There may be no such thing as a “moral victory,” but Chicago’s loss against Green Bay is the closest thing to one.
Even though it was not the outcome Chicago was hoping for, there are plenty of reasons for the players, front office, and fans to be instilled with confidence after that game.
First Relevant Rivalry Matchup in Years
The Bears entered Week 14 of the NFL season on top of the NFC North at 9-3, and the Packers sat just half a game behind them at 8-3-1. Whoever came out on top that Sunday afternoon would gain control of first place in the division, setting up the most important game between the two teams since the last week of the 2013 season in another battle for the division.
Entering this rivalry game, Green Bay has simply owned Chicago, winning 16 of the last 18 matchups. Although the Packers have been a much more successful franchise than the Bears have been this past decade, there appears to be a mental block that Chicago cannot seem to move past when it comes to playing against the cheese heads.
This game, however, felt like a brand new opportunity to showcase that they’re not the same old Bears under Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson. After all, Caleb Williams led his team to a thrilling victory in Lambeau last season with an interim head coach. Why not do it again this year when it really matters?
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Coming Up Painfully Close
Unfortunately for Chicago, they started the game slow and found themselves trailing 14-3 by halftime. That proved to be too much of a deficit to overcome, ultimately losing 28-21 after a potential game-tying (or game-winning) drive ended in a red-zone interception.
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If that play looks familiar, it is the same one that resulted in a touchdown in their last game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Keisean Nixon likely recognized this and made a beautiful, game-sealing play on the ball.
“‘I think it was a winnable game,'” said star safety Jaylon Johnson after the game. Fellow safety Jaquan Brisker echoed this sentiment, saying “‘I feel like the first half we came out a little slow,'” and cornerback Kevin Byard III furthered, “I don’t think we played well enough in the first half.”
Another brutal aspect of losing this close game was the Bears’ overall playoff chances taking a hit. According to Yahoo Sports, a win would have given Chicago a 91% chance of making the playoffs, but this loss instead bumped them down to 70%. While those are still favorable odds, it made a Wild Card appearance much more likely, as the Bears dropped from the first seed in the NFC to the seventh.
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Apparent Change in Culture
Yes, that first half was reminiscent of Bears teams from the past that looked sluggish and stagnant. But whatever Ben Johnson said in his halftime speech must have worked, because he got his team to play inspired football.
Truthfully, it looked like they had Green Bay on the ropes that second half. They consistently wore the Packers down and managed to tie the game at 21 halfway through the fourth quarter.
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“It wasn’t our best first half of football, but I thought we responded really well coming back,” said tight end Cole Kmet following the loss. “The resilience just keeps showing up… I’ve seen teams that I’ve been part of here fold at halftime like that when things aren’t going so well.”
That is the difference Johnson brings to this football team: persistence. If it was not evident in the five separate game-winning drives in the final two minutes of a game so far this season, it should be now. Entering the second half, in their rival’s stadium with freezing cold temperatures, and possessing none of the momentum, it was the Bears that won the second half.
Even Caleb Williams is not worried. Despite throwing that interception at the end of the game, he summed it up perfectly with a quote by a Chicago sports legend:
After facing the Browns this Sunday, the Bears get another shot at the Packers the following week on Sunday Night Football. Ben Johnson will, as always, have his team ready to play — even against a 3–10 Browns team.
But when it is time for Green Bay to come to Soldier Field in another pivotal matchup, best believe that Chicago will come out ready to exorcise their demons.
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