GREEN BAY — As many creative ways as the Chicago Bears have used to pull out games in the final minute this season, parity that defines the NFL was bound to catch up to them sooner or later.
That moment happened to be with 22 seconds remaining Sunday night at Lambeau Field when Keisean Nixon, who wasn’t even supposed to be covering tight end Cole Kmet, recognized a bust in the Green Bay Packers defense and made a play to secure a 28-21 victory, ending a five-game winning streak for the Bears (9-4) and sending them — just like that — from the top of the NFC standings to seventh place.
That’s how topsy-turvy the conference race is with four weeks remaining. The good news for the Bears is they will have an opportunity to trade places with the Packers in fewer than two weeks when they come to Soldier Field on Saturday, Dec. 20.
But first, 10 thoughts on a game that got really interesting in the second half.
1. It looked too good to be true, right?
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) catches his footing as Packers defensive end Micah Parsons defends in the fourth quarter against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The Packers had taken the lead with 3:32 remaining, leaving the Bears with all sorts of time, all three timeouts and another moment for quarterback Caleb Williams to shine with the game on the line.
Game-winning drives in the fourth quarter at Cincinnati and against Washington, Minnesota, the New York Giants and Las Vegas — all feats Williams pulled off earlier in the season — would be small potatoes to engineering a big comeback at Green Bay in a game the Bears trailed 14-3 at halftime.
The running backs found a spark after a slow start, especially in a 17-play, 83-yard drive that had tied the game up midway through the fourth quarter. The Packers (9-3-1) had left the Bears entirely too much time.
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Williams connected with Luther Burden for 27 yards and Devin Duvernay for 24 yards in the first three plays of the series. Just like that, the ball was to the Packers’ 23-yard line at the two-minute warning. The Bears could pull within one on a touchdown, go for two and head home a winner. They’d scored on a two-point play previously when center Drew Dalman helped will Kyle Monangai across the goal line.
Monangai ran for 6 yards, then 3, setting up third-and-1 from the 14. That’s when defensive end Kingsley Enagbare stacked up the running back for no gain.
Coach Ben Johnson used his first timeout. The Bears came out in 12 personnel — D’Andre Swift at running back with wide receivers DJ Moore and Olamide Zacchheaus and tight ends Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. Once they got to the line, Green Bay used a timeout.
The Bears stuck with the same play, and it was the same concept that had produced the game-sealing touchdown to Kmet on Black Friday at Philadelphia. Williams, who’d been bootlegging out of the pocket all night, faked a handoff to Swift and rolled out left.
There’s a lot of movement and eye candy in an effort to sell the run fake. It’s a different way to get to three levels. Kmet runs the corner over the top. There were two flat routes underneath. Swift had the first one and then DJ Moore, who came in motion through the backfield, was sort of a secondary checkdown.
No one covered Kmet, who was running a corner route. It was busted coverage by the Packers, who sent three defenders after Swift in the flat.
“We had a lot of options there,” Johnson said. “Don’t know exactly who is going to pop necessarily but between the options that we have and then Caleb using his legs, was hopeful we could find a way to get a yard there.”
Williams sort of waited, allowing Nixon time to close, and then put air under the throw as if to give the 6-foot-6 Kmet a chance to outplay the 5-10 Nixon for the ball. The throw never made it that far. It was an easy interception for Nixon.
“I think he can take (the first down running) but I don’t know what he saw,” Kmet said. “I’m just running my route. It’s unfortunate. It sucks.”
Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon intercepts a pass intended for Bears tight end Cole Kmet on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
If Williams had been decisive in choosing to run for the marker, he might have had a chance. There would have been a collision but he probably had a shot at moving the chains. Moore pops open later in the play if he’s able to put a little zip on the ball. But really Kmet is open from the jump before Nixon, who was originally covering Moore, recovered.
“I’ll say he was saving my butt on that play,” safety Evan Williams said. “I was praying someone was behind me to make a play on the corner and, sure enough, Jesus himself, No. 25, came out of the blue.”
Said Nixon: “We were in man-to-man there. My guy (Moore) went behind the backfield so I was a free player. I saw someone open so I just ran to them. (Kmet) was open for a minute.”
Some Packers admitted they were surprised the Bears didn’t try to run again after Monangai was stuffed on third down. Not safety Xavier McKinney.
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“They were doing that pretty much the whole game,” McKinney said. “They were running and they were play-action booting us. And we had to honor the run. They got what they wanted. It was a good play call. I’m not going to lie. (Kmet) was open. It was a good play call so you can’t really be mad at it. We just made a better play.”
It will be interesting to hear what Williams and Johnson have to say later in the week after they’ve reviewed everything. Time had become a factor. Johnson is an aggressive play caller.
“We had about two or three guys either stacking Swift or right there with Swift,” Williams said. “I rolled out and saw Cole and I tried to give him a big boy ball, try and let him go up for it because I ended up seeing (Nixon) start to sprint. So, I tried to slow them up and kind of give him a chance.
“In those moments, it’s you know, a got-to-have-it moment. And they had a guy (Enagbare) trailing me, so, didn’t feel like I could go get it myself. Just got to give Cole a better shot at it. I think next time, just extend him a little bit more and kind of lead him. But in those moments, you want to put the ball in play and trust your guy or try to have your guy go make a play and just got to give him a better ball.”
The design of the play worked. It created an uncovered target and confusion for the Packers. It’s not an easy throw rolling away like that but Williams has the arm talent to make that throw, just as he did at Philadelphia.
He didn’t close this one out like he would have wanted but he made a handful of nifty throws on the move with the Bears doing everything they could to keep him clean and out of the reach of defensive end Micah Parsons.
This throw, on this play, wasn’t in reach for Kmet.
2. The ballgame doesn’t come down to a fourth-down throw into the end zone in the final minute if the Bears don’t get beat by so many explosive plays.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) winds up to throw downfield in the third quarter against the Bears at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The defense did a pretty nice job handling running back Josh Jacobs, with the exception of a pitch play on third-and-2 from the Bears’ 28-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Jacobs somehow split defensive linemen Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter Sr. and eluded linebacker D’Marco Jackson. It should not have happened, and as I explain in a little bit, the defense has been very good at tackling all season.
It was the shot plays in the passing game that hurt the Bears. Jordan Love completed 17 of 25 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns were explosive plays — 23- and 41-yarders to Christian Watson and a deep 45-yard pass to Bo Melton.
The defense has done a pretty good job for a while now at limiting explosive plays by the opponents. The Bears handled Jalen Hurts and his playmakers a week prior. They couldn’t here, for a variety of reasons.
Love broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter when he connected with Watson for a 23-yard touchdown on third-and-10. The Bears rushed seven defenders and they didn’t get home. One of the defensive linemen — I can’t tell which one in the replays available — fell down. You can’t have that. The Bears should have a free runner at Love. Instead, they’ve only got six, the Packers can pick six up and that left free safety Kevin Byard in a non-win spot. He’s looking to drive downhill on a target, knowing the defense is sending seven and the ball will have to come out. He’s in position to drive top down on a receiver and make a stop and force the Packers to kick a field goal.
Instead, Love is able to hang in the pocket and wait for Watson. Byard had no chance.
Melton scored on a 45-yard pass right before halftime. This time, the Bears rushed only three, dropping a lineman off. Green Bay had second-and-10 at the Bears 45-yard line and with 45 seconds remaining in the half, it appeared the Bears were trying to keep everything in front of them.
That’s what makes Melton’s ability to take the top off the defense irritating here for a couple of reasons, one being you don’t want Melton to be the guy to beat you. I’m guessing here, but it looked like inverted Cover Two, which the Bears have been running. Jaquan Brisker is the safety on the field side of the ball. Byard rolls down and becomes the middle hole defender, similar to the middle linebacker. The backside corner — Jaylon Johnson — becomes the other deep half player. The Packers ran a double post. A medium crosser held Johnson so he didn’t get depth on his half, leaving that area vacated. Once Melton crossed the face of Brisker, he was off to the races. Brisker cannot make that play on the far side.
Packers cornerback Bo Melton tosses the ball after making a touchdown reception in the second quarter against the Bears at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
“When I broke and I seen (Love) wind up, I’m like, ‘Oh (expletive). Damn,’” Melton said. “I knew he was going to put the ball on the money regardless. I felt (Brisker) running, I was just like, ‘Get there. Get there.’”
The Bears wanted to force Love to take something short on this play and felt like they were protected over the top and they were not.
Watson’s 41-yard touchdown came on third-and-3 in the third quarter. It looked like a pressure by the Bears.
“He sees man coverage and he checks to that play and that’s a hell of a job by him,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
Dennis Allen has won more than his fair share of strategic battles this season. He’s had a knack for dialing up the right calls at the right time. Sometimes it’s execution. It’s impossible to account for a rusher losing his feet. Sometimes, the other sideline has the right call at the right time.
3. Probably a good chance the Bears cannot count on Kyler Gordon again this season.
Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon signs autographs for fans before facing the Commanders on Oct. 13, 2025, at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
That’s a problem too, one that was exacerbated when the Packers found some opportunities to take advantage of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the fill-in the team had to go out and get because Gordon has missed so much time.
Here’s the Gordon timeline as best as I can reconstruct it before he suffered a groin injury prior to Sunday’s game and was ruled out.
Aug. 7: Left practice with what, to the best of my knowledge, was a hamstring injury that wasn’t considered overly serious. By late August and the first week of September, he was practicing.
Sept. 7: A late addition to the injury report with a hamstring injury. Missed the season opener the next day.
Sept. 26: Was limited in practice as the team worked to slowly ramp him back up before the Week 4 game and then the bye.
Oct. 13: Played 39 snaps at Washington.
Oct. 19: Played 42 snaps against New Orleans.
Oct. 23: Appeared on the injury report with groin/calf injuries.
Oct. 25: Placed on injured reserve.
Nov. 19: Gordon’s return to window practice was opened.
Nov. 27: Restored to the 53-man roster.
Nov. 28: Played at Philadelphia.
Gordon got hurt in warmups after the team turned in a list of inactives, so there was no adjusting. There is no contingency plan when he’s dressed for the game and has a uniform. Usually, teams know by Thursday if a guy will not be available, and coaches can change the game plan and do some stuff.
Sure, Dennis Allen had backups and guys ready, but they were counting on Gordon and this has turned into a nightmare of a season for him. He’s been on the field for 117 snaps after the organization made him the highest-paid slot cornerback in the league. When I talked to Gordon last week after the game in Philadelphia, he was adamant that he’d worked diligently in the offseason, harder than in previous years but not to the point his body was worn down.
It’s hard to see the Bears counting on him now. Maybe this is minor, but he’s had a three-pack of soft-tissue injuries that he simply cannot shake. I’d bet top dollar there’s a meeting at the end of the season and involved will be Gordon, strength staff members, athletic trainers, GM Ryan Poles, probably at least secondary coach Al Harris and maybe others. They have to map out a plan for Gordon in the offseason.
In the meantime, we saw why some folks I chatted with when the Bears added Gardner-Johnson were skeptical he’d be a hit as a nickel cornerback. The guy has made some plays to this point. And he’s definitely brought some energy to the room. He’s been a physical presence around the line of scrimmage.
But Gardner-Johnson was shaken at the line of scrimmage immediately on the Christian Watson 41-yard touchdown.
“We gotta get home and trust each other and just make a play on the back end that needs to be made,” said Gardner-Johnson, who was credited with a team-high 10 tackles and snared an interception in the first quarter.
Chicago Bears safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (35) tackles Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave (88) in the first quarter at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears weren’t going to get home as fast as the ball was out of Love’s hand on that play. It was a similar situation when he was trailing Jayden Reed on a deep crosser that went for 18 yards.
If a wide receiver is able to generate separation from Gardner-Johnson off the line of scrimmage, he really struggles to get back in phase with them. He’s not fast enough. If he’s going to play nickel — and it would be surprising if Gordon is available soon — he’s got to win on the release and get hands on people so he can disrupt the timing of the route and latch on to them. When he’s not able to do that, well, that’s not his game. He’s more of a dime disruptor.
No opponents really were able to expose Gardner-Johnson until the Packers, but you bet they’ll have some stuff drawn up for the rematch.
4. Caleb Williams was a little tongue-in-cheek on Tuesday when he said looking at passing statistics like completion percentage and it’s “whooptie doo.”
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) winds up to throw in the first quarter against the Packers at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
There’s no reason to be flippant about an area of his game that needs substantial improvement, although the quarterback was making the valid point that it’s quite a layered discussion. For Williams to become a legitimate franchise quarterback, he’s going to have to make real gains.
On Sunday, Williams completed 19 of 35 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. His completion percentage is now at 57.8% and this marked the sixth consecutive game he’s been below 60%. A streak like this is unusual in today’s NFL. Williams is just the fourth quarterback since the beginning of the 2014 season to start six or more consecutive games and not have at least one with a 60% completion percentage.
Josh Allen: 2018 (8-game stretch)
Jacoby Brissett: 2017 (6-game stretch)
Cam Newton: 2016 (7-game stretch)
Ben Johnson set 70% as a benchmark for Williams to aim for at the start of the training camp, as the coach is holding everyone to high standards. Entering Week 14, New England’s Drake Maye (71.5%) was the only quarterback above that threshold and generally only three or four reach the mark during a season.
I’m not saying hold Williams to a 70% standard for this season. I think Johnson realized that was setting a really high bar. He understood mastery of the offense and comfort would take time. But the inaccuracies — look at the first third-down throw that sailed way over the head of an open DJ Moore — are making things harder on the offense as a whole.
I had an interesting conversation with a longtime league observer the other day and he made a really interesting point. His opinion was that quarterbacks with the best chance to go from being inaccurate — Williams entered the week last among the 33 qualifiers at 58.1% — to very accurate are better athletes.
His theory is that it is easier for highly skilled, quick-twitch athletes to make mechanical adjustments, starting with their feet, than less athletic pure pocket passers who have been throwing the ball the same way since the start of their college or even high school careers. He went on to cite Josh Allen, the poster boy for a wild passer who became highly accurate, and Lamar Jackson, who was a 57% passer in three seasons at Louisville. There were concerns about Jackson’s accuracy transitioning to the NFL and he’s completed 64.9% of his passes in eight seasons in the NFL, finishing below 50% only once during his rookie season in 2018.
“I’d agree with that,” Bears passing game coordinator Press Taylor said. “And I think you look at the guys like a Caleb or a Josh Allen, that have big arms. A lot of times they can get away with being late on things because they’re just ripping the ball in there. Yeah, that works but we want to be on time.
“There is a certain timing to every play and you can make life so much easier. Like you watch Patrick Mahomes or Matthew Stafford, they have all the arm strength in the world. But you don’t see it until they desperately need it now because the understanding is so great.”
There’s a lot of work for Williams to do. According to NextGenStats, not only is Williams the lowest-ranked passer in the league in terms of completion percentage, he also has the lowest rate of tight window throws (defined as less than 1 yard of separation) in the NFL at 10.6%. In other words, Williams has been inaccurate generally throwing into more open windows.
Another thing that stands out is the numbers for Rome Odunze, who sat out the game with a foot stress fracture. Odunze is far and away the team’s leader with 90 targets but has only 44 receptions (48.9%). He was one of three wide receivers entering Week 14 with 60 or more targets and a reception rate below 50%. The other two were Tennessee Titans rookie Eric Ayomanor (64 targets, 29 receptions, 45.9%) and the Cleveland Browns’ Jerry Jeudy (80 targets, 35 receptions, 43.8%). Ayomanor is playing with rookie quarterback Cam Ward and Jeudy has played with Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
“Odunze is the No. 1 receiver so he’s the primary read more times than not and the throws are late too often,” said a pro scout who has watched the Bears extensively this season.
The Bears’ hope hinges on natural growth in 2026 when Williams is in his second year in Johnson’s system and when he can refine mastery of a playbook and concepts he doesn’t have to learn for the first time.
Bears coach Ben Johnson talks with quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze before a preseason game against the Dolphins at Soldier Field on Aug. 10, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
“Part of it is your ability to process, your ability to understand what’s being asked of you, understanding the timing of the footwork, the route depth,” Taylor said. “You would just expect it (to improve) from year 1 to Year 2 and things like that, game 1 to game 13.
“The processing happens so much faster and now I can get through things and I am not rushing a throw because my feet are late or the depth was quicker than I thought or whatever that may be. I think that’s definitely a part of it. Your overall understanding of the offense is going to improve the level of execution and the completion percentage as we go.”
It all begins with Williams’ footwork and then the timing of his progressions. Initially, quarterbacks can be too slow when they are starting out in a new offense. Williams has said there have been instances where he’s actually too quick going from his primary read to secondary options and he actually needs to slow everything down to be within the structure of the offense.
The whole offense is tied in together, beginning with the protection, Williams’ mechanics and then how detailed the players are in their routes.
“Obviously, I miss a pass and it looks a certain way to everybody, and everybody doesn’t know all the details,” Williams said. “So, you go into that and you look at the stats and you look at all these percentages and ‘whooptie doo.’ Then we come back here and we actually look at the film and, ‘Was I in the right spot? Was my drop right?’ You always look at yourself first, and then you go and look at the other guys and were they at the right spot? Were they at the right spot at the right time? You try and tie those things together.
“That’s the fun part about playing this position. That’s the fun part about a long season is you have these ups and downs. You also have these moments where you may not be hitting on all cylinders and then you have these moments where it feels like you can’t miss. We’re trying to get to the point where we feel like we can’t miss. We’ve got a bunch of young guys, including myself, that are out there trying to make plays. It’s a lot of film. It’s a lot of talking. It’s a lot of open communication that we’ve been having and have to keep having to get to the point where we’re hitting on all cylinders at the right time.”
5. I’m not sure anyone loved the quirk in the schedule when it was released — with the Bears playing the Packers twice in 14 days — but it sure adds an element of theater to the playoff chase.
Packers fans hold signs referring to former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s comments about the Bears in the third quarter at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears love the chance for another shot at the Packers in short order but it was clear Ben Johnson was setting priorities for his players as soon as the game ended.
“Our guys do a good job of taking our lumps from this,” he said. “We will learn from it. We will make our corrections and we will move on. We will get right back to work. We have a process that we believe in and the work that we put in throughout the week is so important to giving us a chance on game day. They know that. They believe that and that is really what we will do when we come back in.
“(Monday) we will come in and we’ll clean up the tape and then Wednesday we are right back at it. We have another good opponent coming in, in Cleveland. I don’t care what their record says (3-10). They have a damn good defense so that is kind of the stretch that we are in here this back half of the season. It is good defense after good defense after good defense and so we are going to have to step up to the plate and respond the right way.”
There are some quick reasons for optimism for a rematch. The Bears wound up wearing down Green Bay with the running game. It took a while to get cranked up, but D’Andre Swift (13 carries, 63 yards) and Kyle Monangai (14 carries, 57 yards) were beating on the Packers front there in the second half.
“We started to come alive for sure,” right guard Jonah Jackson said. “It was a little flat to start. They were a little more intense in the first quarter. I felt like we came alive when we needed to.”
The Bears did a decent job handling Josh Jacobs, but the pass rush was a non-factor and the Packers look more explosive than they have in a while with Jayden Reed and Christian Watson now in the mix.
“We beat ourselves today,” cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson said. “Simple. We beat ourselves today on defense. I can’t speak for offense but we beat ourselves today, missed tackles, gotta play better technique-wise on the back end and continue to get better.”
It could be the teams will be in the same position they were entering this game. The Bears host the Browns while the Packers have a monster road trip to Denver where they play the 11-2 Broncos. If the Bears win this coming week and Green Bay loses, the scenario would be identical entering the Week 16 game at Soldier Field — the Bears would be a half-game up on the Packers.
“I do think there is some aura that comes with playing here and competing here,” Johnson said. “I love it for our guys. This is what the football gods made football to be. Cold weather in December like this and Green Bay, Chicago, I think it is outstanding. I think it’s awesome to have this rivalry alive and well right now and we get another chance at it here in two weeks.”
It should be cold for that one, too. No question.
6. Ben Johnson had an interesting mandate for his team back in April, one that appears to be paying dividends.
Bears coach Ben Johnson stands on the sidelines in the first quarter against the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Dec. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
You have to learn how to practice without pads on.
Players involved in the sport for their entire lives know how to practice in shells. It was Johnson’s way of explaining that to reach the level of execution the staff is demanding, the team would need to find another level.
On Tuesday, as players filed in from the practice field, they handed in their shoulder pads to be stored on a large vertical rack outside the locker room. It’s a routine they will go through only once more — at least during the regular season.
The collective bargaining agreement limits the number of practices in pads a team can hold during the regular season, and it has been a balancing act for Johnson, who believes in the need to practice in pads to best prepare his team for games.
Teams are capped at 14 practices in pads during the regular season with a maximum of one per week. Additionally, 11 must be used in the first 11 weeks. That leaves three for a team to spread out over the remainder of the season.
Tuesday marked the 13th practice in pads for the Bears, and while it might seem like a minor point, don’t underestimate the impact it has had on the explosion of the league’s second-ranked running game as well as on the team’s good tackling.
Generally, players loathe the idea of practices in pads during December.
“Most teams at this time of the year don’t put the pads on,” safety Kevin Byard III said. “I had years in Tennessee where we stopped putting the pads on maybe Week 6 or Week 7.”
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Even players not on the injury report are beat up and need time in the training room. Each one faces an uphill climb just to be in shape to move fast on Wednesdays after a Sunday game. A winning record and improvements across the board provide examples for why.
“It’s a good way to get run fits,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I get why (the limit) is in place to protect players. When done right, it’s nice to have it once a week. That being said, I’ve been part of scenarios where it’s not handled correctly and you’re going and going.
“Ben has a good feel for it: ‘Hey, we’ve got runs up that maybe we haven’t had in previous weeks and we need to get the fits.’ The only way you really get that is with pads, in my opinion. It kind of sucks in that regard a little bit. But I also understand why it’s in place.”
Said tight end Durham Smythe: “Now that I am a little bit older, it feels nice to not have to practice in pads. When I was younger, I was like, ‘I can do this all day.’ I do get it. You need them and you need to split them up a little bit so you can use them like we did (Tuesday).”
The point Johnson made in the spring was that good teams he has been involved with have been good at maximizing practices without pads and that players got more out of the experience than simply going through the motions.
“There’s kind of an art to it,” Smythe, 30, said. “It’s really about hand placement and the fundamentals without big collisions. Honestly, it’s hard to learn that skill. But when you do, it’s almost like nothing is different. When you’re in shells, it’s like full contact but without full contact.”
Said right guard Jonah Jackson: “It’s a whole different feel with pads than without them. Getting run fits and things like that, they’re kind of necessary. You get the fit and then you don’t take them to the ground.
“You harp on your fundamentals and techniques. In the trenches, without pads, you kind of try to do the same thing, but it’s hard. Last week we didn’t have pads on and we kind of had ourselves a day (rushing for 281 yards in Philadelphia).”
Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (85) blocks Green Bay Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine (24) for quarterback Caleb Williams (18) in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Coaches have felt like fundamentals slip a little if they go more than two weeks without a practice in pads, so it will be interesting to see which week in the remaining four Johnson chooses for the final practice in pads. It’s unlikely the team will use its final one this week, and the Week 16 rematch with the Packers is on a short week. The sweet spot could be before the Week 17 trip to San Francisco.
The messaging has been consistent from the start.
“That’s part of something you try to establish way back in April,” passing game coordinator Press Taylor said. “I remember Ben also saying, ‘We’ve got to be a great walk-through team because that’s how you win in the playoffs.’ You’re walking through when you have short weeks and you have all this stuff that comes up late in the year.
“If you’re not a good walk-through team, you’re wasting a lot of valuable practice time at the end of the year. That’s just something we’ve tried to harp on from way back when for how important these things are.”
In the playoffs, teams can conduct one practice in full pads each week if they choose. It’s a good bet Johnson would elect to do so if the situation arises.
“This is what gives us our edge here,” Jackson said. “I definitely feel more physical here than I have anywhere else.”
7. Another area in which the experience of padded practices probably shows up is in the team’s tackling.
Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard III (31) tackles Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Entering this week, the Bears were second in the league in missed tackles with only 73 — two more than the Detroit Lions — according to Pro Football Focus. It’s a subjective statistic, no question, and Pro Football Reference has the Bears tied for sixth with 63 missed tackles.
However you look at it, they’ve been fundamentally sound.
“I would definitely say that we do a lot of tackle drills,” safety Kevin Byard III said. “Even from OTAs to now. The first day of the week on Wednesdays, we do a tackle circuit to start practice off. Even just with the safeties, we do an open-field tackle drill, so we definitely drill a lot.
“Then at that point, it’s about going out there and making a play.”
As Byard was explaining what has made the Bears good — and they were solid in 2024, when Pro Football Reference ranked them 12th — reserve safety Jonathan Owens chimed in from the next locker.
“We went live in camp,” Owens said as Byard made an affirmative nod.
“I was just about to say, in training camp we did a lot of tackling,” Byard said. “Credit all the tackling we did live during training camp to basically being a really good tackling team. It’s guys rallying to the ball. There have been some missed tackles, but at the end of the day, the way we practice — we just had pads on on Tuesday — it’s like muscle memory.”
It’s definitely a skill that needs to be practiced, and one reason the Bears have been able to continue to get in heavy work during the middle of the week is they have stayed pretty healthy on both sides of the line. Start losing a handful of linemen to injuries and it quickly becomes a lot more difficult to grind on a Wednesday in full pads.
8. It would be special if the Bears-Packers rivalry could bring years of high-stakes games because, well, those have been hard to come by.
Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai (25) runs the ball in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Let’s not declare it quite there yet, but it sure looks like it’s headed that direction. Some of the subplots are great, too, with Micah Parsons in Green Bay. He seemed to spend the entire game chasing after Caleb Williams.
“I definitely think we had their attention, their respect,” Parsons said. “I mean, you go watch any of their games, they never played a football game like that. I mean a run game, of course, but I mean, max-protection.
“I expected more of a dropback game, but no dropback. A lot of boots, a lot of sifts, just really trying to get the ball out of his hands as much as possible. So, I think we earned a lot of respect. But we’ve just got to adjust for the next time we see them, understanding how they’re going to play us.”
It was eye-opening how much the Bears worked to get Williams out of the pocket, particularly on bootlegs. He hit a couple of big throws on straight play-action dropbacks. But by in large, he was on the move. Kingsley Enagbare had the only sack for Green Bay. The Packers did have six QB hits, with Parsons credited with two.
“I just let him know, you’re not going around me,” Parsons said of a message he delivered early in the game to Williams. “And I held to that the whole game. He did not beat me to that, not one time. I kind of hold that with passion. If you’re going to run the boot, run it the other way.
“That’s part of the hunt. Eventually, I’m going to get him. I came close a couple times. It was like playing free-for-all football, when you’re young again.”
Jordan Love said the game meant a lot to everyone in Green Bay on account of Ben Johnson pointing out his record as a play caller against Matt LaFleur when he was hired back in January. That’s just one small subplot in something that appears to be growing.
“It meant a lot to everybody, but obviously we’ve all known the comments that were out there, so it is what it is,” Love said. “This is a game that means a lot to everybody. It’s an NFC North matchup, obviously the Bears were No. 1 seed, so it’s a huge game, and like I said, we’ll see these guys in a couple weeks here again.”
Love said he found himself watching Caleb Williams on the massive video boards at Lambeau Field during the game. It’s the kind of thing he doesn’t want to miss.
“But I’ve watched Caleb all season, throughout some of the film, and he does some really cool stuff on the field,” Love said. “I think he’s a really good player, and obviously I think just his playmaking ability to be able to get out of some of those, there’s some times where you think he’s bottled up and about to be sacked and he’s able to get out and extend these plays. He’s a really good player and I think he’s going to keep getting better.
“It’ll be a good matchup going forward.”
9. As special teams coordinators and kickers explore creative new means within the dynamic kickoff rules, there’s been an interesting discovery: Effective “dirty ball” kickoffs can make field goals more challenging.
Bears’ Cairo Santos kicks a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter against the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Richard Hightower mentioned the issue recently because of the different leg swings involved. Dirty balls — when a low kickoff is directed toward the front of the landing zone near the 20-yard line — can be highly effective at pinning the opposition in its own end. There’s risk involved because if the kick doesn’t reach the 20 or hits the ground and then skids out of bounds, the opponent takes over on its own 40-yard line.
When done properly, it’s a difficult kick to field, especially if the returner has to cover some ground. Two weeks ago, Cairo Santos had a dirty ball against Pittsburgh that pinned the Steelers on their own 5-yard line. Later, he kicked a low line drive that bounced through the end zone for a touchback to the 20.
Santos invested time in practice working on hitting knuckleball kickoffs and other balls that — by design — are poorly contacted by his right foot.
“When we did a lot of that and then had a field goal period, I had to get ready for it,” Santos said. “My first couple field goals, it would be where I kind of had to get it out of my system to start striking the ball like a normal field goal again.
“We found the right time in practice to do (the kickoffs) and then kind of get in a field goal rhythm. I feel I am much better at this time, kind of managing the different kinds of kicks. You definitely have to get it out of your system and in the game, you don’t really have the time.”
Chicago Bears’ Week 16 matchup with Green Bay Packers scheduled for prime-time kickoff
Santos can go to the kicking net on the sideline and try to recalibrate his technique for field goals and extra points after a dirty ball kickoff.
“But you don’t see the ball flight to know if you’ve actually got it out of your system,” he said. “You kind of feel good feedback on your foot using the net, but the ball can be curving and stuff and you wouldn’t know it. There’s a learning curve in managing those two types of kicks because to hit a good dirty ball, you’re mishitting the sweet spot of the ball.”
Mishit the sweet spot on a field goal and it’s going to be hard to make the kick. Santos likened a dirty ball to a golfer intentionally trying to blade a shot in order to escape the rough.
“It’s kind of like that,” he said. “You’re hitting it higher than the sweet spot to make it do a certain type of rotation. Same thing with the dirty ball.”
What we saw in the game was the reverse order of things. Santos made a 33-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter to draw the Bears within 14-3. He went with a low kick on the ensuing kickoff and it was short of the landing zone, setting the Packers up on their own 40-yard line.
Another special teams coordinator said he also believes there’s a big enough difference in the two kicks that it leads him to be strategic when he calls for a dirty ball or something like that on a kickoff.
10. Ben Johnson said the team got through the game in good shape physically.
Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards (53) tackles Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Linebacker T.J. Edwards played for the first time since Nov. 2 at Cincinnati. It’s worth noting that linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (groin) must miss at least one more game on injured reserve. That means the soonest he could return would be the Week 16 rematch with the Packers.
10a. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson still wasn’t a full go but he’s getting stronger — and the Bears are playing it safe with him. Nick McCloud got more work on the outside (probably because Kyler Gordon was out) and was credited with two pass breakups.
10b. Good decision by Ben Johnson to challenge the long pass to Packers tight end Luke Musgrave. That move wiped out a 34-yard gain that looked — at first glance anyway — like a good catch. The feeling you get is the Bears have a smoother communication process for just about everything this season and that’s reflected in a successful, almost spur-of-the-moment decision like this.
10c. Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy called Saturday night. I’d reached out to him about Bears defensive backs coach Al Harris, who he coached in Green Bay. McCarthy was bummed the story had already run but was adamant he wanted to speak about Harris, who was also a secondary coach on McCarthy’s staff in Dallas.
McCarthy went on to say Harris would pay practice squad wide receivers cash out of his own pocket on occasion in Green Bay to encourage them to bring their best against him on the practice field. That’s how competitive Harris was. No, it’s not legal for players to pay other players. I’ve heard of high-paid veterans throwing small Christmas bonuses to practice squad players on rare occasions but never something like this.
Such a great anecdote. I made a late addition to the story, which you can read here if you missed it.
10d. Big-time win Saturday for coach Brock Spack and the Illinois State Redbirds. They went on the road and scored 15 points in the final three minutes to stun top-seeded North Dakota State 29-28. The Bison were a heavy favorite to win the FCS national playoffs. Instead, the Redbirds advance to the quarterfinals.
10e. Congratulations to former Bears tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, who was selected to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Manumaleuna, who capped a 10-year NFL career with the Bears in 2010, was a dominant blocking tight end. He had a game-winning touchdown catch from Jay Cutler in a 24-20 win at Detroit in Week 13 of the 2010 season. Former Bears Olin Kreutz and Manti Te’o serve on the selection committee.
10f. The Fox crew of Kevin Kugler and Daryl “Moose” Johnston will call Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field.
10g. The Bears opened as a seven-point favorite over the Browns at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/08/chicago-bears-10-thoughts-brad-biggs-packers-week-14/
