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2025 marks DJ Moore’s first winning season of football since high school (2014).
Not only did the Chicago Bears just get one step closer to securing their first playoff birth since 2018, but they just pulled off one of the most unlikely victories in NFL history. Following their 22-16 win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, the Bears achieved the 5th most unlikely victory since 2016 according to Next Gen Stats. “The Chicago Bears’ win probability was as low as 0.5% before recovering an onside kick coming out of the two-minute warning.”
Nick Shook, an Around the NFL Writer, provided NFL research stating that, “NFL teams had lost 501 consecutive games prior to Saturday night’s Bears-Packers game when trailing by 10-plus points with under 2:00 remaining.”
Despite the team’s precarious spot in the fourth quarter, they never lost faith and relied on their toughness and belief. In the postgame press conference, Ben Johnson talked about the team’s mentality late in the contest, saying, “In a game like that, even though the odds were against us there that late, you know we are going to keep on swinging.”
Keep on swinging has been a motto for the Bears all season, as Saturday marked their sixth fourth-quarter comeback of the season. Caleb Williams is now tied with Peyton Manning for the most comebacks in a season by a player under 25 years old, according to NFL Plus.
The Bears Overcame Not Only The Odds But Their Biggest Rival
The Bears’ win over the Packers signifies much more than just an additional game on their record. Saturday was only the second time Chicago has defeated Green Bay in their last 13 matchups, according to The Football Database. The last time the team had won at home in Soldier Field was in 2018.
Regardless of the franchise’s deep history, let’s also not forget that Chicago lost to the Packers in Week 14 on December 7. That 28-21 loss came on a Caleb Williams’ game-ending interception by Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon.
Now two weeks later, both teams and both players are on the opposite side of the coin as Williams’ 46-yard game-winning touchdown throw to DJ Moore was against Nixon.
The Bears not only get revenge, but they prevent the sweep and get the upper hand in their race to the playoffs.
Chicago Gets One Step Closer To the Postseason
The stakes were massive coming into the game because if Chicago lost, they would have dropped from the second seed all the way down to the seventh seed. This would have put the team in a position where they would have had to fight for their playoff lives over the next two weeks with the 10-win San Francisco 49ers and the reigning division champion Detroit Lions.
But now, according to Pro Football Network, “the Bears currently have a 98.10% chance of making the playoffs and an 89% chance of winning the NFC North. Their odds of securing the NFC’s No. 1 seed sit at 20.20%.”
Following their signature win, the Bears have shown once again that they are a legitimate contender and a team fully in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy.
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