5 Studs and an unlikely hero in the Bears' wild comeback win over the Packers

You literally could not make this unfathomable insanity up.

In one of the wildest, most dramatic games in the Chicago Bears' 106-year history, quarterback Caleb Williams threw a pass over Green Bay Packers' cornerback Keisean Nixon for a touchdown to win it in overtime. Just two weeks ago, it was Nixon who intercepted Williams' underthrown pass in the end zone to clinch the Packers' win at Lambeau Field.

The symmetry was just the start of Saturday night's silliness.

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The Packers gift-wrapped this comeback and 22-16 victory that all but hands the NFC North title to the Bears. Up 16-9 with 1:59 remaining, Packers' receiver Romeo Dobbs mishandled and fumbled an onside kick. And on fourth down in overtime, backup quarterback Malik Willis - filling in for concussed starter Jordan Love - fumbled the snap to give the ball to the Bears for their game-winning possession.

At the time of the onside kick, analytics gave the Bears a 1% chance of winning. Onside kicks in the NFL this season have been successful only 8% of the time.

The Bears were down 10 points with two minutes remaining, but took the good fortune and produced their league-leading sixth fourth-quarter comeback when trailing in the final two minutes. It is their first win over the Packers when trailing by 10+ points since 1960.

The Bears improve to 11-4. The Packers fall to 9-5-1.

A look at the many Studs who played in a role in one of the most magical, memorable games in the history of Soldier Field:

STUD: Caleb Williams

He struggled with accuracy because of the blustery wind and the fact that he was missing receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden. But Williams willed the Bears to the late field goal with his legs, forced overtime with a perfect throw to Jahdae Walker and then got revenge on Nixon with a beautiful 46-yard strike to DJ Moore.

Unreal. pic.twitter.com/3QY4pXoVn4
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 21, 2025

STUD: Josh Blackwell

None of this happens - and the Bears likely lose - if he doesn't recover Dobbs' fumble of the onside kick.

STUD: Nahshon Wright

The Dallas Cowboys' draft-pick bust did it again. In the big win at Philly on Black Friday he brazenly stripped Jalen Hurts on a Tush Push inside the 2-yard line. And against the Packers he pulled the same trick, yanking the ball from running back Josh Jacobs inside the 5-yard line when it appeared Chicago was about to go down, 13-3. Instead, Tremaine Edmunds dug the ball out of the bottom of the pile. Wright has created more takeaways - 5 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries - than any player in the NFL this season.

STUD: Cairo Santos

In gusty winds up to 35 mph that blew trash across the field and prompted FOX analyst Tom Brady to compare the conditions to "the British Open," the Bears' kicker somehow navigated the gusts and made field goals from 43, 46 and 51 yards. When the Bears' offense bogged down, their kicker kept them in the game. He also kicked a beauty of an onside kick that gave the Bears one last chance.

STUD: Jahdae Walker

Not bad for an undrafted rookie who had played eight snaps all season. The receiver was wide open on 4th-and-4 with less than minute remaining and Chicago trailing by seven, but it was still a leaping catch of a looping pass on a horrendously windy night in the corner of the end zone.

Let's face it, the Bears were lucky to beat a depleted, charitable Packers team. But when the opportunity arose to make game-winning plays, they indeed made them.

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