Caleb Williams was sacked on the first two plays of the Bears' ensuing possession. But Williams followed with passes of 16 yards Rome Odunze on third-and-19 and 21 yards to Odunze on fourth-and-3. Williams then connected with Keenan Allen for 12 yards to the Packers' 30.
“I thought Caleb played really well,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He played winning football. I thought the drive that he had there and the completions that he made to get us within field goal range stood out, the two games against Rome and then the game against Keenan as well. That's real football there against a league rival and he did a really good job and put us in the right position there.
After Roshon JohnsonAfter the 2-yard run, the Bears sent Santos down the field to attempt the potential game-winning field goal with :03 on the clock. The kick was blocked in the middle by defender Karl Brooks.
“We felt good about the location of the kickline,” Eberflus said. “The wind didn’t play a role today. And Cairo made a lot of shots inside that area. We are confident in Cairo and confident about our work there.”
In Thomas Brown's first game as coordinator, a revitalized offense scored on four of its first five possessions. The unit accumulated 391 total yards and 23 first downs and converted a season-high 56.2% of its third-down plays (9 of 16).
Williams completed 23 of 31 passes for 231 yards and a 95.0 passer rating and ran for 70 yards on nine carries. D'Andre Swift ran for 71 yards on 14 attempts. Odunze caught six passes for 65 yards and DJ Moore had seven receptions for 62 yards.
“I was really happy with how the collaboration went this week with the offensive staff and players, and I think it showed today,” Eberflus said. “Communication during the game was great. The boys found answers to move the ball and they did it well. I think Thomas Brown has brought this collaboration together wonderfully.”
With the Packers, Love completed 13 of 17 passes for 261 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a passer rating of 113.0. Watson caught four passes for 150 yards.
The Bears rallied from deficits of 7-0 and 14-13 to go up 10-7 on Johnson's 1-yard TD run with :07 remaining in the first half and 19-14 on Swift's 39-yard TD -Sprinter leads with :31 remaining in the third quarter.
The Packers took a 7-0 lead on Love's 15-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed, capping an eight-play, 70-yard drive on the game's first possession.
The Bears responded by cutting the deficit to 7-3 on Santos' 53-yard field goal. The kick was set up by Williams' 16-yard scramble on third-and-8 and Moore's 16-yard gain on a screen pass.
The Packers were able to extend their lead midway through the second quarter. But on third-and-11 play from the Bears' 15, Terell Smith intercepted Love's overthrown pass intended for tight end Tucker Kraft at the 1 and returned it 23 yards. It was the only loss of the ball of the game.
The Bears then took a 10-7 lead after Johnson's 1-yard TD plunge. Williams completed three of three passes for 28 yards and rushed for 32 yards on three carries on the impressive 13-play, 76-yard drive.
The Bears opened the second half with a march to the Green Bay 9 before settling for Santos' 27-yard field goal to extend the lead to 13-7.
But the Packers answered with a six-play, 70-yard drive capped by Josh Jacobs' 7-yard TD run up the middle that gave Green Bay a 14-13 lead. The TD came one play after Love's 25-yard pass to Watson.
Swift followed with a 39-yard TD rush to put the Bears back on top. Left tackle Braxton Jones provided an excellent block in the game.
The Bears fell to 4-6 on the season after failing to complete the comeback. They will host the Vikings at Soldier Field next Sunday.
“We should have gotten a walk-off field goal win there, and that didn’t happen,” Eberflus said. “We only have to look at the process there at the very end. But I was proud of the boys for how they fought. I thought they played good complementary football today.”
“The boys looked each other in the eye in the locker room when we did it. We'll keep fighting, keep fighting, and we'll have a division opponent coming here next week. It requires true strength and loyalty.” Courage, I told them. Tough times don’t last, but tough people do, and that’s where it is now.”