Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams connected with wide receiver D.J. Moore on a 46-yard touchdown in overtime as the Packers dropped their matchup with the Bears 22-16 on Dec. 20 in Chicago.
With the loss, the Packers sit firmly in the NFC’s seventh seed with a 77% chance to make the playoffs, while the Bears own a comfortable lead and have all but locked up the NFC North’s automatic qualifying seed for the playoffs.
The Packers entered this game without a number of key players: Zach Tom, Evan Williams and Micah Parsons were all ruled out before the game started.
The injuries did not stop there though, as on the offensive side of the ball, as Josh Jacobs exited the game in the third quarter and never returned.
On top of Jacobs’ injury, quarterback Jordan Love exited the game in the first half after taking a hard hit to the head from Bears defensive lineman Austin Booker. Along with Jacobs and Love, Romeo Doubs also left the game after injuring his wrist.
With the injury to Love, it was Malik Willis who ran the show for the offense for a majority of the game. Willis finished the game completing 9-of-11 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. In addition to his passing stats, he also rushed for 44 yards on 10 carries.
“I thought Malik went in there and did a hell of a job,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “He was poised, made some plays with his legs, made some plays with his arm (and) made some off scheduled plays. I felt like the operation was pretty smooth for the most part.”
Even with the injury to Love, Willis led the Packers to a 13-3 advantage following a 33-yard touchdown reception to Doubs late in the third quarter. From that point though, Green Bay collapsed.
Both teams traded field goals on their next two possessions, bumping the score to 16-6 in favor of Green Bay. Chicago then marched down the field and settled for another field goal to bring the score to within seven.
On the ensuing kickoff with 1:59 remaining in the game, Chicago elected to onside kick in hopes of getting the ball back. Doubs bobbled the ball on the kickoff and Chicago recovered, giving the team a chance to march down the field and possibly tie or win the game.
“I thought we had an opportunity to field the ball; we just didn’t field the ball,” said LaFleur, of the onside kick.
Chicago did just that as with 24 seconds left in the game, Williams connected with Jahdae Walker on a 6-yard touchdown pass and, with the extra point, tied the game at 16-16.
In overtime, the Packers started with the football and marched all the way down to the Bears’ 36-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-1, Willis fumbled the snap. Green Bay recovered but was forced to turn the ball over on downs, putting Chicago in the driver seat.
“(It was) just a miscommunication between me and Sean (Rhyan),” said Willis, on the fumble in overtime. “He wasn’t expecting me to change up the cadence, but the clock got low, and I was just trying to hurry up and get it snapped. So it was just a little off-timing, off-kilter there. That’s on me.”
Four plays later, Williams connected with Moore for the game-winning touchdown.
With the injuries on the offensive side of the ball, it was Emanuel Wilson who led the Packers in rushing in this one. He took 14 carries for 44 yards. Before he exited the game, Jacobs was able to muster 36 yards on 12 carries.
In the receiving game, Doubs led the way for Green Bay, totaling 84 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Luke Musgrave added another 38 yards on three receptions, while Jayden Reed recorded 35 yards on three receptions. After exiting last week’s game with an injury, Christian Watson played in full against Chicago, recording 17 yards on two receptions.
For Chicago, Williams finished the game by completing 19-of-34 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. D’Andre Swift led the way rushing, totaling 58 yards on 14 carries, while Kyle Monangai added 50 yards on nine carries. Moore was the leading receiver for Chicago, totaling 97 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.
Green Bay will face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 and attempt to get back on track and help strengthen its playoff chances after dropping the last two games.
