aaron Rodgers and his wide receivers. It is almost like, 'Why would we spend premium draft capital on someone the quarterback probably will not like?' That is what it comes across as to me. Rodgers plays a part in it, too, like nobody is good enough. They can't please him.

Whatever the reason, the Packers are poised to finish 2022 with Allen Lazard and rookie fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs as their two best receivers, an outcome that's bound to please nobody.