Green Bay squanders chance to move into first in NFC North

Mike Spofford

CHICAGO The Packers allowed the Bears to pull off the mother of all comebacks, as Chicago rallied from 10 points down in the final five minutes of regulation, and then won on a long TD pass in overtime, 22-16, Saturday night at Soldier Field.

Here are five takeaways from the frustrating defeat:

In position to regain first place in the NFC North, the Packers led 16-6 with five minutes left, as backup QBMalik Willisplayed a terrific game in place ofJordan Love, who left in the first half with a concussion.

Then the game unraveled.

A Bears field goal, a successful onside kick, and a touchdown on fourth down tied the game with 24 seconds left. Then the Packers fumbled the exchange on fourth-and-1 to end the first possession of overtime in Chicago territory, which preceded the Bears' game-winning score moments later.

"It does hurt," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "That's the reality of it. "It should hurt, because these guys, all of us, put a lot into this thing.

"We had a lot of opportunities. We were up two scores late in the game, and unfortunately it flipped pretty quick."

Packers receiverRomeo Doubs, who had been the offense's biggest weapon in the passing game with five catches for 84 yards and a TD, backed up as the onside kick bounded toward him rather than attack it.

He never corralled it cleanly, and the Bears recovered with just under two minutes left, possessing plenty of momentum to continue their comeback.

"Was it blocked well enough? I have to go watch the tape," LaFleur said of the onside kick. "I thought we had an opportunity to field the ball and we didn't field the ball."

Then another costly breakdown came with the game on the line, fourth-and-4 from the Green Bay 6-yard line. The Packers blitzed up the middle, and cornerbacksKeisean NixonandNate Hobbsboth covered the same underneath receiver, leaving Jahdae Walker wide open in the corner of the end zone for the game-tying score.

"Obviously somebody let their man go," LaFleur said.

Taking the ball first in overtime, the Packers drove to the Chicago 36-yard line, but Willis got stopped on a third-and-1 scramble that left a fourth-and-1. It became the play that marred an otherwise outstanding relief performance by Willis (9-of-11 for 121 yards, one TD, 142.8 passer rating, plus 44 yards rushing).

The snap between centerSean Rhyanand Willis wasn't smooth, the ball wound up on the ground as Willis was trying to hand it to running backEmanuel Wilson(14 carries, 82 yards), and the Bears regained possession.

"Just a miscommunication between me and Sean," Willis said, taking the blame. "He wasn't expecting me to change up the cadence, but the clock got low. I was trying to get off the snap and things got just a little off timing and off kilter there. That's on me."

Four snaps later, one play after the Bears had converted on third-and-3, Caleb Williams went play-action, got single coverage on DJ Moore, and went over the top for the 46-yard TD to send Soldier Field into a frenzy and put Chicago one win from clinching its first division title since 2018.

Williams finished 19-of-34 for 250 yards with two TDs and a 98.9 rating, with Moore catching five passers for 97 yards and a score.

In addition to what's already been mentioned, the Packers blew a fourth-down chance inside the 10-yard line on the opening drive and fumbled on first-and-goal from the 4 in the third quarter, the two worst moments in an 0-for-5 showing in the red zone.

They seemingly had recovered from theJosh Jacobsfumble in close when the defense got a quick stop and Willis hit Doubs for a 33-yard TD to make it 13-3.

The defense also did not allow a touchdown in the game for 59 minutes, even when an unfortunate facemask on rookieWarren Brinsonon a sack of Williams which would've set up fourth-and-20-plus and a chance to end the game with three minutes left gave the Bears an automatic first down.

But Chicago, which botched its own fourth down near the goal line early in the game, still had to settle for a field goal on that drive to get within seven points at 16-9.

All the late miscues, though, highlighted by the failure to recover the onside kick, just became too much.

"It's never one play," LaFleur said. "There were so many plays in that game, if they go different if we go make a play, if we don't fumble, if we don't go 0-for-5 in the red zone "

The NFC North is nearly out of reach, as the only way Green Bay can win the division is to win its last two games and have Chicago lose its last two.

In order to secure a playoff spot, the Packers must either win their last two games against Baltimore and Minnesota, or win one and have the Lions lose once.

So there's still plenty to play for, and LaFleur said all the things a leader needs to say about being resilient and rallying around one another.

But for a team that has battled its share of adversity throughout the season and most recently just last week, this dose may be the toughest to overcome yet.

"I have to process what happened, how that happened, and try to find ways for us not to put ourselves in these tough situations," LaFleur said. "The majority of the game I felt we were in control of the game, and certainly it's disappointing when you can't finish the job.

"It's tough. It's always tough in this league to have to rebound and get it together, but that's exactly what we have to do and exactly what we will do."