The Green Bay Packers have inflicted nothing short of psychological terror on the Chicago Bears over the last three-plus decades. Since the dawn of the Brett Favre era in 1992, the Packers have beaten the Bears in 78 percent of their matchups, and somehow it doesn’t even feel that close. The individual moments haunt Chicago’s collective conscience: there’s Robert Brooks’ 99-yard touchdown at Soldier Field in 1995 that broke my 8-year-old heart, Chris Conte blowing the coverage on Randall Cobb’s go-ahead score in 2013 that pushed the Bears out of the playoff picture, and Aaron Rodgers telling Soldier Field “I still own you” after a TD run in 2021. The trauma from the 2011 NFC Championship Game that put Green Bay into a Super Bowl it won still lives rent free inside my head as the most excruciating sporting event I’ve ever endured.
For once, Chicago was confident going into Packers Week as the two teams met again in Week 16. The Bears entered at 10-4, and were in the process of being revitalized under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. They played the Packers close two weeks ago, roaring back to life in the second half to get to the doorstep of victory before Caleb Williams threw a rare game-ending interception. The Bears had the look of a young team potentially ready to grow into a real contender, while Green Bay had to deal with the loss of their biggest game-wrecker after Micah Parsons tore his ACL a week earlier.
For first 58 minutes of the Week 16 matchup, Chicago’s pregame optimism looked downright delusional. The Packers put the Bears in a headlock once again, dominating the time of possession to take a late two-score lead even after star QB Jordan Love joined Parsons on the injured list in the second quarter. Malik Willis and a power running game were willing the Packers to victory, and a city was forced into a sobering acceptance that even a feel-good Bears season is still likely to be scarred by their cheese-wearing neighbors to the north.
Fast forward about 30 minutes of real time, and Chicago had the catharsis it desperately needed. The Bears beat the Packers, 22-16, in the most incredible comeback of a season full of them. Caleb Williams delivered a dagger straight into the heart of Green Bay with perhaps the greatest throw in the Bears’ 100+ year franchise history: a fadeaway dart that cut through a strong crosswind to sail 57 yards through the air and perfectly into the outstretched arms of D.J. Moore, who had maybe a half-step on a Green Bay defender. It literally isn’t possible for a Bears quarterback to have a better regular season moment:
For most of the night, the Bears were getting bullied by the Packers without Parsons and Love in a game that saw them get thoroughly out-played and out-coached. Somehow, it ended with Johnson launching into his signature “Good, Better, Best” locker room speech to a raucous audience, D.J. Moore was wearing a cheese grater hat, and Williams making the type of throw that validated his No. 1 overall draft status and “generational” hype.
A day later, Williams had the cheese grater hat and was still wearing it while giving back to the community in the city:
It took a miracle for the Bears’ win probability to go from 0.5 percent to the jubilation they felt after Moore tracked down the winning touchdown. The Packers had to go 0-for-5 on drives inside Chicago’s 10-yard-line, including a fumble forced by takeaway master Nashon Wright when Green Bay was near the goal line in the third quarter. It took Cairo Santos rushing to make a 43-yard field goal through the wind, the Bears recovering an onside kick that usually has a 90+ percent chance of failure, Williams finding Jahdae Walker at the back pylon for his second career catch to tie the game on 4th down, and Willis fumbling to end the Packers’ first possession of overtime. Somehow, the Bears won a game without making the Packers punt once, the first time they’ve done that since 1945.
It wasn’t the first walk-off bomb of Williams’ career. Seven years earlier, he was a high school sophomore at Gonzaga DC who hit a 55-yard Hail Mary to stun rival DeMatha in the state championship game. That was the start of Caleb’s legend, which made him a 5-star recruit that landed at Oklahoma before leaving for USC, and eventually winning the Heisman and being selected with the first pick in the draft. It took a wild set of circumstances for him to land in Chicago, and while it’s been a bumpy road at times to start his NFL career, the Bears have never had a QB cold enough to make that throw to beat Green Bay in that moment. When the pressure is on, Williams has consistently been at his best the all season. He’s taking the “Iceman” moniker given to him by rookie receiver Luther Burden and earning it almost every time out.
Williams has faced a ton of backlash since he entered the public eye as a college player. He was one of the first superstars of the NIL and transfer portal era, reportedly earning $10 million and a sweet downtown apartment in his dealing with USC. After winning the Heisman as a sophomore, Williams’ junior season didn’t feel quite as successful as the Trojans finished only 8-5. Williams was criticized for painting his nails, and crying in the stands with his mom after a loss. NFL scouts compared him to Prince like it was a bad thing.
The Bears never waived in their belief that Williams was their pick at No. 1, but his rookie year was marred by a thoroughly incompetent coaching staff led by Matt Eberflus. The QB who went behind him, Jayden Daniels, beat the Bears on a Hail Mary and looked like a future superstar right of the rip. Williams presided over a 10-game losing streak starting with the Commanders game, and Eberflus became the first head coach the team had ever fired in-season. The Bears somehow got the coaching search right when Ben Johnson, architect of the NFL’s most explosive offense in Detroit, picked Chicago this offseason mostly because he wanted to work with Williams.
Caleb’s second season has been a little rocky at times, but there have been major areas of growth from his rookie year. He’s cut way down on his sacks (from a league-high 68 as a rookie to 23 so far), he almost never throws an interception, and the Bears have been among the league-leaders in explosive plays on offense all year. Best of all, Williams keeps proving that he’s at his best in the clutch, leading comebacks against Las Vegas, Washington, Cincinnati, Minnesota, the New York Giants, and now the Packers despite trailing with two minutes to play. Williams is a gun slinger with an incredible ability to escape pressure, extend plays, and converted first downs with his legs. He might have the most powerful arm in the league this side of Josh Allen. His most freakish ability though might be his penchant for avoiding turnovers.
Maybe one day this throw will be remembered as the start of Bears’ new golden era. Johnson is only 39 years old and already looks like one of the NFL’s best head coaches. Williams is 24 years old, and should only keep getting better. With Rome Odunze (23 years old), Luther Burden (22 years old), and Colston Loveland (21 years old), the Bears have some serious weapons around their super talented QB with a genius playcaller leading the way. They all have multiple years left on their rookie contracts after this season, setting up the Bears for a three-year window where they can make a serious push in the NFC before they have to pay Caleb.
Of course, football nirvana rarely comes that easily. The Bears are currently 5th in the NFL in winning percentage, but they’re only No. 15 in point-differential, typically a better look at team quality. They’ve spent the entire season needing last-second wins to beat terrible teams who were usually playing their backup quarterback. Even skeptics started to believe when the Bears went on the road and beat the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles the day after Thanksgiving. This win will give even more juice to the idea that this year’s Bears may not be great, but it’s possible they’re developing into a “team of destiny” during a season without a true front-runner looming as the Super Bowl favorites.
Williams’ throw felt like an exorcism, but the Packers won’t be expelled that easily. If nothing else, the Bears finally feel like they can go toe-to-toe with Green Bay for the first time in ages, and now they have a signature moment of their own to fuel hopes of regaining control of the rivalry. A great Bears season that still finishes 0-2 against Green Bay still isn’t acceptable. With one flick of the wrist, Williams even the scales. At least for a moment, the next 10 years of Bears-Packers doesn’t feel as doomed as the last 30.
