On the verge of Matt LaFleur pulling off arguably the greatest win of his head coaching career, it quickly became his toughest loss. The Green Bay Packers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, a loss with a seismic impact on the NFC standings.
No Micah Parsons. No Jordan Love. No Josh Jacobs for much of the game. It almost didn't matter. The Packers, led brilliantly by Malik Willis, had the Bears down for the count. But a nightmare moment from Romeo Doubs, who fumbled the onside kick recovery, sent the Packers spiraling into disaster.
The Bears' overtime win puts them in a commanding position in the NFC North with a 1.5-game lead over the Packers. It's not over yet, as the Bears face the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions to close out the season, but it means the Packers will need to win out to have a chance at the division. And they may need to do it without Love, who is in the concussion protocol.
Updated NFC playoff picture after Packers' heartbreaking loss to Bears
Here are the updated NFC standings following the game:
- Seattle Seahawks (12-3)
- Chicago Bears (11-4)
- Philadelphia Eagles (10-5)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (11-4)
- Green Bay Packers (9-5-1)
- Detroit Lions (8-6)
- Carolina Panthers (7-7)
The Packers will need a perfect finish to the season, and the Bears must lose out to win the NFC North. For now, they just need to find a way to respond. They still have a good shot at a playoff berth — The Athletic's simulator has the Packers with an 82 percent chance — but back-to-back losses leave them reeling.
Somehow, they must bounce back from the agony of this defeat. It will sting for a long time.
The Packers effectively fielded a preseason lineup in overtime. No Love. Or Jacobs. Or Tom. Or Doubs. On the other side, they spent 58 minutes shutting down the Bears without Parsons.
But in the end, they taste defeat in a game reminiscent to the 2014 NFC Championship Game. And with that, the NFC North title may have gone.