In this win the defense did the same, holding on as the Bears tried to grind the Packers down. Chicago ran 32 times for 138 yards – 90 of them in the second half – as the Bears averaged 4.3 yards per carry despite not having a single 10-yard rush all game.
That ball-control style helped protect QB Caleb Williams as they put together three straight scoring drives after managing just three points in the first half.
“They kind of controlled the game in the second half,” Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. “But luckily, when they scored, we were able to answer a couple of times.”
The offense’s last response gave the defense a final chance to hold strong, with Keisean Nixon’s interception finally cooling off Chicago’s attack.
But the Bears certainly learned how they can beat the Packers, and they won’t forget how close they came when these teams meet again in 13 days.
That, on top of the fact that the Packers travel to face 11-win Denver next week while the Bears host the three-win Browns, won’t allow any celebrating to last beyond Sunday night.
“Yeah, it is what it is,” LaFleur said of what lies ahead. “You’ve just got to move onto the next game. We’ve got a great test in front of us going to Denver.
“I don’t think you can focus on anything other than that.”
The Packers can ill afford to ignore that advice, because the margins are simply too thin. The current half-game lead over the Bears in the NFC North is as precarious as it gets, and nobody’s won anything yet.
Yes, first place in early December with a 4-0 division record feels pretty good, but it must be another building block in the season’s long climb, not the peak.
“It’s all about finishing,” Love said. “We’re here, we’ve been here before, but we’ve got to finish it.
“So, it doesn’t really mean anything right now but tonight was a huge win, going in the right direction going forward. We’ve still got a couple more weeks here, so we’ve got to keep stacking.”
