As expected in December, it’s cold in Chicago. Especially for the Green Bay Packers.
With the first-half temperature at 32 degrees and the wind chill at 16, the Packers lost the use of a critical tool Saturday night against the Bears — their sideline heaters.
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They also went on to lose the game in an overtime stunner as the Bears scored the final 16 points to secure a 22-16 walk-off win on a 46-yard Caleb Williams pass to DJ Moore in overtime. With the win, the Bears seized control of the path to the NFC North title in the high-stakes divisional clash.
Packers heaters go out
During the second quarter, the Packers’ sideline heaters mysteriously stopped working. The Bears’ heaters, meanwhile, seemed to be working fine.
Fox’s Erin Andrews reported the news just before halftime, while declaring that “it’s cold over here.”
Per Andrews, all of the Packers’ heaters and the heated bench for their offensive line was not working. Fox cameras showed the functionless heaters on the Green Bay sideline then cut to Bears players huddled around heaters that clearly worked on the opposite sideline.
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Andrews then asked Tom Brady if the broken heaters for the visiting team meant that the Bears had to turn off their heaters in a corresponding move. Brady opined that that that made sense, but wasn’t sure.
“I think so,” Brady said. “That’s definitely not what you’re looking for in this temperature. And if it happens on one side, it’s got to go to the other side. That has never happened to me in my entire career where the bench’s heat goes out.”
So what happened? That much wasn’t immediately clear. But it certainly was convenient for the home team that its heaters continued to work.