Bears rally magic with magical OT win over Packers to improve to 11-4

The Bears had a massive chance to help their playoff chances in a Saturday night matchup against the Packers. They did exactly that with their 22-16 win in overtime to get them to 11-4 for the 2025 NFL season.

The scoreboard wasn’t all that lopsided, but the Packers had firm control for much of the game. Their offense was able to string together long drives and dominate the time of possession battle, and their defense did well enough against Chicago’s offense to shut them down.

Until the last few minutes of regulation. A recovered onside kick, reliable kicking from Cairo Santos, and clutch play from Caleb Williams and DJ Moore, among many others, brought them the victory. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the matchup on Saturday night.

An Eberflus-esque game from Dennis Allen

The Bears’ defense took on a “bend, don’t break” approach to their matchup against the Packers. That’s worked for them in the past, especially when their offense is able to get going. Unfortunately for Chicago, their defense bent a little too much. Green Bay dominated the time of possession battle, keeping the Bears’ offense off the field and making it difficult for them to string momentum together.

The reliance on a four-man pass rush doomed the Bears’ defense, as their defensive line has struggled with generating pressure all season. That continued against the Packers. Dennis Allen’s lack of blitz calls made it way easier for Jordan Love and, eventually, Malik Willis to stand tall and untouched in the pocket. Likewise, the coverage was way too passive and allowed too many opportunities underneath. The defensive line couldn’t execute on their run fits most of the time, either.

Questionable reffing

I’m never a believer that bad calls from the referees are enough to solely make or break whether a team wins or loses. There’s way too much that happens over the course of a football game for the fate of a game to fall entirely on referees. That said, it sure didn’t help the Bears this week. A missed unnecessary roughness from Keisean Nixon blatantly hitting and blindsiding DJ Moore in the back wasn’t called. Jaquan Brisker got called for a late hit, and while I agree with the call, Lord knows Caleb Williams and Justin Fields have had many similar plays not get called over the years.

Uninspired offensive play calling early

The Bears got way too cute on fourth down in the first quarter, having Cole Kmet go under center and relying on center Drew Dalman to snap the ball in between his legs to Kyle Monangai in the wildcat. Dalman delivered the snap too high, and the fourth-down conversion failed in the red zone. Otherwise, Ben Johnson still called a pretty poor game on offense. The lack of focus on tight ends in the passing game, lack of short rub routes to nullify the blitz, and inability to stay strong in pass protection made it tough for the Bears to get anything going on offense.

Fourth-quarter magic

Josh Blackwell added to his stellar special teams season with a recovered onside kick in the fourth quarter, giving the Bears the ball back. Caleb Williams executed a surgical two-minute drill, ending in a wide-open Jahdae Walker staying in bounds for the touchdown, and a Cairo Santos PAT to tie the game. It was a well-called drive by Johnson, and it was well-executed by Williams and Chicago’s group of offensive weapons. What a crazy season 2025 has been for this Bears team.

EVEN MORE OVERTIME MAGIC

DJ MOORE. CALEB WILLIAMS. BEARS WIN.