CHICAGO – Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers made just enough plays to squeeze out yet another win over the Chicago Bears.
This time, it took a late touchdown and a blocked field goal.
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Love ran for a go-ahead score in the closing minutes, and Green Bay hung on to beat Chicago 20-19 on Sunday when Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos' kick from 46 yards as time expired.
Christian Watson set a career high with 150 yards on just four catches, including a 60-yarder that set up Love's touchdown run, and the Packers (7-3) avoided falling further behind Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North. They also beat the last-place Bears (4-6) for the 11th straight time, the longest streak by either team in the storied rivalry.
“We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game, four-quarter battle," Love said. “And I’m proud of the guys. Nobody batted an eye, nobody flinched. It wasn’t by any means our perfect game or our best game.”
Love put Green Bay on top 20-19 when he scored from the 1 with 2:59 left. That touchdown was set up by the long completion to Watson, who got up after making a lunging catch and ran all the way to the 14. Chicago's Jaylon Johnson tripped when he got his feet tangled up with Watson trying to defend the pass.
Love got stopped just short of the end zone on a 13-yard run before scoring on the next play. The 2-point conversion failed.
“Phenomenal play, phenomenal catch by Christian, and then just obviously the awareness to get up not being touched and to go put together a huge run. I think Christian made some big-time plays in the game, had a couple big-time catches and I’m proud of the way he balled out,” Love said.
Green Bay sacked Caleb Williams on the first two plays of the next possession. But facing third-and-19, Williams regrouped. The No. 1 draft pick hit fellow rookie Rome Odunze with passes on back-to-back plays to put the ball in Packers territory.
The Bears drove all the way to the 28, only to end a chaotic week with their fourth straight loss when Brooks got through the center of the line and reached up with his left hand to block Santos' kick.
“I kinda knew, like, I'm gonna block this,” Brooks said. “I said that to myself. I heard the call. I saw Lukas (Van Ness) was next to me and I told him, ‘Hey, just do this, this for me.’ He did it and I got a hand on it.”
The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday and replaced him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, hoping to spark a unit that ranks among the worst in the NFL.
Love completed 13 of 17 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. He also threw his league-leading 11th interception, matching his total from last year.
Josh Jacobs ran for 76 yards and a score for the Packers. Brenton Cox, active for the first time this season, had a sack, as did Rashan Gary and T.J. Slaton, helping Green Bay beat Chicago for the 26th time in 29 games.
Williams threw for 231 yards and ran for 70 after regressing in the previous three games.
Chicago's D’Andre Swift had 14 carries for 71 yards. His 39-yard score near the end of the third quarter gave the Bears a 19-14 lead.
"There were a lot of positives to build from," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “That's what you have to do. The last three weeks the offense hadn’t played well. We hadn’t played good complementary ball on defense. We hadn’t done a lot of things together the last three weeks but today, today we played complementary football.”
The Packers were in position to add to a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. But Love, who's been intercepted at least once in every game, overthrew Tucker Kraft under pressure on third down at the 15 and Terrell Smith picked it off at the 1.
The Bears then scored their first touchdown since the final minute of a loss at Washington in Week 8. Roschon Johnson powered in from the 1 in the closing seconds of the half to cap a 13-play drive. The offense had gone 25 possessions without reaching the end zone.
Injuries
Packers: CB Jaire Alexander, who's been dealing with a knee issue, sat out the second half. ... The Packers placed rookie G Jordan Morgan (shoulder) on injured reserve on Saturday. The first-round pick was splitting time with Sean Rhyan at right guard, with Rhyan getting the majority of snaps.
Bears: LG Ryan Bates (concussion) left the game in the first quarter.
Up Next
Packers: Host San Francisco next Sunday.
Bears: Host Minnesota next Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL