3 and out: Bears walk off Packers
The Bears, on Caleb Williams’ overtime touchdown pass to DJ Moore, came through with their sixth fourth-quarter comeback of the season to beat the Packers in overtime 22-16 on Saturday at Soldier Field to put Chicago in the driver’s seat for the NFC North title at 11-4.
The Packers dropped to 9-5-1. Here’s what you need to know.
Three moments that mattered
1. Clutch Caleb: The end of the Bears’ first game with the Packers two weeks ago was highly scrutinized. Williams’ fourth-and-1 pass to Cole Kmet was intercepted in the end zone in the final seconds to preserve a 28-21 Green Bay win. Williams appeared to have DJ Moore open underneath on the play, but opted to throw to Kmet.
But Williams delivered the throw of his young career Saturday — with Moore at the receiving end.
Williams unloaded a perfect deep strike to Moore in the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown with 4:50 left in the overtime period. The winning drive started when the Packers, on a fourth-and-1, had a fumbled exchange on the snap to backup quarterback Malik Willis and turned it over.
2. Onside kick turns into late Bears magic: The Bears came in with five fourth-quarter comeback wins, tying them for the most in the league.
They were cardiac kings once again Saturday.
After Cairo Santos’ 43-yard field goal with 1:59 left in the fourth quarter cut the Packers’ lead to 16-9, Chicago’s Josh Blackwell recovered the onside kick — improbable in a season where recoveries are hovering at a 4.7% rate leaguewide.
How’s this for improbable?
Jahdae Walker, an undrafted free agent receiver from Texas A&M who caught his first pass of the season Saturday, hauled in a 6-yard TD pass from Williams on fourth-and-four with 24 seconds to tie it 16-16 and force overtime. The Packers blitzed Williams and he somehow found Walker with an off-balance throw in the right corner of the end zone.
Walker was thrust into duty with the Bears down two of their top three receivers in Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III.
2. All out of Love: The Packers, which lost star defensive Micah Parsons to a season-ending ACL tear last week, saw their offensive MVP go down in the first half Saturday. Bears defensive end Austin Booker delivered a big hit to Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love, and was called for roughing the passer for a head-to-head collision. Love went to the locker room and did not return as he was evaluated for a concussion.
Backup QB Willis came in and led a 16-play, 91-yard drive with a 13-yard run on fourth-and-1, a possession that culminated with Brandon McManus’ 22-yard field goal for a 6-0 halftime lead.
Willis later threw a 33-yard TD pass to Romeo Doubs in the last minute of the third quarter to give the Packers a 13-6 lead. He was 9-for-11 for 121 yards and also ran for 44 yards, but the late fumbled snap was costly.
Three things that worked
1. Bend but don’t break defense: The Packers dominated time of possession throughout the game 38:57 to 26:13. Green Bay ran more plays (70-60) and had more first downs (24-20) than the Bears.
But the Bears defense, victimized by the big play in the teams’ first meeting, was bend but don’t break.
The Bears turned away the Packers’ opening drive inside the 10-yard line, and held Green Bay to two field goals the rest of the first half. Besides Willis’ TD pass to Doubs, the Packers were limited to three McManus field goals.
2. Nahshon Wright does it again: Nahshon Wright’s knack for making the big play has been uncanny in his first season in Chicago. The veteran cornerback earned NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors for November after generating five takeaways in five games.
He was at it again Saturday.
Wright forced a Green Bay fumble at the Bears’ 4-yard line in a possession midway through the third quarter. Tremaine Edmunds, activated from injured reserve Saturday, recovered. Wright now has five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries on the season.
3. Salute, Santos: Santos has been at times maligned by Bears fans for his lack of elite leg strength.
But he was on the money in some nasty conditions Saturday night at Soldier Field. Santos knocked in a 46-yard field goal with 12:12 left in the third quarter for Chicago’s first points. After a Williams grounding penalty, Santos drilled a 51-yard field goal in strong winds to make it a 13-6 Packers lead with 10:52 left in the game. He later added a 43-yard field goal, then was on the kicking end of the big onside kick.
Three things that didn’t
1. Bears offense. The Bears offense struggled mightily for a half in the teams’ first meeting with just three points at halftime. Even without Parsons to chase around Williams, it was a struggle.
Williams was 12-for-24 for 151 yards, including his last deep ball to Love. Chicago was 2-for-11 on third down and was kept out of the end zone until the last seconds of regulation, and overtime.
2. Bears penalties: The Bears came in as one of the most penalized teams in the league, tied for 10th in the NFL, and struggled with those mistakes Saturday. Chicago was called for 10 penalties for 105 yards.
3. Bears early missed opportunity: Both teams failed to cash in on promising opening drives.
After Love’s pass at the goal line was incomplete on a fourth-and-1, the Bears came back with an 88-play opening drive. Williams completed passes to three different receivers and Chicago rushed it effectively as well. But the Bears got a little too cute on fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 4-yard line. With Kmet lined up under center a deep snap sailed over Kyle Monangai’s head, costing the Bears an early opportunity to take the lead.
What’s next?
The 11-4 Bears head west for a 7:20 p.m. kickoff Sunday at the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers. Both teams are still in the running for division titles and the No. 1 seed in the NFC.