Even though Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, December 7, pushing the Bears out of the top spot in the NFC North, all is not lost. The Bears are still in a solid position this season, and they’re toting a 9-4 record and 64% chance of making the postseason even after the loss.
The game wasn’t a blowout, and the Bears rallied in the second half. Losing to the Packers 14-3 at halftime, the Bears had a second half packed with strong numbers to tie the score to 21-21 with 8 minutes to go. From there, Josh Jacobs scored a two-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 28-21 lead with 3:32 left in the game, but the Bears still had hopes of coming back. Time just wasn’t on their side, though, and on fourth-and-one from Green Bay’s 14-yard-line, Williams’ pass intended for Cole Kmet in the end zone was intercepted by Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon, giving the Packers the 28-21 win.
After the game, both Williams and first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson talked about the loss. Even though it stings, it’s something they can learn from for the future. The teams have another game against each other in two weeks, and that one will decide the fate of the NFC North.
Chicago Bears Quarterback Caleb Williams Talks Loss
Immediately after games, emotions are always high. But, Johnson seemed calm as he talked about the loss, which he called “disappointing.”
“When it comes down to the wire like that and you’re on the losing side of it, it’s disappointing,” Johnson said. “But a lot of credit to our guys in the second half there making it a game, down 14-3 at halftime and yet it coming down to the last 30 seconds… Really close at the end but give a lot of credit to Green Bay. They made a couple more plays than us.”
Williams also talked about what went right, and wrong, during the game. He simply, but clearly, blamed the team for shooting themselves “in the foot” in the first half, but also praised the players for their rally in the second half.
“I think it was more of us shooting ourselves in the foot, and not making the plays and the small details,” Williams said. “That’s something that we spoke about in the locker room before we came back out, is focusing on the small details, doing our job, execution, and then we were able to start getting in the same place. I think we had a couple good plays that made a spark for us, and we started getting going.”
Johnson also praised Williams for what he did to try to pull off the win. “I thought Caleb was doing everything he could,” he said.
Williams added, “He put his Superman cape on a few times to not go down, extend the play, and he found a couple big scrambles for us over the course of that game, which earlier in the season you would’ve said that we really had a hard time finding.”
Chicago Bears Going Forward
The Packers are obviously the Bears’ main opponents in the NFC North through the rest of the season, although the Lions could creep up, too. While the Bears have a 64% chance of making the postseason, the Packers are at 94%. The Lions are at 54%, but that could go up substantially if they beat the Rams on Sunday, December 14.
What really matters, of course, is simply that the Bears win as much as they can the rest of the regular season to get to the coveted postseason.
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