I mean, wow. The Bears’ shocking 22-16 comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers will be a core memory for those who saw it, a story passed down from one generation to another. Bears fans are good like that.
There’s no way you’re reading this and haven’t seen the highlights or watched Saturday’s game live but pardon a quick recap. The Bears were dead-to-rights on Saturday, facing a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Then they rally to cut it within score, convert an onside kick with roughly two minutes left, throw a fourth-quarter touchdown to an undrafted free agent to tie it, turn the Packers over on downs in overtime and then walk it off with Caleb-to-DJ.
[MORE: Inside Bears’ Caleb Williams, DJ Moore touchdown play that beat Packers]
Got all that? Yeah. Me, neither, and I’ve rewatched it a thousand times. The late night and that insane finish pushed our Bears report card back another day, but we haven’t forgotten about it.
Let’s get to some game grades, shall we? And while there were plenty of highlights at the end, we won’t forget about the first three-and-a-half quarters when handing out marks.
Rushing offense
The Bears had 150 yards rushing and averaged 5.8 yards per carry. That sum included some quarterback runs and a gadget for DJ Moore to pump up the sum. The D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai efforts were still good, but the inability to sustain drives curtailed the ground game’s overall volume. The Bears didn’t have enough plays overall, and had just 26 rushes. By their lofty standards, this was a ho-hum effort up front.
Grade: B-minus
Passing offense
Caleb Williams and the Bears air attack was borderline awful for most of this game, right up until it mattered most. Then Chicago turned it on following a recovered onside kick. Williams came to life in the biggest moments, with expert-level throws to Jahdae Walker on fourth down to tie it late and that play to Moore you can just admit you’ve watched 100 times. This is a tricky one to grade. They were so bad for so long but flourished at the end. What’s valued more? Finishing strong.
Grade: B-plus
[READ: Bears 22, Packers 16: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL Week 16 OT win]
Rushing defense
Grady Jarrett had seven tackles on the day, with six of them resulting in a rushing failure. T.J. Edwards came up with a massive stop in a short-yardage situation. Those moments were huge. The overall run defense was, well, not great. The Bears gave up 192 yards on 44 carries, which allowed Green Bay to dominate possession and control most of this game. But Nahshon Wright forced a fumble on the Bears’ 2-yard line. Hard to argue with that. Again, tough call here, but we’ll look at the performance overall.
Grade: C-plus
Passing defense
The Bears let backup Green Bay quarterback Malik Willis make some nice plays despite a reputation as a so-so (that’s being kind) downfield passer. He and Jordan Love, who was concussed on a second-half sack by Austin Booker due to a helmet-to-helmet collision, had a combined 109.4 passer rating. Romeo Doubs made some huge plays, including a 33-yard touchdown pass. There were no takeaways, but the pass defense played a role in the Packers going 0-for-5 in the red zone.
Grade: C
Special teams
Cairo Santos got a game ball for his performance on Saturday night. It was well deserved. He made three critical field goals – the Bears don’t win without them – despite gusting and unpredictable winds. And he delivered a perfect onside kick that Josh Blackwell (he also got a game ball) recovered. And he delivered a perfect kickoff to start the overtime period. While Moore and Williams will be remembered for this game, Santos delivered a performance for the ages.
Grade: A-plus-plus-plus
[READ: How Bears tight end Colston Loveland earned Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams’ trust]
Coaching
It kind of seemed like Packers coach Matt LaFleur found a way to get the best of the Bears, even with a backup quarterback. And we can’t discount the botched trick play on 4th-and-1 early on when a simple run would’ve sufficed, but Ben Johnson delivered some excellent play designs to get the Bears back in it and then win it. And Dennis Allen got his defense to perform well in the red zone and take the ball away. Overall, though, those two have built a winning culture that allows the Bears to persevere in tough moments.
Grade: B
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