Blackwell to Walker to Moore: Bears Complete 22–16 Overtime Win Over Packers

CHICAGO — With 1:59 remaining at Soldier Field, the Bears' comeback depended on getting the football back. Cairo Santos had just made a 43-yard field goal, but Green Bay led 16–9. A touchdown was necessary to reach overtime, and Chicago could not afford to let the Packers run the remaining clock away.

Josh Blackwell recovered the ensuing onside kick. Caleb Williams then found Jahdae Walker on fourth down to tie the game. In overtime, the Bears stopped Green Bay's opening possession before Williams connected with DJ Moore for the 46-yard touchdown that completed a 22–16 victory on December 20.

The finish moved Chicago to 11–4 and opened a game-and-a-half advantage over the Packers, who fell to 9–5–1. By Sunday evening, the Bears had also secured a playoff berth after Detroit lost to Pittsburgh. The comeback therefore changed both the immediate division race and Chicago's postseason position.

The defense preserved a chance before the comeback began

Green Bay spent much of the evening moving into scoring positions without converting those opportunities into touchdowns. The Packers finished without a touchdown on five red-zone possessions. Three ended in field goals, one in a lost fumble and one on downs.

For Chicago, that was the difference between a difficult deficit and a game that might have moved beyond recovery. The Bears' offense was also failing to finish drives. Until the final half-minute of regulation, Santos provided all of Chicago's points.

One of the defense's most important contributions came when Nahshon Wright stripped Josh Jacobs inside the Chicago five-yard line. Tremaine Edmunds recovered the fumble. Green Bay lost a possession close to the end zone, while Chicago avoided having to chase another touchdown's worth of points.

The final score should not erase those earlier stops. Blackwell's recovery and Williams' late throws could change the result because the Packers had left enough points unclaimed for Chicago to remain within two possessions.

A different quarterback kept Green Bay moving

Jordan Love left the game in the first half with a concussion. Malik Willis replaced him and gave the Packers an effective passing and rushing threat. He completed nine of 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, while adding 44 yards on 10 rushing attempts.

His 33-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs late in the third quarter pushed Green Bay ahead 13–3. Chicago answered with Santos' 51-yard field goal, but another Packers field goal restored the 10-point margin with just over five minutes remaining.

Willis' efficiency made Chicago's defensive work especially important. The Packers were not simply waiting for a replacement quarterback to survive the remaining possessions. They were generating offense, and the Bears needed to limit what that offense produced near the goal line.

Green Bay's failure to convert its field position into more touchdowns became more costly as the fourth-quarter clock shortened. A lead that had looked comfortable still required one clean sequence to close out the game.

Blackwell gave the Bears the possession they needed

Santos narrowed the score to 16–9 with his 43-yard field goal. The kick preserved Chicago's opportunity, but it did not remove the central problem: Green Bay was about to receive the football with fewer than two minutes remaining.

The onside kick solved that problem. Blackwell recovered it at Chicago's 47, giving Williams 53 yards to cover for a tying touchdown. The Bears could immediately work toward the end zone instead of spending the remaining time attempting to force a punt.

That distinction matters when assessing the comeback. An efficient touchdown drive alone would not have been enough without the extra possession. Special teams returned control of the football to an offense that had not yet scored a touchdown all night.

Williams completed six of eight passes on the possession. The drive took Chicago inside the Green Bay 10, but the Packers still forced a fourth-and-4 that required one more successful play. Chicago could not accept another field goal. The entire recovery sequence would otherwise leave the Bears trailing when the clock expired.

Walker finished the drive against pressure

On fourth down from the six-yard line, Green Bay brought pressure. Its coverage failed to account for Walker in the right corner of the end zone. Williams delivered the pass to the undrafted rookie, who caught the six-yard touchdown with 24 seconds remaining.

Santos' extra point tied the game at 16. Chicago had produced the required touchdown without leaving Green Bay a full possession's worth of time to respond. Montez Sweat then sacked Willis as regulation came to an end.

The touchdown provided a specific answer to the Packers' approach on the deciding snap. Williams released the football to the available receiver before Green Bay's pressure could finish the play. Walker's contribution was also essential: the winning sequence depended on a receiver outside the Bears' most established offensive names completing the required catch.

Chicago had now scored 10 points after the clock reached 1:59. The next challenge belonged to the defense again.

Overtime required another stop

The Bears won the overtime coin toss and chose to kick. Green Bay took the first possession and moved into Chicago territory. Willis' 31-yard completion to Jayden Reed advanced the Packers across midfield, putting another potential scoring opportunity within reach.

At the Chicago 36, however, the Packers failed to convert fourth-and-1. A mishandled exchange between Willis and center Sean Rhyan disrupted the play, and Green Bay recovered the loose football short of the first-down marker. Chicago took over on downs.

The play was a failed fourth-down conversion, rather than a Bears fumble recovery. That distinction is important to the account of the game. Chicago's defense stopped the possession; the Packers' own recovery did not save it because the ball had not reached the line to gain.

The Bears then moved 64 yards on four plays. Kyle Monangai converted third-and-3 with an 11-yard run, taking the ball to the Green Bay 46. On the next play, Williams attacked downfield. Moore made the 46-yard touchdown catch against Keisean Nixon, ending the game with 4:50 left in overtime.

The win changed Chicago's remaining assignment

Williams finished 19 of 34 for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring passes arrived after Chicago had spent almost an entire regulation game without an offensive touchdown. The Bears' decisive possessions were therefore concentrated at the exact point when another failed drive would have ended their opportunity.

This was Chicago's sixth victory of the season after trailing in the final two minutes of regulation. Those late recoveries had already helped shape the division race. Beating Green Bay gave the Bears another result against a direct competitor and extended their winning run at home to six games.

On December 21, Detroit's 29–24 loss to Pittsburgh confirmed Chicago's first playoff berth since the 2020 season. The Bears still had division-title work to finish, with games against San Francisco and Detroit remaining. The postseason place was secured; the final seeding and division outcome were not.

Saturday's result came from a chain of completed assignments. The defense prevented red-zone touchdowns. Santos kept the score within reach. Blackwell returned the football to Williams. Walker caught the fourth-down touchdown. Monangai sustained the overtime drive, and Moore finished it. Each contribution changed what the next unit had the chance to do.