Bears lose 20-19 -- their 11th straight loss to Packers -- on a final-play blocked field goal
Published in Football
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears’ losing streak against the Green Bay Packers hit 11 games Sunday at Soldier Field when Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field-goal attempt was blocked as time expired.
Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks leaped with his hand raised and was credited with the block that secured the Packers’ 20-19 victory.
The Packers went ahead with 3 minutes, 2 seconds to play on quarterback Jordan Love’s 1-yard touchdown run.
With the Bears leading 19-14, Love hit Christian Watson for a 60-yard pass with 3:12 to play. Watson caught the ball near the Packers 45-yard line as he was tumbling to the ground. Because he was untouched, he bounced up for an extra 40 yards to get to the Bears 14.
Love rushed 13 yards to the 1 and then scored on the next play. The Packers’ 2-point conversion run failed.
The Bears kept the game closer than perhaps expected given the recent drama at Halas Hall, in which coach Matt Eberflus fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday and promoted passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. And the change appeared to provide a spark for the offense, which scored a touchdown in the second quarter to break a streak of 25 possessions and nine quarters without getting in the end zone.
But in the end, the Packers ensured the Bears’ most recent win in the rivalry remains in 2018. Bears coach Matt Eberflus hasn’t beaten the Packers in his three-year tenure.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, playing in his first game in the rivalry, had a chance to lead a winning drive. After getting sacked on first and second down, Williams hit Rome Odunze for passes of 16 and 21 yards and Keenan Allen for 12 yards to get to the Packers 30-yard line.
Roschon Johnson gained 2 yards on the next play, and the Bears let the clock wind down to set up Santos, who had made two earlier field goals.
Williams completed 23-of-31 passes for 231 yards and rushed for 70 yards.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift, who had only 13 rushing yards in the first half, broke free for a 39-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Williams’ 2-point conversion pass to Cole Kmet was incomplete, and the Bears took a 19-14 lead.
The Bears defense came up with a huge stop after Love hit Watson for a 48-yard pass to the 8-yard line. Josh Jacobs was stopped for a 1-yard loss and a 4-yard gain, and DeMarcus Walker pushed Love out of bounds for a 1-yard sack.
Love then tried to scramble on fourth-and-goal from the 6 but gained only 5 yards.
After taking a 10-7 halftime lead, the Bears increased it on the opening drive of the third quarter with Santos’ 27-yard field goal.
The Packers responded quickly with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Jacobs’ 7-yard touchdown run to go up 14-13.
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