Not many gave the Chicago Bears a chance.
With two minutes left, the Packers had a 99.5 percent of winning. The Bears, however, liked those odds.
“Everybody just kind of understands where we’re at in the game,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said. “I think everybody understands what we have to do, and we go out there and we execute. I think it comes down simply to that.”
The Bears stunned Green Bay with a comeback for the ages. They now control their own destiny in a few regards.
Here’s what we learned from the Bears’ 22-16 overtime win over the Packers, with an unfathomable, improbable and incredible comeback.
How about that for poetic justice?
Watching Caleb Williams talk about the win over the Browns, there was a moment where an emotion took over his face.
He was asked about getting a second crack at the Packers, and brought up a low moment.
“Ended up obviously throwing the pick, as everybody knows, in those last moments, and kind of let that off the hook throwing such a bad ball to Cole,” Williams said, with the irritation written on his face while remembering that game-ending interception. “I’m definitely excited.”
That interception was a deep toss into the end zone to Cole Kmet that Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon picked off. He was the hero at Lambeau Field.
On Saturday night, there was some poetic justice served.
Williams, with the ball in his hands in overtime, tossed a rope to DJ Moore. The pass flew in the air. Moore tracked it, caught it and ended the game.Â
Who did Moore beat to score that touchdown? None other than Nixon.
It was a great moment of retribution for Williams, who lifted the Bears to their first win over the Packers at Soldier Field since 2018. Instead of that interception wracking his brain, Williams found a way to replace that memory with a success story of his own.
“It was a great moment,” Williams said. “I got a lot of great moments coming up. I think it’s a signature moment for us as a team to be able to build this confidence. A signature moment for us to be able to be in the position we are with 11 wins and everything at the tip of our fingers is exactly where we want to be, I’ll put it that way.”
Nahshon Wright is a player the Bears need to keep
Nahshon Wright leads the National Football League in takeaways. He’s also the first Bears player to record 10 total takeaways in a season since 2012. That was Charles Tillman.Â
Wright has five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in 2025. He got his second forced fumble on Saturday, ripping the ball away from Josh Jacobs on a short-yardage play.
“I’ve always been taught when somebody wraps the ball carrier up, the second one comes and gets the ball,” Wright said. “I don’t know who wrapped him up, I kind of got in it as well, and then just got my hand under the ball and ripped at it.”
Wright is on a one-year contract. He’s the kind of revelation on a one-year, prove-it deal that teams rarely get.
The Bears would do well to make sure he stays in the city of Chicago for the future. His pairing with cornerbacks coach Al Harris has been sensational, to say the least.
There will have to be some tough decisions to make about the cornerback room, especially with contract decisions looming for Wright and other cornerbacks like Tyrique Stevenson and Nick McCloud.Â
The grouping of Jaylon Johnson, Stevenson and Wright has been productive this season. Wright has earned the chance to stick around.
The execution was disappointing
The Bears were flagged 10 times for 105 yards. In a game this big, that was a deflating stat to see.
This week, the Bears talked about how they pressed too hard at the start of the game against the Packers in Lambeau. This time around, the Bears struggled with some issues we haven’t seen for a few weeks.
A false start by Darnell Wright, a personal foul on Jaquan Brisker that was truly unnecessary, a post-play special teams personal foul on D’Marco Jackson that seemed uncharacteristic and an intentional grounding call on Williams that made a 41-yard field goal into a 51-yard field goal.
The execution issues went into the Bears’ offense, too.
The Packers’ defense played well. They still have defensive players, even after losing Micah Parsons for the season. The Bears hurt themselves.
After marching for 70 yards on the first drive, the Bears settled for 38 more the rest of the first half. The Offense struggled to finish drives in the end zone and move consistently. That first drive ended when a gadget play snapped a ball through Cole Kmet’s legs and over Kyle Monangai’s head for a loss of 18 and a turnover on downs.
“We got our short yardage plays during the week and that was one that we felt strongly about,” Johnson said. “Probably last thing in my mind was that the ball was going to go over the head.”
This was let down after the Bears moved the ball against the Packers just two weeks ago in Lambeau.
Part of it was the Bears missing Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. Those two affect both the passing game and the running game.Â
However, the stagnancy was a worry that looms large, even after such an emotional win.
“There were a number of things that weren’t quite clicking there during the middle of the game,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. “We felt like we were moving the ball in the first series, obviously, and it became one of those games pretty quickly where you knew it wasn’t going to be many possessions. They did a great job controlling the clock and so I think we had three possessions in the first half and we knew our opportunities were going to be limited there in the second half, and so, yeah, I have to go back and look at the play action exactly what went right and what went wrong.”
That was something the Bears struggled to overcome, but did.
The defense had a day in the red zone
It was impressive how the Bears kept the Packers out of the end zone as much as they did.
Two weeks ago, Green Bay got into the end zone four times. Jordan Love and Josh Jacobs were making plays, and the Packers’ passing game had three big-play touchdowns.
On Saturday, the Bears allowed one big-play touchdown pass. That was a 33-yard touchdown pass from Malik Willis to Romeo Doubs.Â
Eventually, there needs to be a discussion about how Willis completed 9 of his 11 passes for 121 yards and a score. The Bears really had no answer for the passing game Green Bay had. A win helps, but the Packers did what they wanted offensively with backups in.
But, the defense kept the Packers out of the end zone in all five red zone attempts. That’s a way to win.
“We preached that all week,” Wright said. “(Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen) said this team was going to move the ball. They moved the ball on everybody they played with. It was just going to come down to holding them to three. We said that they weren’t going to win a game scoring three points.”
The Bears control their own destiny
Whether this is a team of destiny is for you to believe. The 2025 Bears now control their own destiny in a few ways.Â
First, they control their own playoff berth. If the Lions lose to the Steelers on Sunday, they’re in. How ironic that Aaron Rodgers might deliver the Bears a playoff spot?
Second, they control the NFC North crown. Win next week vs. San Francisco, and the Bears will clinch the NFC North division title.
Lastly, they somewhat have a say in the top seed in the NFC. If the Bears win out, they’ll be in the conversation for the top seed. Seattle would need to lose a game, but the Bears still have a chance.