Cairo Santos drilled a 51-yard field goal on the final play of the season finale as the Chicago Bears broke a 10-game losing streak by edging the host Green Bay Packers 24-22 on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears’ win also snapped the longest active winning streak by a team over one opponent. Chicago had lost 11 in a row to Green Bay.
Caleb Williams moved the Bears (5-12) 47 yards to set up Santos’ heroics after Brandon McManus’ third field goal, a 55-yarder, had given Green Bay (11-6) a 22-21 lead with 54 seconds remaining.
Williams went 21 of 29 for 148 yards and a touchdown to DJ Moore, who caught nine passes for 86 yards — including an 18-yarder in the final 15 seconds before the game-winner.
Though they finished with a fourth straight losing record, the Bears won to prevent a team-record 11th consecutive loss in a single season and were victorious for the first time on the road (1-7).
Packers quarterback Jordan Love went 7 for 12 for 69 yards but left in the Packers’ fifth series with a right elbow injury and did not return.
Three plays earlier, Green Bay lost wide receiver Christian Watson, who was carted off the field with a right knee injury.
Malik Willis relieved Love and was 10 of 13 for 136 yards as Green Bay ended the season with consecutive losses.
Pro Bowler Josh Jacobs notched his eighth straight game with a rushing score, breaking Paul Hornung’s team record of seven set in 1960.
On a harmless punt seemingly headed inside the Chicago 10, returner Moore moved way to his left as if fielding the ball near that boundary. Yet the ball actually went far to the right and away from the coverage team, and Josh Blackwell caught it and dashed untouched 94 yards at 6:34.
Love helped the Packers answer by taking them 52 yards. McManus connected on a 37-yard field goal at 2:24.
Cornerback Jonathan Owens’ fumble recovery set up Chicago’s next score, a 4-yard run by D’Andre Swift for a 14-3 lead with 14:17 before halftime.
Jacobs’ record-setting run from 9 yards made it 14-10 at 11:12, and McManus made it 14-13 at the half with a 30-yard kick.
In the fourth, Williams found Moore for a 32-yard catch-and-run with 10:02 remaining for a 21-13 Chicago lead, but Green Bay’s Emanuel Wilson rambled 21 yards at 4:28 in response. Willis’ two-point pass was knocked down.
–Field Level Media
