Bears 22, Packers 16: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL Week 16 OT win
CHICAGO – The Bears-Green Bay Packers rivalry hasn’t felt this way in a long time.
The 212th meeting of the NFL’s longest-standing series was scheduled on a Saturday in prime time, with control of the NFC North on the line, in front of a Soldier Field crowd starving for glory.
So, in sum, this Week 16 clash was big.
Green Bay won the first matchup just 13 days prior, on a Caleb Williams interception in the end zone. The Packers advantage that established was gone the next week, though, setting up a showdown for division supremacy with two games left.
Chicagoland was hyped all week, with great stakes in a series that haven’t had many in recent memory. And while both teams could make the playoffs without a win, the victor would hold clear control.
The Bears now have that, and they earned it in unreal fashion.
They were dead to rights late in the game, but they found a way to earn a 22-16 overtime win over the Packers. It was a true walk-off win, with Williams throwing a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with 4:50 left in OT to secure a victory that few Bears fans will ever forget.
Let’s examine three things we learned from this Bears win, as they now only need a Detroit Lions loss or tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday to clinch their first playoff spot since 2020.
Pulling out another miracle
Cairo Santos‘ 43-yard field goal with 1:59 cut the Packers’ lead to seven, though all still seemed grim.
Then he executed a near-perfect onside kick that Romeo Doubs bobbled and Josh Blackwell recovered, giving Chicago a full two-minute drill to try to score its first touchdown of the day and tie the score (at least).
After struggling for most of the night, Williams came to life on that drive, marching the Bears inside the Packers’ 10 with key completions to Moore and Colston Loveland.
Williams then faced fourth-and-4 from the 6 — a similar spot to where he threw that game-ending interception in Green Bay. This time, Williams hit rookie Jahdae Walker for his first NFL touchdown, and Santos’ extra-point kick made it 16-16.
That game went to overtime, and the Bears elected to kick. The Packers drove to the Chicago 36, but they botched a fourth-and-short snap, giving the Bears a chance to win with a field goal or a touchdown.
They got the latter, on the Williams-to-Moore connection, going from just a 0.5 percent win probability before the onside kick, per Next Gen Stats, to victors.
The Bears improved to 11-4, while the Packers dropped to 9-5-1. If the season ended today, Chicago would be the NFC’s No. 2 playoff seed.
Love lost with a concussion
Packers quarterback Jordan Love dropped back to pass on a first down from the Green Bay 17 midway through the second quarter. Bears defensive linemen Gervon Dexter and Austin Booker applied significant pressure, with Booker eventually getting right in Love’s face.
Love and Booker made clear helmet-to-helmet contact — it’s arguable how it was initiated, by Love or by Booker — but the Packers star went down hard.
Booker was flagged for roughing the passer — he’d been penalized for unnecessary roughness on Love earlier in the game — but the Packers QB needed to be examined by trainers on the field and in the medical tent. Love later went into the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion, officially was diagnosed with one and ruled out of the game before the second half began.
Packers backup Malik Willis took over from that point. He’s a fundamentally different, less-polished quarterback who excels with zone-reads and mobility over pocket passing.
While the Packers largely stuck to an impactful run game — they finished with 192 yards on 44 carries — Willis made some big-time throws. That included a 33-yard TD pass to Doubs late in the third quarter to put Green Bay ahead by two scores.
Willis finished 9-of-11 passing for 121 yards and the TD, and he ran for 44 yards on 10 carries. But his bungled fourth-down snap in OT put the Bears on the path to victory.
Critical trick play goes horribly wrong
The Bears’ defense made a huge fourth-down stop inside their own 10 on the game’s opening drive. That only sparked a Bears sideline that entered this game excited and borderline overamped at the outset.
The offense harnessed that positive momentum on the ensuing drive, pushing deep into Packers territory with a run game that proved tough to stop. They were slowed enough to deal with a fourth-and short at the Packers’ 4.
With the Bears’ offensive line dominating, head coach Ben Johnson dialed up a trick play seemingly designed for tight end Cole Kmet to take a direct snap, then fake a call change, only to have center Drew Dalman snap it through Kmet’s legs and to rookie running back Kyle Monangai.
That’s not how it worked out. The snap went through Kmet’s legs but sailed above Monangai’s head for a failed fourth-down opportunity.
That play worked well for Johnson when he was the Lions’ offensive coordinator, but not on this day. In such a tight game where every point mattered, this missed opportunity hung over the Bears as they trailed in the fourth quarter.
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