The Chicago Bears are no longer the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff structure. They have fallen to the No. 7 spot and they have fallen behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North after suffering a 28-21 defeat at Lambeau Field.
At a glance, the Bears played a very good opponent and lost the game and gave up their advantage. The schedule may not be favorable either. After their Week 15 home game against the Cleveland Browns, they have a return match at Soldier Field with the Packers, a road game against the San Francisco 49ers and they close the season with the Detroit Lions.
In past years, a tough closing schedule for the Bears would mean the team would fold up and fail to take advantage of their opportunity to earn a spot in the NFC playoffs. But this is a different Bears team and much of the credit belongs to first-year head coach Ben Johnson. He was hired by the Bears largely because of the creativity he had demonstrated while leading the Lions offense. However, he has imposed discipline on the team, helped develop second-year quarterback Caleb Williams and has imbued his players with confidence that has long been missing from the team that calls Soldier Field home.
Bears grow despite loss to the Packers
The Bears may have lost to the Packers, but the team did not give the game away. In the past, a key game against the Packers would mean that the game was lost before the kickoff. The Packers had simply owned the Bears since 1992. Green Bay had employed quarterbacks Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love, and the Bears could not compete with that trio.
But that was not the case in Week 14. The Packers had built a 14-3 lead at halftime and they had seemingly gained control. But the Bears made key adjustments at halftime, something that almost never happened under previous coaching regimes. Johnson used his play-calling ability to get the Packers off balance and the Bears employed running backs D'Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai to take it to an excellent defensive team.
The Bears came all the way back and tied the score at 21-21 when Williams threw a short touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland, and they silenced the crowd at Lambeau Field for a moment.
Cole Kmet, the Bears' other tight end, said there is a full-time belief in the Bears locker room this year that was missing in the past. “The resilience just keeps showing up,” Kmet said, per The Athletic. “I mean we come in at halftime and I don’t think anybody’s sweating a bit about it. Like, we know what we got to do. We regroup and we go out there and we go execute. And usually when we do that and we stay on pace, stay on rhythm and do our jobs, we usually like the result that we see.”
The Packers had an answer when Love drove the team 63 yards in 8 plays and Josh Jacobs pounded the ball into the end zone, but the Bears continued to fight in the final 3 minutes. They had a chance for a tying touchdown and a go-ahead 2-point conversion, but the Packers diagnosed a Williams lob pass into the end zone and Keisean Nixon intercepted to give the Packers the win.
But the Bears stayed with the Packers punch for punch and they are anxious to get another chance at them.
Bears could have the lead in the division by Week 16
The Packers have a half-game lead in the division, but that lead is tenuous. The Packers have to go to Denver to take on the Broncos, the No. 1 team in the AFC and the owners of a 10-game winning streak.
If the Bears can beat the Browns at home — they should dominate — and the Broncos keep their winning streak intact, the Bears will go in the rematch with a half-game lead of their own.
The Bears played the team that has intimidated them for years on even terms. They outplayed the Packers on their home field in the second half. They have confidence that they can take Green Bay's best shot and find a way to win.
That's what Johnson has done. He has given this team the permission it needs to believe in itself. They have three challenging games coming up after they host the Browns. The Bears will not be intimidated in any of them and they are a very dangerous team.
