Packer Central

Live Updates: Packers Blow Lead, Forced Into Overtime by Bears

The Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) and Chicago Bears (10-4) are battling on Saturday night at Soldier Field with first place in the NFC North at stake. Follow along for updates.
Bill Huber|
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) warms up before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) warms up before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Green Bay Packers

CHICAGO – The Green Bay Packers are playing at the Chicago Bears in a monstrous NFC North showdown at Soldier Field on Saturday night.

Follow along all night for updates.

Fourth Quarter

Packers 16, Bears 16 (0:24 remaining)

Romeo Doubs botched the onside kick and the Bears made them pay. On fourth-and-goal from the 6, nobody blocked Brenton Cox but nobody covered Jahdae Walker, who was wide open for the touchdown. The Bears opted for the extra point to tie the game.

And we’re off to overtime.

Packers 16, Bears 9 (1:59 remaining)

The Bears made it a one-score game on a drive extended by Warren Brinson’s facemask penalty on a third-and-long sack. On fourth-and-4, the Bears went for a field goal in hopes of getting off the kick before the 2-minute warning. Cairo Santos made a 43-yard field goal. But they wasted the 2-minute timeout. The Bears will have two timeouts to stop the clock on the ensuing possession.

Romeo Doubs just muffed the onside kick, so the Bears will have a chance to steal the game.

Packers 16, Bears 6 (5:03 remaining)

The Packers consumed almost 6 minutes and tacked on a field goal on Brandon McManus’ 28-yard field goal. Emanuel Wilson had a 12-yard run behind killer blocks by Sean Rhyan and Aaron Banks.

Green Bay is 0-for-5 in the red zone.

Packers 13, Bears 6 (10:52 remaining)

D’Andre Swift had consecutive runs of 9, 7, 6 and 8 yards before Bears coach Ben Johnson decided to throw the ball. Caleb Williams avoided Rashan Gary’s pressure but had to throw it away. On third-and-9, Williams threw the ball into Lake Michigan and as flagged for grounding, but Cairo Santos kicked a 51-yard field goal to make it a one-score game.

Third Quarter

Packers 13, Bears 3 (0:33 remaining)

Malik Willis faced a third-and-2. He’s a tremendous runner, and that might have been the expectation. Instead, he went deep and dropped a dime to Romeo Doubs for a 33-yard touchdown. Jayden Reed’s unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty made a 48-yard extra point, no easy feat in the wind, but Brandon McManus split the uprights.

Packers 6, Bears 3 (4:15 remaining)

The Bears ripped off a big run on first down from the 2 but Quay Walker made a spectacular run stop on second-and-7 to help for a punt.

Packers 6, Bears 3 (6:57 remaining)

Malik Willis needed an answer. On the first play, he went play-action and hit Luke Musgrave for 26; had he looked, he would have had a deep shot to Christian Watson for a 65-yard touchdown. Later, on third-and-1, Willis booted left and hit Musgrave for 5 and a first down. On the next play, he got out of the pocket, had an ankle-breaking pump-fake on Tremaine Edmunds and ran for 11 to Chicago’s 14. On the play, Watson and Jayden Reed collided and Reed had to be helped off the field.

However, disaster struck. On first-and-goal at the 4, Jacobs churned up the middle and had it stripped by Nahshon Wright, with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds recovering at the 2.

The Packers are 0-for-4 in the red zone.

Packers 6, Bears 3 (12:12 remaining)

Cairo Santos drove a 46-yard field goal through the wind to get the Bears on the board. It was a win for the Packers, though, who allowed a 34-yard completion to running back Kyle Monangai, which included 37 yards after the catch. Nate Hobbs had a tackle for loss on first down and Xavier McKinney had a chance for an interception on second down.

Jordan Love Is Out With Concussion

It will be up to Malik Willis to get the Packers a victory and the lead in the NFC North.

Halftime: Packers 6, Bears 0

With Jordan Love being evaluated for a concussion, the Packers lead 6-0 at halftime.

The Packers lead 179-126 in yards, 39-20 in plays and 13-7 in first downs, and they played a clean first half with one penalty for 5 yards (compared to five penalties for 55 yards for the Bears), but they’re 0-for-3 in the red zone.

Christian Watson has been targeted five times and he caught just for 7 yards.

If he has to play the rest of the game, Malik Willis is 1-of-3 passing for 6 yards. Not counting a couple take-a-knees to run out the clock, he’s rushed twice for 12 yards.

Chicago will get the ball to start the second half.

Second Quarter

Packers 6, Bears 0 (0:00 remaining)

The Bears had a chance to double up at the end of the first half but couldn’t get too far past midfield. Nate Hobbs forced his second throwaway on a slot blitz and Javon Bullard had excellent coverage on a third-and-4 pass to Cole Kmet.

The Packers took a couple knees to end the half.

Packers 6, Bears 0 (1:41 remaining)

With Jordan Love being evaluated for a concussion, Malik Willis did what Malik Willis seemingly always does.

He moved the Packers.

On fourth-and-1, he faked the handoff and took off on a keeper for 13 yards, with Luke Musgrave having the key block. Emanuel Wilson had runs of 7 and 6 before Willis zipped an out to Dontayvion Wicks for 6 yards and a first down. One play later, the threat of Willis taking off on a zone read allowed Wilson to race around the corner for 14 yards to the 5 at the 2-minute warning.

However, the drive stalled. On first-and-goal at the 5, Willis threw incomplete on a 50/50 ball to Romeo Doubs that was broken up by Tyrique Stevenson, Josh Jacobs was stuffed and Willis threw incomplete to Christian Watson in the back of the end zone; it appeared Willis had a void to run through. A 22-yard field goal made it 6-0.

The Packers are 0-for-3 in the red zone, which seems like the kind of thing that could bite them in the butt.

Jordan Love Injured (8:15 remaining)

On a drive that started at the 5, Jordan Love hit Christian Watson for 7 and a first down. On the next play, Love was sacked by defensive tackle Austin Booker. Booker was flagged for roughing pass on a helmet-to-helmet.

After a couple minutes on the turf, Love jogged to the blue medical tent, where he presumably is being checked for a concussion. Malik Willis entered the game.

Packers 3, Bears 0 (9:34 remaining)

The Packers run defense remains vulnerable – Kyle Monangai ran for 7 way-too-easy yards on third-and-1 – but the defense got a stop. On second-and-8, Nate Hobbs blitzed and forced Caleb Williams to throw it away. A false start by Darnell Wright made it third-and-13. Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare pressured Williams into an errant pass on the move. Tory Taylor’s punt, however, landed on the sideline at the 5.

Packers 3, Bears 0 (12:45 remaining)

The Packers picked up a key first down at the start of the drive when Jordan Love scrambled on third-and-6 and gained 7 because of a head-first dive rather than a feet-first slide. Romeo Doubs caught a pass at his knees at the sideline for 13, then ripped off a 20-yarder on a slant that included 10 yards after the catch. That gave Green Bay a first down at Chicago’s 23 at the end of the first quarter.

The Packers got a first-and-goal at the 9 following two completions to Josh Jacobs, but the drive stalled on a backward pass that Emanuel Wilson dropped out of bounds for a loss of 3 and Love misfiring to Christian Watson in the back of the end zone against a linebacker, T.J. Edwards. So, they settled for a 26-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.

First Quarter

Packers 0, Bears 0 (3:51 remaining)

The score remains scoreless, though no credit belongs to Green Bay’s defense, which was shredded on the ground and couldn’t contain Caleb Williams. The Bears’ first six plays went for 7, 9, 15, 9, 27 and 12 yards. Finally, they got the Bears to fourth-and-1 at the 3. The play was a shotgun snap to wildcat quarterback Kyle Monangai. The snap was too high and went through Monangai’s hands, with Monangai recovering at the 22 following a loss of 18.

Packers 0, Bears 0 (9:47 remaining)

The Packers benefitted from two 15-yard penalties, first on the opening kickoff and then when defensive tackle Austin Booker was flagged for roughing the passer when he drove Jordan Love to the turf on a third-and-1 incompletion. The Packers picked up another first down on Love’s 12-yard pass to Romeo Doubs on third-and-9. However, on fourth-and-1 from the 7, Love threw incomplete to Christian Watson, who didn’t have much separation against C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The view from the press box at Soldier Field for Packers-Bears.
The view from the press box at Soldier Field for Packers-Bears. | Biill Huber/Packers On SI

Two Major Lineup Notes

With right tackle Zach Tom inactive, it appears Jordan Morgan will start at right tackle. He got the first rep of warmups alongside right guard Anthony Belton. That means Darian Kinnard will retain his role as the extra tight end.

With Evan Williams inactive at safety, Javon Bullard got the first snaps at safety alongside Xavier McKinney. The Packers finished the Denver game with Zayne Anderson and McKinney as the safeties.

Packers-Bears Inactives

Big Shift in Betting Odds

The Packers opened as 2.5-point favorites, but that went to 1.5 after Micah Parsons’ knee injury. With kickoff approaching, the Bears are 1.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook. Green Bay’s injuries were a key factor in the change.

Savion Williams Returns

Pardon the pun under the subhead, but rookie receiver/returner Savion Williams is back after missing three games with a foot injury.

Thus, for the first time this season, Green Bay’s top six receivers are active.

Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on offense but he has produced as a kickoff returner.

“We thought he was making progress,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said this week. “He’s understanding the reads and where to go. They were starting to kick away from and, you saw really last week’s game, they were trying to kick away from Bo.

“We couldn’t get Bo in position to get the ball, and they were kicking away from him. So, hopefully, sooner or later, we get a chance to get them both back there at the same time and see who ends up with the ball. But he was certainly going in the right direction before he got banged up.”

Praise for Caleb Williams

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams gave the Packers some fits in the first matchup with his ability to get out of the pocket and make plays on the move.

Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon rarely praises any opposing player but he had nothing but good things to say about Williams. He also praised Packers backup Malik Willis for giving a good look at practice.

“We practice against those type of guys all the time in practice and we get a good scout-team looks,” Nixon said. “But you just got to plaster and you just got to win the down. Sometimes you just got to survive the down. That’s what it is. He going to run around. He going to do Houdini stuff. That’s why he was the first pick. That’s why he won the Heisman.

“Made hell of a throws on the run. So, we just got to play ball. You can’t stop sometimes. You can’t stop guys doing what they do. He did it his whole life. Lamar is the same way. Them guys is blessed and they do what they do at a high level just like we do. But they bleed just like we do and they got the same 24 hours and they not superhuman, they just like us. We’ll be ready to play ball.”

Speaking of Keisean Nixon

The Packers have had trouble keeping their emotions in check the past couple games, and they’ve paid the price with a few 15-yard penalties.

“You’ve got to control yourself,” coach Matt LaFleur said this week. “We had a costly penalty the last time we played these guys. We had a couple of them, but one that I feel like is within our control, and we’ve got to be disciplined. If guys see a guy like losing his mind, they’ve got to grab them.”

The one against the Bears was by Keisean Nixon. He knows he has to do better.

“I’m going to be chilling,” Nixon said. “I’m going to try to chill. It be me for real. I’m definitely the problem. They don’t really stress on the penalties for us. Sometimes it be bang-bang plays you can’t really control.

“The ones we can control, we’ve got to slow down on the personal fouls, especially me. I be tripping. I’m definitely locked in for this game. It’s a must-win game for us if we want to win the North. I haven’t won it since I’ve been; never won the division in my career. You don’t really get these opps too often so definitely want this one.”

Nixon is one of the team’s most emotional players. It’s part of what makes him a good player. But he knows he has to do a better job of straddling that fine line. But how?

“Just be a pro. Just got to have controlled aggression and don’t put yourself before the team,” he said. “It’s a team game, at the end of the day, so sometimes I put myself before the team and that’s the hard thing about being on an island and playing football. You deal with a lot at corner. Just got to hone in on the penalties and lock in, for real.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.