What began as a gritty, old-school NFC North slugfest took a sharp turn Saturday night when Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love was forced out of the game with a concussion, leaving the Packers scrambling and the Bears with an opening they fully seized.
The Hit That Changed Everything
Love’s night came to an abrupt halt in the second quarter after he took a hard, helmet-to-helmet shot from Bears defensive lineman Austin Booker on a sack.
The contact drew an immediate roughing-the-passer penalty, but the damage had already been done.
Love looked visibly shaken as he gathered himself, jogged off the field, and headed into the blue medical tent on Green Bay’s sideline before walking back to the locker room.
No Answers Yet for Green Bay
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur offered little clarity on Love’s condition, saying he had no update shortly after the final whistle.
The timing is far from ideal, with a tough matchup against the Baltimore Ravens looming next Saturday and questions now swirling around Green Bay’s quarterback situation.
Malik Willis Takes the Controls
With Love sidelined, backup Malik Willis was thrust into action.
At halftime, the Packers clung to a 6-0 lead, thanks largely to their defense.
Before leaving the game, Love had completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards and added seven more yards on two scrambles — efficient, if unspectacular, in a game that felt destined to be decided by inches.
Bears Refuse to Go Quiet
Chicago, though, never looked rattled.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams delivered the defining moment of the night in overtime, uncorking a 46-yard touchdown strike to DJ Moore to seal a stunning 22-16 comeback win.
The Bears had trailed by 10 points late in the fourth quarter, yet somehow found a way — again.
A Rivalry That Got Personal
Bears-Packers games rarely lack edge, but this one bordered on combustible.
Early on, DJ Moore took a blindside hit from a Packers defensive back that briefly knocked him out of the game.
Moore later returned, making his overtime heroics all the more dramatic and adding another chapter to a rivalry that never seems short on controversy.
Chicago’s Season of Late Drama Continues
This marked Chicago’s sixth victory this season when trailing in the final two minutes, and easily the most improbable.
At one point, Green Bay’s win probability sat at a staggering 99 percent. The Bears didn’t care.
With the win, Chicago improved to 11-4 and stretched its NFC North lead to a game and a half over the Packers, now 9-5-1, with just two games remaining.
The Bigger Picture Moving Forward
For Chicago, the win was sweet revenge after a loss at Lambeau Field two weeks ago and another reminder of this team’s resilience.
For Green Bay, it was a painful reminder of how quickly a season can wobble when a quarterback goes down.
As the dust settles, both teams leave Saturday night with very different emotions — and plenty to think about heading into the final stretch.
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