Bears show again they're not the
same old team with wild overtime win over Packers
[December 22, 2025]
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears appeared as though they were headed
to yet another loss to the Green Bay Packers trailing by 10 points
in the closing minutes.
Then again, these aren't the same old Bears.
A 22-16 overtime victory on Saturday night was just the latest
reminder.
“When it’s this late in games, just, they don’t bat an eye,” coach
Ben Johnson said. "You don’t feel any despair on the sideline from
any of the phases. You might feel it in the stadium a little bit. I
could feel the fans kind of coming to life again once we got a
little momentum going in the fourth quarter, but our guys, they
don’t miss a beat.
"They just keep plucking along, and they know good things will come
if we keep swinging away.”
The win, combined with old nemesis Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh
Steelers beating the Detroit Lions on Sunday, secured Chicago’s
first postseason appearance since 2020.
Good things rarely come to the Bears against the Packers. Chicago is
7-30 against Green Bay since 2008, counting the playoffs. But maybe
— just maybe — the momentum is starting to shift in the NFL's
longest-running rivalry.
The Bears won at Lambeau Field in last year's finale to snap an
11-game losing streak against the Packers. On Saturday, they beat
Green Bay at home for the first time since 2018. They also got some
payback for what happened at Lambeau two weeks earlier, when they
briefly fell out of the division lead.
Williams went from throwing a late interception in the end zone that
sealed a 28-21 loss to the Packers to beating them with a 46-yard
touchdown to DJ Moore in overtime. And Chicago (11-4) widened its
lead in the division over Green Bay (9-5-1) to 1 1/2 games with two
remaining.
What’s working
The receivers. The depth at receiver showed even though the Bears
were without two of their top targets in Rome Odunze (foot) and
Luther Burden (ankle). Then again, they still had Moore. And he came
up big for the second straight game.
Moore caught five passes for a season-high 97 yards and hauled in
the winning touchdown even though he had Keisean Nixon draping him.
He had 69 yards and two touchdowns the previous week in a blowout
win over Cleveland.
It was a huge turnaround from the game at Green Bay, when Moore was
targeted just three times and caught one pass for a 4-yard loss. It
was the first time in his eight seasons that his receiving total was
for negative yardage.
But in the rematch with the Packers, it wasn't just Moore. The Bears
had seven players catch passes.
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Chicago Bears' DJ Moore celebrates after an NFL football game
against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago.
(AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
What needs help
The Bears had trouble sustaining drives, going 2 for 11 on third
downs. The Packers, by comparison, were 6 of 12 and had a big
advantage in time of possession: 38:57 to 26:13.
Stock up
WR Jahdae Walker. An undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M, Walker
caught the first two passes of his career, including the tying
6-yard touchdown with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. Facing an
all-out blitz on fourth down, Williams lofted a pass to a wide-open
Walker in the right corner of the end zone, and Cairo Santos kicked
the extra point.
“Whoever is on that field in that time, I trust them that they’re
going to do their job and go make plays when the ball is in the
air," Williams said. "Jahdae is my guy. When Jahdae first got here,
I allowed him to stay in my house a little bit until he found a
spot.”
Stock down
DE Austin Booker. He got flagged twice for roughing the passer. He
knocked Jordan Love out of the game with the second one with a
helmet-to-helmet hit that resulted in a concussion for Green Bay's
quarterback.
Injuries
Odunze missed his third straight game. ... CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson
(knee) exited in the fourth quarter.
Key number
6 — For the Bears, sixes are wild. They have six straight wins at
home since a season-opening loss to Minnesota. And with their latest
victory, they stopped a six-game losing streak at Soldier Field
against Green Bay. They also have six wins when trailing in the
final two minutes of the fourth quarter, and this one might have
been their most incredible, considering the Packers had a win
probability of 99%. Williams extended a franchise record with his
league-leading sixth fourth-quarter comeback.
Next steps
The Bears visit San Francisco in a game with potential playoff
seeding implications for both teams.
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