Micah Parsons Was Surprised By Bears' Play-Calling on Final Drive of Packers' Win

The Bears final drive came up short as Caleb Williams threw a pick on fourth-and-1.
Micah Parsons was caught off guard by the Bears’ play-calling on their final drive.
Micah Parsons was caught off guard by the Bears’ play-calling on their final drive. / Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Bears fell short of the Packers of Sunday, failing to complete their comeback as quarterback Caleb Williams threw an interception in the end zone on their final drive.

After managing just three points in the first half, the Bears ended up tying the game at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter. The Packers retook the lead with a touchdown, giving the ball back to Chicago with about three and a half minutes to go.

As they looked to tie up the game, the Bears got down the field with a couple of long passes to Luther Burden III and Devin Duvernay before the two minute warning. After the two minute break, they ran the ball on three straight plays, setting themselves up with fourth-and-1 from the Packers’ 14-yard line with 27 seconds to go.

On fourth-and-1, Williams faked the handoff before rolling out to his right. He threw toward tight end Cole Kmet in the end zone, but the pass was short and intercepted by Keisean Nixon to clinch a Packers’ win.

"I think overall, was pretty surprised how they approached two-minute,” Packers defensive end Micah Parsons said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “It’s two-minute and you’ve got to get seven, and they’re playing like they need to play for three. Running the ball, not wanting to do any drop-backs, a completely different expectation than what I expected to see in a gotta-have-it situation. It’s something that we’ve got to look at, but overall was surprised about the calls in total. I mean, 20 seconds left in a gotta-have-it situation, I understand the timeouts, too, I  mean they had two timeouts."

On that final fourth down play, the Bears were attempting the same play they hit Kmet on for a touchdown in their win over the Eagles, but they were unable to execute it the same this time around.

Head coach Ben Johnson said of the call, "We had a lot of options there. Don’t know who’s going to pop necessarily. Between the options we have and Caleb using his legs, hopeful we can find a way to get a yard there."

"I just got to give Cole a better shot at it, next time just extend him a little bit more and kind of lead him,” Williams said. “In those moments, you want to put the ball in play and trust your guy or try to have your guy make a play. Just got to give him a better ball."

With that last drive coming up short, the Bears will now lose their division lead to the Packers and fall to the No. 7 seed in the NFC. Chicago will look to rebound when the two teams face off again in two weeks.


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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.