Week 11 was far too close for comfort. The Green Bay Packers had dominated the Chicago Bears in recent years, having won 10 in a row versus their bitter rival.
Then, with just seconds remaining, that streak was in danger. Green Bay had scored the go-ahead touchdown with three minutes to go, but Caleb Williams had the Bears offense driving.
On the final play of the game, the Bears would line up for what could have been a game-winning kick by Cairo Santos from 46 yards away. It wasn't a chip shot by any means, but it was certainly doable for the veteran kicker.
That's when Karl Brooks stepped up for the biggest moment of his young career, leaping to block Santos' kick and sealing the victory for the Packers.
After the game, head coach Matt LaFleur praised his special teams unit and coordinator, Rich Bisaccia, for the execution on that final play.
More Packers news
"I will say this, Rich (Bisaccia) said to our team last night, 'I will not understand if we come out of this game without a block, whether a field goal or a PAT,'" LaFleur told the media.
The prediction came from Green Bay's film study noticing some holes in the Bears' field goal protection along with seeing that Santos kicks with a low trajectory. Because Chicago's offense decided not to try to move the ball closer with plenty of time to do so, this made blocking the kick even more feasible.
Matt Eberflus is refusing to give the Packers any credit for the blocked field goal
On Monday, as the dust continued to settle, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus told media members that he would be sending the league film of that final play with a request for review, noting that the Packers were on the Bears' long snapper before they should have been.
League rules prohibit defensive players from making contact with the long snapper until a full second after the ball is snapped. Upon watching the replay, Eberflus might have something to stand on. However, it was close.
And, the fact that Eberflus is attempting to deflect blame for something he very well could have prevented from happening is downright hilarious.
Bears fans have been in an uproar over Eberflus' decision to run the clock down rather than running one or two more plays and trying to get the ball closer for a game-winning field goal attempt. Instead, the Bears watched the clock go from roughly 30 seconds down to three before they took a timeout.
An interesting tidbit about the Bears not moving the ball any closer? Cairo Santos is a perfect 70-for-70 on field goals less than 40 yards while in a Bears uniform.
Ouch, that has to hurt.