Despite a disappointing season that featured a 10-game losing streak, the Chicago Bears ended the year on a high note, beating the Green Bay Packers 24-22 at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Caleb Williams engineered the first game-winning drive of his career, setting up a 51-yard field goal from Cairo Santos to help Chicago finish 5-12 on the season.
Going into the Week 18 matchup, the Bears had lost their last 11 games to the Packers. This was the longest losing streak in the rivalry’s history, which has lasted over 104 years and 210 games. The Bears’ win puts them at the No. 9 slot in the upcoming NFL Draft and drops the Packers to the seventh seed in this year’s playoffs.
As seen for a majority of the season, Chicago struggled to find any offensive rhythm through the first quarter of Sunday’s matchup. But with the help of Josh Blackwell’s 94-yard punt return, the Bears became the first team since 1994 to hold the lead after the first quarter with a negative total of offensive yards. Chicago also picked up a fumble in Green Bay territory and scored again with a D’Andre Swift four-yard rush into the endzone.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love exited the game in the second quarter with an injury to his throwing hand. Under backup Malik Willis, the Packers were able to bounce back and score ten points in the second quarter, down only one going into halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, exchanging turnovers and punts while both defenses held strong. Chicago scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 31-yard pass to DJ Moore, but Green Bay responded with a 21-yard rush from Emanuel Wilson. The Packers missed the two-point conversion to tie the game, but after a Bears fumble, they hit a 55-yard field goal from Brandon McManus to go up by one with 54 seconds remaining.
With less than a minute remaining, Williams and the Bears did something he hadn’t been able to do all season: create a game-winning drive. After a 15-yard horse-collar penalty, Williams hit Rome Odunze for 15 yards and then ran for four yards. He then missed his next target and the Bears caught an offsides penalty to put the ball near midfield.
With only one timeout remaining and 15 seconds on the clock, Williams found Moore for 18 yards, and Chicago was able to spike the ball with three seconds left. As time expired, Santos hit his 51-yard kick, giving the Bears their first win in Green Bay in over four years and denying the Packers a chance at a better position in the NFC playoff picture.
Williams made 21 of his 29 passes for 148 yards and threw for one touchdown, only getting sacked once despite leading the league in that category. Swift ran for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Moore caught nine passes for 86 yards and scored, including the all-important 18-yarder to set up the game-winning field goal.
Jordan Love threw for 69 yards before he left the game in the second quarter, while in his place, Willis completed ten of his 13 attempts for 136 yards, being sacked three times for a loss of 21 total yards. Wilson ran for 73 yards and a touchdown, and Josh Jacobs had 44 yards on the ground while also finding the end zone for Green Bay.
The Packers demolished the Bears with 367 yards of total offense compared to 224 total yards, but Green Bay had two fumbles and let up that all-important punt return in the first quarter. They also only converted on three of their ten third downs and allowed a Chicago team that struggled all season to put a final drive together to get down the field in less than a minute.
For Green Bay, the loss drops them to 11-6 and puts them in the seventh seed in the upcoming playoffs, set to match up against the Philadelphia Eagles on Wild Card weekend. The team hopes that Love can return and play in that game, but he is still questionable to suit up. With a win and a Washington Commanders loss (neither of which managed to occur), they would have grabbed the sixth seed and played in Tampa against the Buccaneers.
Instead, they have to travel to Philly to play Saquon Barkley and an Eagles team that looks in great form. Besides Love, the Packers also saw receiver Christian Watson leave the game on Sunday (Confirmed ACL tear with possible further damage) without Romeo Doubs, who was dealing with an illness. Green Bay will need all three offensive weapons next weekend to have a shot at beating one of the league’s top defenses on the road.
Chicago’s win against their longtime rivals only increases their confidence going into next year. Prior to the beginning of the season, they had hopes of reaching the playoffs, but that all fell apart after a ten-game winless streak that began with the Commanders’ Hail Mary in Week 7.
If Santos had missed the last-second field goal, the Bears would have finished 4-12. However, with the victory, they ended with five wins and now hold the ninth pick in the 2025 Draft. A higher pick might have been better, but beating their rivals after 11 consecutive losses is a good consolation prize for the team and fans.
Heading into the offseason, Chicago is also searching for a new head coach, as they fired Matt Eberflus after a disastrous Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and Mike Vrabel have all been rumored to be at the top of the front office’s list of preferred candidates for the job.
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