Last night’s unlikely overtime win by the Bears happened when receiver DJ Moore caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb Williams.
Moore made the catch despite having Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon on his back, making clear contact before the ball arrived.
No flag was thrown, and it didn’t matter because Moore made the catch. It would have gotten very interesting if Moore hadn’t held on to the ball. Would a late penalty have been called? Would no flag have been thrown?
If Moore hadn’t made the catch and if the Bears would have lost the game, Chicago fans rightfully would have been livid.
Again, it doesn’t matter. Moore made the catch. Still, Nixon clearly hit Moore early.
Fourteen teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. Four more eventually will be bounced. And one of four very good teams in the NFC is destined to be among them.
Even after winning last night in overtime to extend their record to 11-4, the Bears are not in. Which means they could still be out.
Likewise, the 49ers, Packers, and Lions have yet to qualify. Among Chicago, San Francisco, Green Bay, and Detroit, one of them will not make it.
The 49ers, if they win out, will be the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If they lose to the Colts, Bears, and Seahawks, the Niners could be SOL.
The Bears, currently the No. 2 seed, could slip and slide right out of the seven-team field if they close the season with losses to the 49ers and Lions.
The Packers, at 9-5-1, face the Ravens and the Vikings, who already have played spoiler for the Cowboys — and who would love to poke a fatal hole in the Cheeseheads’ playoff chances.
The Lions, who are as good as anyone when things are clicking, have lost three times as many games as they did in 2024. At 8-6, they take a very small margin for error into games against the Steelers, Vikings, and Bears.
This feels like one of those years in which nearly any team that gets a seat at the playoff table could run the table. It’s possible that an NFC team that otherwise would have gotten red-hot in January will slip up just enough to not get that opportunity.
After forcing the Packers to turn the ball over on downs to open overtimes, the Bears only needed a field goal to win and take another step toward the NFC North title but they opted against a conservative approach.
On a first down from the Green Bay 46-yard line, they went for all the marbles and saw their bet pay off. Quarterback Caleb Williams went for wide receiver DJ Moore in the end zone even though Packers corner Keisean Nixon was draped all over him. Nixon picked Williams off in the end zone to end the first game between the two teams, but the ball got to Moore this time and the wideout touched off a raucous celebration at Soldier Field by holding on for the score.
After the game, Williams said in his press conference that the play was installed late in the week after a film session with head coach Ben Johnson. Williams said that it worked in practice and that he knew it was a winner when the ball left his hand on Saturday.
“Yeah, I knew it was good,” Williams said. “You got that belief, you got that confidence, you got that swagger as an offense. You practice well, you hit plays like that in practice. It was pretty identical to practice. When the play gets called and the moment comes up like that, it’s time to go hit it, it’s time to go win the game.”
Williams also threw a touchdown to tie the game with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Bears have won six games after trailing in the fourth quarter this season. That does a lot for an offense’s swagger and it has done a lot to position the Bears to play in front of that Soldier Field crowd in a postseason game for the first time since 2018.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said after Saturday night’s overtime loss to the Bears that it hurts to suffer a loss like that.
“I’ve got to process what happened, how that happened and try to find ways for us to not put ourselves in these tough situations,” LaFleur said. “The majority of the game I felt like we were pretty much in control of the game, and certainly it’s extremely disappointing when you can’t finish the job.”
The Packers led 16-6 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, only to have the Bears kick a field goal, recover an onside kick, score a touchdown to force overtime, and then score another touchdown in overtime to win 22-16.
“It does hurt,” LaFleur said. “That’s the reality of it. It should hurt because these guys, all of us, we put a lot into this thing. You had opportunities. You’re up two scores late in the game, and unfortunately it flipped pretty quick.”
The Packers will still make the playoffs if they win their final two games, and LaFleur said they just need to get back to work.
“That’s football. You’ve got to stay resilient,” LaFleur said. “You continue to fight, and that’s what our guys will do.”
The Bears walked it off against the Packers after having less than 1 percent chance of winning in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. D.J. Moore caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams with 4:50 remaining in overtime for an improbable 22-16 win over the Packers.
The Packers were within an onside kick recovery of beating the Bears for a second time in three weeks and taking over the NFC North. Instead, the Bears moved to 11-4 and the Packers fell to 9-5-1.
The Packers beat the Bears 28-21 on Dec. 7, and they will leave Chicago believing they should have won 16-9 on Saturday night. Instead, Williams directed his sixth comeback win of the season.
The Bears trailed by 10 points with 2:04 remaining.
They botched the time management before Cairo Santos kicked a 43-yard field goal with 1:59 remaining to draw to within a touchdown of the Packers. With only two timeouts, they were forced to attempt an onside kick, and Santos had the third successful onside kick of his career as Romeo Doubs couldn’t corral it, and Josh Blackwell recovered for the Bears at the own 47.
Bears rookie Jahdae Walker, who had barely played this season and had no catches until Saturday night, was wide open in the back of the end zone. He caught 6-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-4 with 24 seconds left. The Bears chose to kick the extra point to tie it, sending the game to overtime.
The Bears, who had less than a 1 percent chance of winning before the onside kick, won the coin toss and elected to kickoff. The Packers then drove to the Chicago 36 where they faced a third-and-1. Malik Willis was sacked for no gain, and on fourth-and-1, the Packers had an aborted snap to turn it over on downs.
The Bears went 64 yards in four plays, with Moore, who was closely covered by Keisean Nixon, made the catch of his career in the end zone for the win.
Chicago outgained Green Bay 400 to 384, with Williams going 19-of-34 for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Moore caught five for 97 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Monangai caught three passes for 43 yards and had nine carries for 50 yards.
The Packers lost quarterback Jordan Love to a concussion on a roughing-the-passer penalty on Austin Booker midway through the second quarter. Love was 8-of-13 for 77 yards before Willis replaced him.
Willis went 9-of-11 for 121 yards and a touchdown, with Doubs catching five for 84 yards and a touchdown. Emanuel Wilson had 14 carries for 82 yards.
