Well, well, well, it happened again. The Chicago Bears have once again lost to the Green Bay Packers in a tight contest at Lambeau Field, 28-21. The loss snaps Chicago’s five-game winning streak as they not only lose the division lead to Green Bay, but also fall from the No.1 seed to the No. 7 seed.
This was the 211th meeting between these two bitter rivals, on a familiar, cold afternoon in the frozen tundra. This was also the first time in many years that this game had massive playoff implications on both sides, and they needed to bring their A game to win. “This is what football’s all about,” head coach Ben Johnson said after the game. It’s hard to disagree with him. Meaningful, frigid, gritty December football is something special.
A Chicago Bears fan and a Green Bay Packers fan listen to the National Anthem on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin (William Glasheen / USA Today Network-Wisconsin).
Unfortunately, the Bears’ A-game seemed to be stuck in traffic, as despite an early interception by C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the offense looked out of sorts, and the contest was scoreless after the first quarter.
The Packers finally broke through the dam in the second, with quarterback Jordan Love firing a strike to receiver Christian Watson for the game’s first points.
The Bears trudged down the field in response and, with the help of a few penalties, cut the deficit to four on a field goal from kicker Cairo Santos.
Green Bay once again showed off its big guns on the next drive as Love launched a missile caught by receiver Bo Melton in the endzone to make the score 14-3 at the halftime break.
To say that Chicago had a slow start to the game would be an understatement. Despite multiple key starters such as linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerback Jaylon Johnson being back to full speed on defense, the unit looked no better than it had in previous weeks. Still getting very little pressure and giving up too many points.
The offensive side of the ball was even worse, however. To give you a quick snapshot, quarterback Caleb Williams started this game 1/7 for just 3 yards. That’s not a typo. Whether it was missed passes, drops, or the offensive line giving up pressure, it felt like the Bears couldn’t do anything right.
In the second half, though, the offense finally showed up as a healthy mix of ground-and-pound and aerial assault led to Chicago’s first touchdown as Williams zipped a pass to receiver Olamide Zaccheus that was so close to being intercepted. The offensive line powered running back Kyle Monangai in for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game.
Green Bay came right back with Watson scoring his second touchdown on a short pass that turned into a long run, extending the lead back to ten.
Chicago kicked another field goal to stay in the game, and the defense forced another punt, allowing the offense an opportunity to tie the game.
After seventeen plays, eight minutes, and thirty-two seconds, the Bears did tie the game on a Williams floater to tight end Colston Loveland. After a rough first half, they made it a new ballgame with eight minutes to play.
Chicago Bears tight ends Colston Loveland (84) and Cole Kmet (85) celebrate a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin (Jeff Hanisch / Imagn-Images).
The Packers struck back with a strong drive of their own, but faced a 3rd and 2 at the Bears’ 28-yard line. Love pitched it to running back Josh Jacobs, who had four defenders closing in on him, ready to make the tackle-for-loss.
Perhaps they weren’t ready enough, though, as Jacobs squeezed through and turned a loss into a 21-yard gain. He would go on to rumble as he had all game into the endzone to give Green Bay a 28-21 lead with 3:32 to go.
Like many of Chicago’s previous matchups, this one was coming down to the wire, and they had the ball with a chance to tie the game again. Williams lasered some nice passes that got his offense into Green Bay’s red zone, but they had slowed down once again.
4th and 1. 27 seconds left. This is the game. Every fan in the stadium and watching at home is on the edge of their seat, biting their nails if they can still feel them in the cold.
After a couple of timeouts to get the heart rate going, Williams finally took the snap. He faked the handoff and rolled to his left, Packers swarming to him and his receivers.
Finally, he floats the ball into the endzone toward tight end Cole Kmet, just like he did against the Eagles last Friday. But this play wouldn’t have the same outcome as the one last Friday.
This throw was too soft, too late, and intercepted by Green Bay defensive back Keisean Nixon, sealing the game.
The Packers beat the Bears for the twelfth time in thirteen matchups, historic dominance over their rival, and assert themselves as the class of the NFC North… for now.
Fans were quick to point out many other things Williams could’ve done besides throw a game-losing interception, such as running for the first down himself or throwing to receiver D.J. Moore, who appeared to be coming open.
Whatever the smartest path was for Williams to take on that play doesn’t matter now. He had a receiver wide open in the endzone, but he committed a cardinal sin for any NFL quarterback.
He hesitated. He waited one second too long to throw it, and in this league, one second is the difference between winning and losing, and potentially even between playoffs and no playoffs.
After the loss, Chicago will look to bounce back at home next week against the 3-10 Cleveland Browns, who just lost at home to the worst team in the league. While Myles Garrett and his pursuit of the sack record are scary, this is a game Chicago better win. This is their only game against a team with a losing record left, and quite frankly, if you can’t beat the Browns when it matters most, you don’t deserve a playoff spot.
