Caleb Williams was sacked on the first two plays of the Bears’ subsequent possession. But Williams followed by completing passes of 16 yards to Rome Odunze on third-and-19 and 21 yards to Odunze on fourth-and-3. Williams then connected with Keenan Allen for 12 yards to the Packers’ 30.
“I thought Caleb played really well,” said coach Matt Eberflus. “He played winning football. The drive that he had there and the completions he made to put us in field-goal range I thought were outstanding, the two plays to Rome and then also the play to Keenan. That’s real football there against a division rival and he did a really nice job putting us in position there.”
After Roschon Johnson‘s 2-yard run, the Bears sent Santos onto the field to attempt the potential game-winning field goal with :03 on the clock. The kick was blocked by defensive lineman Karl Brooks up the middle.
“We felt good in terms of where the kick line was,” Eberflus said. “The wind was not a factor today. And Cairo’s made a bunch of those kicks inside of that range. We feel confident in Cairo and confident in our operation there.”
In Thomas Brown’s first game as coordinator, a revitalized offense scored on four of its first five possessions. The unit compiled 391 total yards and 23 first downs and converted a season-high 56.2% of their third-down plays (9 of 16).
Williams completed 23 of 31 passes for 231 yards and a 95.0 passer rating and rushed for 70 yards on nine carries. D’Andre Swift ran for 71 yards on 14 attempts. Odunze caught six passes for 65 yards and DJ Moore had seven receptions for 62 yards.
“Was really pleased how the operation of that week went in terms of the collaboration with the offensive staff and the players, and I think that showed today,” Eberflus said. “Communication during the game was great. Guys were finding answers to move the ball and they did a nice job of that. I thought Thomas Brown did a wonderful job of bringing that collaboration together.”
For the Packers, Love connected on 13 of 17 passes for 261 yards with one TD, one interception and a 113.0 passer rating. Watson caught four passes for 150 yards.
The Bears rallied from deficits of 7-0 and 14-13, taking leads of 10-7 on Johnson’s 1-yard TD run with :07 left in the first half and 19-14 on Swift’s 39-yard TD scamper with :31 remaining in the third quarter.
The Packers took a 7-0 lead on Love’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed, capping an…
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