Same Result, Different Feeling: Bears Lose to Packers, But the Gap Is Shrinking

The Chicago Bears lost 28–21 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, but the gap finally feels closer as Caleb Williams and the offense showed real progress.

The result was familiar. The feeling was not.

After the Chicago Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers 28–21 at Lambeau Field on Sunday, the scoreboard told the same tired story Bears fans have seen for decades. But the vibes? The vibes were different. And in Chicago, that actually matters.

If there’s one thing I’m confident in saying about Ben Johnson, it’s that he doesn’t believe in moral victories. Hanging tough with a Super Bowl contender won’t earn any gold stars in his office, and he’ll rightly see this one as a missed opportunity. Still, for a fan base conditioned to flinch at the sight of green and gold, Sunday’s loss left more people strangely encouraged than deflated.

The first half looked like a rerun from the Bears’ trauma archive. The Packers appeared a tier above Chicago in both poise and precision, cruising to a 14–3 halftime lead as the Bears’ offense sputtered. Green Bay outgained Chicago 207–71 in the opening two quarters. Caleb Williams was bottled up. The run game went missing. It felt like another long afternoon incoming.

Then the second half started — and Dennis Allen’s defense slammed the brakes.

Story continues below.

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With Green Bay receiving the opening kickoff after halftime and a prime chance to break the game open, the Bears forced a three-and-out. Suddenly, momentum shifted. Williams marched the offense downfield and ripped a tight-window touchdown to Olamide Zaccheaus. A successful two-point conversion trimmed the lead to three, and Lambeau got quiet in a way it hadn’t all afternoon.

The Packers, of course, punched back immediately. Jordan Love led a response drive to restore a 21–11 lead, and Cairo Santos answered with a 41-yard field goal to keep the Bears within striking distance. Then came the equalizer — a beautifully designed strike to Colston Loveland that tied the game at 21 and turned the NFC North rivalry into a slugfest. Interestingly enough, the play was designed for Theo Benedet, but after he was chopped down after the snap, Williams did a nice job moving his read to Colston and delivering a scoring strike.

The game ultimately swung on one brutal play.

Facing third-and-2 from the Chicago 28-yard line, Love dumped the ball into the flat to Josh Jacobs. Four Bears converged. It should’ve been a stop. Instead, Jacobs bounced off would-be tackles from Gervon Dexter, Montez Sweat, Jaylon Johnson, and D’Marco Jackson before ripping off a 21-yard run. Three plays later, Jacobs powered in a short touchdown to put Green Bay up for good.

Still, Williams had one last shot.

With under four minutes to play, the Bears orchestrated their most composed drive of the day — 60 yards of calm, aggressive football that carried them to the Packers’ 14-yard line with less than a minute remaining. After getting stuffed on third-and-one, Chicago faced a game-swinging fourth-and-one with 27 seconds left.

Williams rolled left. Cole Kmet flashed free. The ball left Caleb’s hand with hope attached.

Keisean Nixon closed in from across the field and snatched the game-sealing interception in front of Kmet. Ballgame.