WALK-OFF WINNER: Takeaways from the Chicago Bears' season finale vs. the Green Bay Packers
The Chicago Bears wanted to make sure they pulled out all the stops in the season finale.
A trick-punt play, some big-play screen passes and used big defensive plays to pull ahead of the Green Bay Packers. The Bears even led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter and 14-13 at halftime.
DJ Moore's 32-yard touchdown on a screen pass put the Bears up 21-13 in the fourth quarter.
But, there still needed to be drama.
Here are our takeaways from the Bears' season finale against the Packers.
The Bears got one over Green Bay
No one will remember this game.
No one will remember how the Bears were 4-12 and fans were basically begging for a win.
Only the history books will remember this. The Bears' 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers is:
- The Bears' first win over the Pack since 2018.
- The Bears' first win at Lambeau since Thanksgiving 2015
- The Bears' first NFC North win this season.
- The Bears' first win since October 13.
Those streaks are over. The Bears are riding into the offseason with some positivity.
Caleb Williams is the first Bears' quarterback to beat the Packers since Mitchell Trubisky. Interim head coach Thomas Brown beat the Packers, something Matt Eberflus couldn't do in his two and half years.
In a way only this 2024 Bears season could end, the Bears lost on a turnover that turned into a go-ahead field goal. The Bears were about to run out the clock and force Green Bay to use their timeouts when Gerald Everett was called for a hold. On the next play, DJ Moore fumbled the ball to the Packers at the Bears' 46-yard line.
Brandon McManus hit the go-ahead field goal and the Bears got in range for their game-winner.
Cairo Santos. 51 Yards. Good. Game. 24-22.
It was the only way this season could end.
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Richard Hightower will have a job somewhere
The Bears' coaching staff will have a massive overhaul, and it's unsure who will be gone and who might stick.
Whatever happens with Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, it's hard to believe he won't be employed come the 2025 NFL season.
Hightower called a genius play where DJ Moore went back on punt return, and the entire Packers coverage team gravitated toward Moore. But, Moore didn't field the punt.
Josh Blackwell took the punt and scurried 94 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a lead. It was a play some Bears fans might remember. Then-special teams coordinator Dave Toub called the play in 2011 against Green Bay. It went for a touchdown but was called back on a holding call.
The job he's done with the Bears' special teams unit has been notable. Everyone remembers the blocked field goal against the Packers earlier this season but that shouldn't overshadow Hightower's work with Blackwell, kick returner Deandre Carter and rookie punter Tory Taylor. His punting units also got two blocked punts this season – one from Daniel Hardy and the other from Dominique Robinson – the first blocked punt in Week 1 went for a touchdown.
Hightower has shown he can coach special teams at a high level and could be a coach the Bears would like to retain, no matter who takes over the head coaching job in Chicago.
The Bears season is over
The final game of the regular season has come to an end. The Bears finished 5-12.
What's next is a difficult question to answer.
Short-term, the Bears will clean out their lockers next week. They'll get their stuff, leave Halas Hall and depart for the offseason.
Long-term, the Bears will embark on a head coaching search. It shouldn't be simple. It should be all-encompassing. It should center around Caleb Williams.
Whatever comes next, it comes on the heels of a disappointing season. We don't have to remind everyone of how much promise the Bears built in 2024. That materialized in a 4-2 record, but then quickly faded with a 10-game losing streak.
It's up to the Bears' front office to piece together a team that can deliver now that it has a core of talented players and a quarterback to build around.