Bears fans and national media hotly debating final-play interception in Packers loss

Surprisingly, the sun came up in Chicago Monday morning. It also shed new light on the Bears' final, fatal play in Sunday's excruciating loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The design was there. The execution - literally - fell just short of perfect.

In the bleak hours since quarterback Caleb Williams' pass was intercepted in the end zone by Packers' cornerback Keisean Nixon to seal the 28-21 loss, Bears fans - and national media - have debated both the plan and the pass. Upon further review there is an undeniable truth about the fourth-down play: tight end Cole Kmet was open. And for most of the play, wide-open.

If ESPN's former NFL players-turned-analysts can't agree on the merits of the play, how can Bears fans find common ground on barstools around the depressed city?

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Said ESPN's Dan Orlovsky Monday morning, "It was the same exact play they always run in that situation. Just too predictable. The Packers called timeout before and I guarantee you they told their guys what was coming."

Countered analyst Dominque Foxworth, "So? It worked. (Kmet) was wide-open!"

Can both be correct?

Bears' head coach Ben Johnson said on the radio Monday that he'd call the same play again. Orlovsky was right, in that Chicago ran the exact same play last week against the Philadelphia Eagles for a Kmet 28-yard touchdown reception. they also ran it on fourth down earlier in the game against the Packers, resulting in a Williams first-down run. And Foxworth is right, but Kmet was indeed open.

After looking the flat for D'Andre Swift and then seeing his running lane shut off, Williams got to his third option - Kmet - a little late. The tight end initially was a good five yards behind Green Bay's defense, but the delay allowed Nixon to catch up and then catch Williams' woefully underthrown pass.

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The Bears weren't too cute or too stubborn. For one play at the end of a great game, the Packers were just too good.

None of that, however, changes the consensus after one of the NFL's best games of the year: the Bears may have lost the battle, but they're on the way to winning many wars.