There are no asterisks by the Chicago Bears' win over Green Bay

Apparently, the Bears' 22-16 win over Green Bay didn't count because the Packers were controlling the game for the first 58 minutes. Rumor has it the win comes with an asterisk, since the Packers were dealing with a few significant injuries, including one to starting quarterback Jordan Love.

The latter coping mechanism is ironic because the Packers' lone Super Bowl win this century would have an asterisk. They beat the Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship game only after Chicago's QB, Jay Cutler, suffered an MCL sprain.

More recently, they were also the much healthier team heading into the matchup two weeks ago. The Bears were down their number one receiver Rome Odunze, Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, and Pro Bowl-caliber nickelback Kyler Gordon. The latter was involved in the gameplan leading up to the game all week and got hurt in pre-game warmups.

I didn't hear injury excuses from our side after that one, though. In fact, I heard countless excuses from their side about how the refs kept that game close. That was despite the fact that the zebras made bad calls that hurt both teams. Just like they did in yesterday's game (I'm not a ref advocate, nor am I a ref supporter).

Did Jordan Love's injury play a role in the game? Sure. The gameplan coming into the game goes out the window at that point. He completed eight of 13 passes for 77 yards before getting hurt, though. Backup QB Malik Willis completed nine of 11 passes for 121 yards and added 44 yards on the ground. He gave the offense a spark and, at times, looked like the best player on the field.

I'm not going to make any declarative statements and say Willis might be better than Love, because that's outrageous. Still, the offense was undoubtedly operating more efficiently with him under center. The Bears' underperforming defensive line had no answer for his athleticism.

Yet, Packer fans want to use an injury to Love as a way to discredit the Bears' hard-fought win? Why? Because they almost got beaten by one of the league's best backup QBs?

I also know Micah Parsons was hurt. That's a massive blow. Credit where it's due; their defense played remarkably well without their best player for the first three-and-a-half quarters. Injuries happen, though. The Bears' defense was absolutely through the first ten games of the season. The 49ers have won ten games without a few of their best players this season.

As far as the "Packers were controlling the game" narrative goes, you won't find any complaints here. They were. It's undeniable.

The final whistle isn't blown at the 58-minute mark, though. A team that gives full effort for 60 minutes is a dangerous one, and the Bears have proven to be that time and time again this season.

I've seen some Packer fans completely blast Green Bay for choking away a sure win without giving any credit to the Bears for capitalizing on their mistakes.

Did Romeo Doubs drop the ball (literally and figuratively) on the onside kick? Sure, but the Bears still had to put themselves in position to recover it. They were there. The offense still needed to capitalize with their first touchdown of the game. They did that with 24 seconds left.

They didn't necessarily need their second touchdown of the game in overtime (since they could've also won with a field goal at that point). They got it anyway.

HEROICS FROM THE BEARS 🐻 pic.twitter.com/hkw7S72TMj
— NFL (@NFL) December 21, 2025

There are no asterisks by the Bears improbable win. Not even close.

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