The Bears’ disastrous season finally came to an end today with a game against their most hated rival in the Packers. Coming into today’s game this rivalry has been anything but one. In fact, it’s been a massacre for the Bears. The Bears had been losers of 11 straight to Green Bay. Since 2010, the Bears have lost 26 of their last 30 games against the Packers. The last time the Bears beat the Packers in Lambeau Field was back in November 2015.
The game’s first score came from an unlikely source for the Bears – their special teams:
Top: September 25, 2011: Johnny Knox's trick punt return TD against the Packers is called back for holding
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) January 5, 2025
Bottom: January 5, 2025: Josh Blackwell gets the same return against the Packers — no flags! pic.twitter.com/oeQyyHVlMN
The Bears would later increase their lead to 14-3 when D’Andre Swift punched it through from 4 yards out. The Bears had a short field to score their 1st offensive TD after Jaylon Johnson forced a fumble that Jonathan Owens recovered. Green Bay would respond with a Josh Jacobs 9-yd TD run to cut the lead to 14-10. The Packers would add a FG to make it 14-13 Bears going into the half.
The Bears started the 3rd quarter running the ball and then decided to really get cute with a double reverse that ended up in Keenan Allen’s hands who then inexplicably decided to throw into triple coverage and was intercepted. The Bears defense would step up again when Kevin Byard absolutely drilled QB Malik Willis. Willis coughed up the ball and TJ Edwards recovered.
The Bears eventually widened the lead again when Caleb Williams found DJ Moore for the dreaded WR screen pass that surprisingly turned into a 32 yard TD. Then hilarity ensued. The Bears attempted to go for 2 with that same Keenan Allen double reverse play. The conversion failed but a flag on Green Bay put the ball on the 1-yard line. Instead of going for 2 again, Thomas Brown made the decision to kick the extra point.
The Packers would strike back to cut the Bears’ lead to 21-19 but they failed the 2-pt conversion. On the ensuing drive, the Bears tried running out the clock but on a 1st & 20 play at their own 47, the Bears ran another dreaded WR screen to DJ Moore who fumbled the ball away. The Packers would capitalize by kicking the go ahead FG to give them a 22-21 lead with :54 left.
Caleb Williams would march the Bears down the field for 47 yards to get them into FG range for Cairo Santos to drain the game winning FG kick as time expired:
Relive the #Bears winning FG with Cairo Santos pic.twitter.com/SNNIYZS4Iy
— Barroom Net | Aldo Gandia (@BarroomNetwork) January 5, 2025
Stars Of The Game
- DJ Moore, Bears – 9 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD
- D’Andre Swift, Bears – 20 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD
- Emanuel Wilson, Packers – 14 carries, 73 yards, 1 TD
- Kevin Byard, Bears – 14 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 FF
- Caleb Williams, Bears – 21 for 29, 148 yards, 1 TD; 3 carries, 10 yards
- Cairo Santos, Bears – 3/3 XP, Game winning 51-yard FG
Grading The Bears
Offense: It wasn’t a banner day for the Bears’ offense. They only gained 224 yards of offense. The run game was basically D’Andre Swift or bust. The team rushed for 83 yards on a 3.2 yards per rush average. Caleb Williams made the plays when it mattered most despite only throwing for 148 yards. The Bears did convert on 7 of their 14 third down attempts. Despite giving up only sack Caleb Williams still took some shots. Grade: C-
Defense: The defense had their moments today. They were able to force 2 turnovers on fumbles and sacked Malik Willis 3 times today. The run defense was leaky once again as they gave up 183 yards on the ground for 5.5 yards per rush average. There were some lapses as well for the defense, none more egregious than giving up 41 yards on a 3rd & 21 play. Tyrique Stevenson got behind the WR on that play and it led to a Packers TD. All in all, the defense played hard and kept the Bears in the game. Grade: B
Special Teams: Josh Blackwell got a 94 yard punt return for a TD to open up the scoring. Tyler Scott nearly had a boneheaded play when he almost took a knee at the 1-yard line on a kick return. He made up for it with 4 returns for 113 yards. Tory Taylor had a net average of 42.3 yards on punts but it was Cairo Santos who delivered the win with a 51 yard FG as time expired. Grade: A-
Coaching: There were some head scratching play calls from the offense. That double reverse to Keenan Allen for him to pass should be burned and never run again. Same goes for the WR screen pass to DJ Moore. The play call for the 2-pt conversion try was dumbfounding. Equally dumbfounding was kicking the XP after a penalty on the 2-pt play put the ball on the 1-yard line. At least there were no clock management mishaps on the last drive. Grade: C-
What’s Next
The Bears basked in the glow of the win over the Packers which puts a cap on a tumultuous 5-12 season. The Bears’ game ball went to Thomas Brown who was put into an unwinnable situation taking over as head coach after Matt Eberflus’ was fired following the Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions.
Love these guys 🥹 pic.twitter.com/7DwtXZBCki
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 5, 2025
What was interesting in this clip as Caleb Williams presented the game ball to Thomas Brown was the noticeable absence of GM Ryan Poles.
There will be some calling for Poles to be fired following some of his draft pick decisions, free agent signings and his willingness to back Matt Eberflus as the head coach going into this season. I believe he will be retained… but he MUST get the head coaching hire right or else he will be the next to go.
The real questions surrounding this team begins now with the biggest decision is choosing a head coach that can get Caleb Williams to the next level. Whether or not George McCaskey will stay out of the way will play a key role.
For now, we can put this forgettable 2024 season to bed… and once again hope for next year.
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