5 big takeaways from Chicago Bears' 1st win over Green Bay since 2018

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Chicago Bears finally defeated the Green Bay Packers. Cairo Santos nailed a 51-yard field goal as time expired Sunday to give the Bears their first win over Green Bay since Dec. 16, 2018.

It snapped a 10-game losing streak this season, plus an 11-game losing streak against the Packers. It marked the first win at Lambeau Field since 2015. It all came on team owner Virginia McCaskey’s 102nd birthday.

Santos was, not surprisingly, quite emotional after the victory. For the Bears kicker, this all felt like it was meant to be.

Here are the five big takeaways from a Bears win, 24-22, at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

1. Caleb Williams engineers game-winning drive

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense took over at their own 20-yard line with 48 seconds remaining on the clock and just one timeout in their pocket.

A horse-collar penalty went for 15 yards and Williams completed a pass to Rome Odunze for another 15 yards.

Williams then scrambled for a few yards and threw an incompletion. Facing third-and-11 from the Bears' own 49-yard line with 15 seconds remaining, the offense lined up three receivers on the right and DJ Moore alone on the left.

Green Bay called a timeout to adjust its defense. The Bears elected to go with the same formation. The plan was to throw something quick to the sideline. But based on what the defense showed, Williams signaled to Moore.

If the defender played to protect the sideline, Moore was going to cut toward the middle of the field.

“We had talked about it and [the defender] had played outside leverage and we knew we were on the same page,” Moore said.

Williams connected with Moore for an 18-yard gain down to the 33-yard line. The Bears had to move quickly to spike the football with two seconds remaining.

“A perfect adjustment by [Williams] to get us into field-goal range,” interim head coach Thomas Brown said of the rookie quarterback

2. Trickery from the Bears

With nothing to lose, the Bears threw it back to 2011 with a fake punt return early in the game.

The team sent receiver Moore out to return a punt. Moore caught everybody’s attention because he hasn’t returned a punt since 2021 with Carolina.

The Packers punted the football and Moore acted as if he were going to catch it, but Moore was simply a decoy. On the far side of the field, special teams ace Josh Blackwell caught the punt and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown. The play completely fooled the Packers.

Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower’s group had been practicing the play for the past two weeks.

“It was perfect,” Blackwell said. “We had seen it on film. We had seen opportunities to get them on that. When the ball came to the right side, I was like, ‘It’s gonna work.’ I knew DJ would sell it.”

The Bears ran the exact same fake return play in 2011 against the Packers at Soldier Field with Devin Hester serving as the decoy for Johnny Knox.

“We had seen it on film. We had seen opportunities to get them on that. When the ball came to the right side, I was like, ‘It’s gonna work.’ I knew DJ would sell it.”

—  Josh Blackwell, Bears cornerback

3. Brown challenges Williams

After the trickery on the punt return, the Bears built a 14-3 lead in the first half. The defense played well, but quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers stormed back. The Bears led by one point at halftime.

Brown said he had some pretty intense conversations with Williams after the rookie took seven sacks last week against Seattle. It was likely Brown’s last week as Williams' head coach. The two have worked together all season, even back when Brown was the passing game coordinator.

Brown challenged Williams this week, and the rookie responded.

“When it comes to creating change, conflict is necessary,” Brown said. “It’s been good dialogue between us. Understanding what it takes for him to be successful and be at his best was always my goal.”

Williams threw a touchdown pass to Moore in the second half and finished his afternoon 21-for-29 passing for 148 yards and one touchdown.

Brown said he will always support Williams, no matter what happens. Brown will likely have a chance to interview for the permanent role of head coach, but there’s a lot that’s up in the air with regards to the future.

4. Jordan Love exits; Jaylon Johnson flips off fans

Late in the second quarter, Love exited the game with an elbow injury. He did not return. Green Bay backup QB Malik Willis played the entire second half.

Love appeared to hit his elbow against the back of a lineman’s helmet as he was being tackled from behind. For the Packers, any injury to their starting quarterback was a major concern.

Green Bay already had a playoff spot locked up coming into the day. Love didn’t necessarily have to play in this game. The Packers kept him out as a precaution during the second half. Green Bay will have to play at Philadelphia next week in the wild card round.

For the Bears, Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson also exited the game in the third quarter with a quad injury and did not return.

Fox cameras caught Johnson flipping a signal toward Packers fans as he left the field following his injury. Johnson said afterward that Packers fans had some not-so-nice words for him.

“I lost my cool,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to do better than that. There was definitely some trash talking on the way out.”

5. The coaching search begins Monday

With the season in the books, Bears general manager Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren can officially begin their coaching search Monday.

Monday marks the first time that NFL teams with head coach openings can begin requesting interviews with coaching candidates who are employed by other teams. There are a series of rules that teams must abide by during a coaching search. Initial interviews with some candidates from other teams can begin this week. This search is going to be a long process. Second interviews cannot happen until after the divisional round of the playoffs.

Bears players will have their final exit interviews with the coaching staff Monday morning. Then the players head to their respective homes for the offseason.

But for Poles and Warren, the work is only just beginning.