Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 18): Packers 17, Bears 9 – Bears Fall Flat in Finale

The Bears ended the season with a disappointing performance against the rival Packers. They had a chance to end Green Bay’s season with a win at Lambeau Field, instead, they produced a flat performance that raised even more questions going into a very consequential off-season.

Justin Fields drove Chicago into Packers territory to begin the game and eventually set up a 50-yard field goal by Cairo Santos. Jordan Love responded in a big way, engineering a 92-yard march that running back Aaron Jones paid off with the go-ahead touchdown.

A fourth down conversion by the Bears set up a 39-yard Santos field goal and Green Bay squandered a chance for three points before the half and it was 7-6 at the break. The Packers came out to start the third quarter and drove the ball down the field again quickly getting into the red zone.

Love wasted no time hitting Dontayvion Wicks for a 12-yard touchdown and the home team was up 14-6. Chicago got their only turnover of the game recovering a fumble from the Packers quarterback late in the third quarter.

The Bears were able to get the ball inside the 20 yard line but stalled out again and had to settle for yet another field goal. That was as close as they would get, however, with Green Bay answering with their own FG and then a six-minute drive to run out the clock and seal a 17-9 victory. (Box score)

Why the Bears Lost

They could do almost nothing offense producing just nine points against a Packers defense that had been struggling in the second half of the season.

Key Moment

Justin Fields took a big hit on a slide in the second half and had to come out of the game for a bit and derailed a promising Bears possession.

Stats That Matter

• Fields just didn’t do much on Sunday throwing just 16 times total for 148 yards and only running for 28.
• The Bears rushed for a total of 75 yards as a team, just not enough if the passing game was going to be so limited.
• Green Bay has now beaten Chicago 11 consecutive times.

Bottom Line

This was a real opportunity to make a statement going into 2024, especially for the quarterback who is hoping to stay next year. What they did was nowhere close to that and demonstrated a complete lack of belief in Fields from the coaching staff who went an entire quarter without calling a pass. It seems pretty clear that something is going to have to change for next season. Whether it will be the quarterback or the coaching staff is still an open question but something is going to have to be different.

Next Up

The Bears are officially on the clock with the number one pick in the 2024 NFL draft.