Bears stun Packers 22-16 with improbable rally as Williams finds Moore for winning score in OT

CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Williams felt it as soon as the ball left his hand. Then, in a flash, the Bears were celebrating yet another wild win.

Williams threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore in overtime, and Chicago overcame a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night for a 22-16 win over the Green Bay Packers, who lost quarterback Jordan Love to a concussion.

“I knew it was good,” Williams said. “You’ve got that belief. You’ve got that confidence. You’ve got that swagger as an offense. You’ve practiced well. You’ve 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.”

The Bears (11-4) extended their lead in the NFC North to 1 1/2 games over the Packers (9-5-1) with two to play and got some payback for a loss at Lambeau Field two weeks earlier. It was Chicago’s sixth win this season after trailing in the final two minutes and its most incredible — Green Bay had a win probability of 99%.

Chicago moved closer to its first postseason trip since 2020 with a rare victory in the NFL’s longest-running rivalry. Counting the playoffs, the Bears are 7-30 against Green Bay since 2008. They would clinch a berth if old nemesis Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“This is a special group,” coach Ben Johnson said. “I felt that early in the season. You get with some of those wins — the Raiders game and the Washington game — and you start feeling it, the belief coming. This group — I’m talking about coaches and players combined — it’s rare. It really is.”

As for the Packers?

“It should hurt because these guys, all of us, we put a lot into this thing and we had opportunities,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “You’re up two scores late in the game and unfortunately, it flipped pretty quick.”

Bears rally

Cairo Santos kicked a 43-yard field goal that got Chicago within 16-9 with 1:59 remaining. The Bears had no choice but to try an onside kick, and Josh Blackwell recovered it.

The Bears tied it with 24 seconds left when Williams beat an all-out blitz on fourth down and lofted a pass to a wide-open Jahdae Walker in the right corner of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. Johnson opted to have Santos kick the tying extra point rather than go for a 2-point conversion.

In overtime, the Packers had fourth-and-1 at the Chicago 36 when backup quarterback Malik Willis fumbled the snap. Chicago took over at the 36 and, four plays later, Moore hauled in the winning TD from Williams with Keisean Nixon draped all over him, setting off a wild celebration.

Two weeks earlier, Nixon sealed the Packers’ win when he intercepted Williams’ pass in the end zone. This time, the Bears came out on top with a play they installed in the days leading up to the game.

“I just had to run, run like I did in practice and connect like we did at practice,” Moore said. “It was really a practice rep but we did it in a game. Like I said, it was just amazing that we did it against the Packers.”

Love exits

Already missing Micah Parsons after the star pass rusher sustained a season-ending knee injury in a loss at Denver last week, the Packers had to get by without Love, who took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chicago’s Austin Booker in the second quarter. Love jogged to the medical tent and then headed to the locker room.

Williams completed 19 of 34 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. With eight career fourth-quarter comebacks, he tied Bo Nix’s NFL record for quarterbacks in their first two seasons.

Moore had 97 yards receiving with Rome Odunze missing his third straight game due to a foot injury. The Bears won their sixth in a row at home since a season-opening loss to Minnesota.

Love led two field goal drives and completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards before getting hurt. He had nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions in five previous games against Chicago.

Willis was 9 of 11 for 121 yards and a touchdown. Romeo Doubs had 84 yards and a touchdown catch, though he also injured his wrist during the game.

Injuries

Packers: LB Kristian Welch (ankle) was hurt making a tackle on a kickoff early in the second quarter. … TE John FitzPatrick (Achilles tendon) was helped off the field in the fourth quarter.

Bears: CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee) exited in the fourth quarter.

Up next

Packers: Host Baltimore next Saturday.

Bears: Visit San Francisco on Dec. 28. ___

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