← Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast
POSTGAME: Caleb Williams leads the Chicago Bears to a comeback VICTORY against the Packers
00:52:32
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- [00:01]
Matt Abeticola
I mean, if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking forward progress. Come on. Forward progress. A chicago bears podcast with dan bernstein and matt abeticola on 312 sports.
- [00:25]
Dan Bernstein
We spent a lot of time this week discussing Bears and Packers and the history of the rivalry, the history, these games, this matchup. Caleb Williams just added his name into. However long that the, the annals reach back and however long we live to see more games piled on top of this, that's going to be one to remember. That is one to remember. A game that the Bears had no business winning until they won it. And for most of the game, they were outplayed, they were out coached and they were outclassed. And when it mattered, there were enough people on that field that simply refused to let it happen. Absolutely incredible. 22 to 16. Amazing.
- [01:15]
Matt Abeticola
I just, I can't believe what I, what I just watched right now with that game. And you know, they were out coached, they were outplayed, but their strategy in this game was to the whole bend, don't break and don't give up big plays. Now they had the one play where Dobbs gets played behind CJ gj But that was the, that was the whole plan. And you know, it, it worked. When it came down to it, it worked. They didn't give up the big plays. Now it certainly helped. What, I mean, what, what they helped.
- [01:42]
Dan Bernstein
It worked against, it worked against a backup quarterback and a backup running back.
- [01:46]
Matt Abeticola
And yeah, you know what, you can say, you can say that all you want, but if, if, if Caleb William gets hurt in the first quarter, it doesn't matter. Like that's how the game happens. That's how the game happens. And the Bears came in, they were over amped. They had some stupid penalties. I mean they had four penalties for 60 yards in those, personal foul in those 15 yard penalties. That first one by, by Demarco Jackson was just, that's, you know, not necessary. But I mean there's, there's a lot to get into with this game. But I'm, I'm not going to, not going to be upset about the things that, that were upsetting. The Bears came back and won a game they should not have won. It was unbelievable. And, and DJ Moore to be the guy to make that catch. Jade Walker ties the game with his first ever undrafted rookie wide receiver. His first ever touchdown in the NFL comes in this game at that moment. Unbelievable.
- [02:38]
Dan Bernstein
There's so many people who contributed to this win, but I would also really like to single out Josh Blackwell. This is for somebody who Already won them the Raiders game with that blocked kick at the end to come up with the recovery of the onside kick. This, I don't know what you ask of a Pro bowl special teamer who isn't a return man. I know they, they do like to have a slot for just a. Somebody who does a little bit of everything on special teams. This is now two games where he has put. He's had signature plays to help them win a game just with basic special teams play. And we didn't hear Montez Sweat's name called until the very end.
- [03:22]
Matt Abeticola
Until it was absolutely needed.
- [03:25]
Dan Bernstein
Until it was absolutely needed. And here's why I want to bring this up. Montez Sweat gets that sack with 17 seconds left where he hits Malik Willis in a way, just sort of spun him around and landed him funny. I kept thinking on that fumbled snap that maybe the Montez Sweat sack still had him hurting because something was wrong with him. Something was wrong with Willis. They asked Willis to go over and throw on the sideline. And I would like to know after the fact if something in that center to quarterback exchange had to do or was compromised by the fact that he had been hurt on the sack by Montez Sweat. We're not going to know. But just trying to unpack this now. In the immediate aftermath of this, I was all ready to come on here and say out, coached, outplayed, outclassed the defensive line, did absolutely nothing. But when, when Caleb Williams is deciding that he's not going to let his team lose, we can talk about his numbers all day and we can, we can break this down. But this clearly is, is a, is a pretty special young man who happens to be quarterbacking the Bears right now. There really isn't, it's not measured by numbers. It's just not. We can look at his, some of the inaccuracies, some of the poor decisions. He's. There's a, there is. There was a comp earlier and there have been all kinds of comps and he seems to defy some of these comps. But there is, there is really kind of an old school throwback quarterback sensibility about this guy. There have been comps to Tarkenton and to Elway already where sometimes you, you just know you got a winner when you have one. And this kid's a winner when it.
- [05:10]
Matt Abeticola
Comes down to it. He's going to make the plays that you need to win games. It's their sixth come from behind victory in less than, you know, in the final two minutes this season. That's the most in NFL history. And again, it goes to him. And I've said this about him time and time again. His greatest attribute is the fact he. That he plays one play at a time. And when that play ends, it's over. He's on to the next play. It's something you can't teach. It's something you need in these kind of high pressure moments. I will say this. When Montez Sweatt brought down Malik Williams, Malik Willis, he's walking off the field. He takes his left hand and goes to his right shoulder. And they showed this on Fox. So he's clearly looking at his shoulder. That snap, though, was not on anything to do with the injury or a shoulder or even the quarterback. That was the center. He got. He got. He got the snap short. And it was a play where he's handing. He's exchanging the ball and moving forward immediately. He was too quick. He was too anxious in his movement forward.
- [06:03]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, I'll take your word.
- [06:05]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, it hit his backside. Yeah. And that was really. It was really on the center there. That's not on Willis at all. It couldn't have come at a better time. It was un. Because I. I'm telling you, going in the overtime, Dan, I'm screaming at the tv, it's Malik Willis. Can we please do something? It's Malik Willis. For the love of God. It's not Jordan. Love.
- [06:26]
Dan Bernstein
I want to credit DJ Moore, too, because he took a cheap shot early in this game. He took a cheap shot from Keyshawn Nixon and it was kind of laughed off. Mattie, I know this is something you want to get into, and this is just after. Just yesterday, in fact, seems like forever ago. We were talking about the hit that Kenny Stills put on Matzui. Add that one. You can add that. That Keyshawn Nixon hit right in the lower back of DJ Moore. That he was. And he was messing around with it all game. And it looked like he had. He was hurting all game. Then as they're down 16 to 6, 2nd and 10. There was that drop by DJ Moore was incomplete. Tom Brady said. He. He said, I don't even think DJ Moore was expecting to get that ball. It hit him in both hands. He dropped it. And it was a lazy route, too. And I was getting all ready to. To come out with both barrels on DJ Moore. And I'll be damned if this guy didn't make these plays. And especially when you still got Zacchaeus out there and you still have him because you've got no other choice. The moment they can replace that guy, please do so because I don't trust him as far as I can throw him.
- [07:32]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, when, when they Caleb Williams threw the ball to Zacchaeus at the in the end zone before the Jay Walker touchdown. I'm screaming at the TV, throw it to 84, 85 or 2. Stop throwing it to 14. Please stop throwing him the ball. And I'm going to tell you, this really pissed me off about that DJ Moore hit. He's not in the play. He gets hit from behind. Nixon launches himself with his forearms. His feet are off. I've watched the replay more than once. His feet are off the ground. When he hits him. He's running by him and he hits him deliberately from behind. It's an absolute dirty, cheap shot the NFL will look at. He probably will get fined. No one will know about it or hear about it, but it'll be there. On NFL.com, i'm going to, I'm going to monitor it. And what pissed me off about it was that Tom Brady said, oh, it's a tough nose game. And he got the tough end of that one and giggled about it.
- [08:22]
Dan Bernstein
And it's dirty hit.
- [08:23]
Matt Abeticola
Fox decided to use it twice in replays coming back from commercials talking about how that's the oldest rivalry and these two teams don't like each other. It was a dirty hit and should have been called by your number one broadcast team. That is not what the NFL wants or is about anymore. So don't have your number one guy laugh it off and say, oh, you got the tough end of that one and then use it as a replay highlight coming back from commercial break twice. It was a bullshit dirty hit. It was an absolute dirty hit and he should get fined for it. When the NFL looks at it because the officials missed that. They missed it. They missed it and missed it bad.
- [08:55]
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- [09:07]
Dan Bernstein
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- [09:08]
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- [09:22]
Dan Bernstein
Shopify.com listen amazing how many narrative trends were erased by the onside kick and by the Bears stopping them by taking the ball over on downs, driving down the field and sticking it in the end zone. From 46 yards out. How the Bears are now in control of the NFC north with a record of 11 and 4. The packers fall back to 9, 5 and 1. This is the Bears division now if they want it. This is their division if they want it and they took it from the Packers. I give the Packers a lot of credit and I give Matt LaFleur and Jeff Halfley a lot of credit. That was a very well coached team. For most of the night it was the better coached team. And if I'm Ben Johnson, I don't know what he's going to say after the game. But you better give a game ball to Caleb Williams and you better pull him aside and kiss him on the lips. You better thank him because the, the call on 4th and 1 on the 4 yard line, the too cute call where Drew Dahlman, who had his first real bad game as a bear, by the way.
- [10:37]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, he did.
- [10:38]
Dan Bernstein
First real bad game as a bear. But that, that call was the story of this game and everything to be written. Oh, Mr. Shirtless Ben Johnson, Mr. Hot Dogs, Mr. I'm Mr. Young, I'm not even 40 years old and I'm a genius and look what I can do. That would have been the story. He would have been pilloried for changing the tenor of this game with that play call. And you know who rescued it. You know who saved his ass? Caleb Williams. And DJ Moore did it, but primarily Caleb Williams with that throw. So on my list of, of heroes, he's Caleb Williams, everybody's hero tonight. And so is Josh Blackwell, so is DJ Moore, so is Cairo. Damn Santos too. It is no fun. And, and we, we've been giving him a lot of flack for not having this 62 yard leg that everybody else has. But on, on a night like that, nobody predicted the wind would get that bad. It was supposed to be gusts of up to like 15 miles an hour. And then all of a sudden things went haywire as they often do. Lakeside and, and Cairo. Santos was able to play a little bit of Lynx golf out there. That was, that was like, you know, St. Andrews on the, in the final round when all of a sudden the winds come out of nowhere and you got to figure out how to play it. And he did.
- [11:54]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. No, he, he certainly deserves lots of credit for, for tonight's win and being able to get those kicks off in that wind. Both kickers, I thought really had had a really nice game, even despite the really windy conditions. That fourth and one play, though, it's not necessary. It's Not, I mean, you, you were that first drive. You're averaging five or six yards of carry between the tackles. Just go and just go run the ball. You don't need to do that. You know, Dahlman did have a tough game. Jonah Jackson missed a couple blocks too, on some really important run plays. Yeah, they, the Bears were outplayed for most this game. They didn't deserve to win the game, but they ended up getting. And when they win the game, they win the game on the, on the, on the arm of Caleb Williams and the leadership and his poise. One thing that's really interesting though, is just looking at this and we talked about it here early on in the show that the Bears played, they had an idea of, Ben, don't break, and they're not going to let them get beat with big plays. Now, of course, it does help, as you mentioned, that Jordan Love does go out. Howie Long at halftime called that hit by Booker a dirty play. No, it wasn't dirty.
- [12:56]
Dan Bernstein
It wasn't dirty. It was illegal. It was illegal.
- [13:00]
Matt Abeticola
It was called properly. It was the exact right call, but it was not dirty. No one on the panel agreed with how long that it was dirty. You want to talk about dirty plays? Nixon on DJ Moore, that's a dirty play. So how he should watch both those plays to learn what's dirty and what's not. Now the fact that the Bears did have four 15 yard penalties, that's concerning. What do they have? 10 for 105 yards overall? Not, not very good. Yeah. I mean, so you finish with that and still win this game. This is, you know, it's just, I, I'm just, I'm, I'm like, I cannot believe. I can't believe they got the onside kick. Like, how, how does, how does that happen? Romeo Dobbs, he's one of your hands guys. And then he, then he fakes an injury afterwards because he can't show himself back out of the field again.
- [13:44]
Dan Bernstein
Does it remind you of the Mike Brown game against Cleveland? That's what it reminds me of. And some of the comps of this team to the 2001 team that had a defense that would get bailed out by turnovers.
- [13:58]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
- [13:59]
Dan Bernstein
And ended up getting, getting beat badly in the playoffs when they went up against the Eagles. But they, they stole this win. They stole this win.
- [14:10]
Matt Abeticola
They absolutely did.
- [14:11]
Dan Bernstein
And the good news is maybe Ben Johnson learned his lesson a little bit about maybe feeling himself when it comes to that play call and, and feeling the, the intensity. I thought the crowd was really good too. As as much fun as I've had at the expense of some Bears crowds. I thought the. They didn't get too loud when the ball. I think. I think we're making some strides here. And from, from my friends who were texting me from the game, just talking about the, the tone there and what it was like, the fact that they were able to overcome the emotional let down of the failure of that first drive. And then coming out at halftime knowing the backup quarterback is in. And we're all thinking, all right, if you can't beat the packers now, they're down there starting safety. They're down Micah Parsons, they're starting.
- [14:58]
Matt Abeticola
Malik Willis, their starting running back wasn't in the game.
- [15:01]
Dan Bernstein
Correct. And he was.
- [15:03]
Matt Abeticola
He.
- [15:03]
Dan Bernstein
He didn't have it from the moment you could tell something was wrong with him. And I. And obviously you could say, hey, Bears were missing Roma, Dunes A and Luther Burden. And it's absolutely true. But that is as healthy as their defense is going to be for the remainder of the year. I don't know what they're going to do to fix that front four because that's a real problem. If we're talking about how, you know, what, what, what did I say when we did the show this week? Was it Wednesday, Matty, when we did the show of what will keep the Bears from winning the Super Bowl?
- [15:29]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, it was our number one thing for both of us. Rush.
- [15:32]
Dan Bernstein
It was the front four.
- [15:33]
Matt Abeticola
But I want to say this, though, because Grady Jarrett, it was brought in veteran leadership for the defensive line, and he was not brought in to get to the quarterback. And I'll tell you, and I have him highlighted because I thought he had a. He had a really good game against the run. He's more active. I think that knee that was bothering him isn't bothering him anymore. Now, it would be helpful if they could get to the quarterback, but that's not why he or Andrew Billings are there.
- [15:55]
Dan Bernstein
That's not why I trade more. He's. I know, especially with Billings doing what he's doing, you've got to get through that gap.
- [16:00]
Matt Abeticola
That's just not his thing, though. And he's there for the run and he's. He's moving along the field side to side better. I thought he, I thought he looked good these, these last couple weeks. But yeah, I'm not going to disagree with you. They have to get more of a pass rush on that front four. It really has to come from. From Booker and sweat and anyone. And Robinson on the edge as well, too. They need to get. Because you can't have Willis have that much time to look that comfortable all day. When, when you, when you get a backup quarterback in there, you've got, you've got to do something to get after him. Change it up a little bit.
- [16:31]
Dan Bernstein
Let's run down some of the numbers here. The Bears ended up with 13 points in the fourth quarter. Of course the six to win it in OT by the final of 22 to 16. Caleb Williams finished 19 of 34 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The leading rusher, DeAndre Swift with 58 yards on 13 carries. Kyle Manungai, nine carries for 50 yards the long of 13. Some more bruising running from a nungai.
- [16:57]
Matt Abeticola
He ran great.
- [16:58]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. And once again, once again the C stickers on his helmet peeling off every single game. He has the stickers, his C's are peeling off. Caleb Williams scrambled for 30 yards of his own and D.J. moore had the one carry for 12. Moore, the leading receiver, targeted seven times, caught five for 97 yards. Kyle Manungai, three catches for 4:43. Zacchaeus, two catches on his five targets for just 33 yards. Loveland had three catches for 30. Jade Walker, wow. That's an all time Bears packers highlight there. And he knew it. I was a little worried the ball was moving when he was going to the ground. But he, he, he kept possession, stayed in control, going to the ground through that, that, that action. And then he hit us with his signature dance. I did not know. I did. I learned today I learned that Jade Walker has a signature dance known as the Jubi Slide. J U B I and when I first heard that, I was thinking about Puka Nakua and the YouTuber and I said please don't let the Juby slide somehow be anti semitic. It's not. I checked. No, it's not. It is not. So that is. I didn't know that. He has a tutorial video on YouTube. If you want to learn the Jade Walker Juby slide, he is more than happy to teach it to you.
- [18:16]
Matt Abeticola
Couple things also too. And I was, I was really irritated with Tom Brady today. I mean I thought Tom Brady had a terrible, terrible game. First of all, you start with that, that hit on D.J. moore that he just says he, you know that D.J. moore got the tough end of that one. No, it was illegal and it was dirty. On the, on the Bears fifth drive of the game on their first play. That's this one. They're deep in their own end zone. And the very first play where Kyle Manon guy runs for like 12 or 15 yards, breaks like three or four tackles on the way. Tom Brady mentions how he breaking tackles, turning his legs, breaking tackles. Fourth down on that very same drive, Tom Brady asks us, has Green Bay missed any tackles today? Hey, motherfucker, just three plays ago you just said how much the Green Bay missed the tackles on Manangai. So there, there was that one. There was the play on the Bears third drive, third and four pass to Cole Comet that Bullard is all over him, pulling his jersey on top of his back and no, no, no, no PI is called. I don't know how it's not called. I'm like how he's hanging all over him. How is a pass interference not called? And what does Tom Brady say? Oh, that was great play all over. Very good hard play there from Bullard. I'm not sure what he was watching, but it's just. No, no, no. I can be pissed off. I want to be pissed off. I'm not saying you have to. Yeah, just don't shake your hand at me because he was fucking terrible today. Absolutely terrible.
- [19:39]
Dan Bernstein
I'm telling you not to be. I'm not. My. The only thing I really got mad about Brady when he said Greg Maddox would be proud. That's a split finger, a two seamer, a cutter. It can't be all three of a man.
- [19:51]
Matt Abeticola
Not. Not in one pitch. It can't.
- [19:53]
Dan Bernstein
It was a two seamer. It faded. It faded in. That was that. That was off the body sinker to a lefty.
- [19:57]
Matt Abeticola
I'm not sure if you caught this. Do you know what the production narrative was from Fox in into this game? Do you know? I'm not sure if you caught it at all.
- [20:05]
Dan Bernstein
You caught the narrative of this game, the production narrative. Yeah. I just know that they kept showing snow at the bottom of the screen that I wanted to throw up. I don't know what they were doing. I kept.
- [20:14]
Matt Abeticola
I'm not sure if you knew this, but did you know that it's the oldest rivalry in the NFL?
- [20:17]
Dan Bernstein
And also, are you aware of that? And also Chicago is the windy City. That was the other thing that I, I caught too.
- [20:23]
Matt Abeticola
You don't tell us 37 times. The oldest Ivory man of hell.
- [20:28]
Dan Bernstein
And they actually said that there should be a deep dish pizza blowing across the field at some point. Well, we've reached peak national broadcast and. And I will give them credit. Do you know what they didn't talk about? Hot dogs, the stadium.
- [20:41]
Matt Abeticola
No, no, they didn't. They probably didn't know.
- [20:43]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, they Knew. And Kevin Warren planted all that out there so he could have them talking about it, and they didn't.
- [20:50]
Matt Abeticola
So I love the.
- [20:52]
Dan Bernstein
And meanwhile, we get. Meanwhile, Kevin Warren still going to be standing there right by the doors for good, better, best. You know he's going to be.
- [21:00]
Matt Abeticola
I loved when they showed the Gatorade cups that were blowing across the field. And Tom Brady refers to them as the glass cups blowing across the field. I'm like, tom, have you not seen a Gatorade cup on the sideline in the 20 years you played the NFL, you moron?
- [21:14]
Dan Bernstein
And they showed that poor green towel. And all I could think of was toweli. I'm just gonna get a little high when I blow across the field. But then that. That may just be me. Hey, but let the record show, by the way, first Bears game of the year that necess a second sheet of paper, because I was. I kept writing smaller and smaller. So game's over. Game's over. And I'm sitting like this and it's like, well, all right, nothing's happening here. Like, okay, well, maybe. And then onside kick. Yeah, I guess they have to. The. The emotions of this game. Can you imagine what's probably going on at some bars downtown right now?
- [21:49]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, I'm sure there's. It's. It's just crazy that it's wild. Do you remember what. What Caleb said last week?
- [21:57]
Dan Bernstein
No. You let them off the hook. Oh, yeah, that's. We let them off the hook. We let them off the hook. And what did I say? What did I say about when that happens to you as a fisherman? You always know. Sometimes. Sometimes the fishing gods will make it up to you. Sometimes you'll. You'll run into one that you wouldn't otherwise run into. And this is one where something was out there in the ether that maybe suggests that the Bears packers pendulum at least is back to even.
- [22:31]
Matt Abeticola
I mean, I just. I can't believe this. I mean, let me just run this at you, okay?
- [22:35]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
- [22:35]
Matt Abeticola
Jade Walker gets his undrafted wide receiver, gets his first ever NFL touchdown at that moment in this game to tie the game. Then the next significant play is Montez Sweat with a sack.
- [22:53]
Dan Bernstein
Which where his name hadn't been called the entire game.
- [22:57]
Matt Abeticola
I mean, it's just. It's insane. Insane. You get an onside kick. You get a Jade Walker touchdown. Today, Walker gets a touchdown to tie the game with the division lead on the line.
- [23:12]
Dan Bernstein
And the Bears have won 11 games. The Bears have won 11 games this year. They. Johnson's first year. But this Is one.
- [23:21]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, my God.
- [23:21]
Dan Bernstein
That they won with Ben Johnson. I don't think they won this because of.
- [23:25]
Matt Abeticola
No, they didn't. They didn't. I. We even. We mentioned to each other talking during the game about the play calling, just. I. Man, you know, and even, even more than just that, that fourth and one of the first drive when it should have been seven to zero, you know, I mean, there's. There's absolutely no reason to get cute on that play, but, you know, whatever. It all comes down to the fact that the packers had opportunities to score touchdowns. They didn't. And they. They let the Bears stay in this game. As bad as the Bears played, as bad as the passing game looked at times, whether it was Caleb's fault or Zacchaeus not making catches. They let the Bears stay in this game. And the Bears at the end, you know, again, they play all 60 minutes. That's one thing that, you know, Ben Johnson is going to say that I know this about this team, is that we're going to fight the very last minute and fight for each other. And that's exactly what they did. And when Caleb needed to make plays, Caleb made the plays when it mattered most. And that dude is just. He's ice cold under pressure, man. It's insane. Insane how he can perform under pressure.
- [24:27]
Dan Bernstein
I think you described it well in that he doesn't feel the weight of history on his shoulders. He doesn't feel the weight of each next play. And it's not for a lack of understanding, it's not for a lack of awareness. I think he's. I think he's wired in a way that augurs very well for his future because there was a lot of history weighing on that. That stadium. And with everything that kept going and everything we kept feeling. Well, I guess maybe the packers do really own the Bears and Aaron Rodgers doesn't have to be here. And how the hell can they lose a game with a backup quarterback and a backup running back? And Micah Parsons is out and all of this energy and all of this positivity and. And somehow, some way, they just didn't lose. And that feels. I can't quite put my finger on what feels different about it. Maybe it's just a game, and maybe it's just the outcome of a game and a ball that bounces funny on the grass, but there is. There is a confidence about this team. There is a belief within this team, and maybe it's not fair to say that. That it's not because of Ben Johnson. Let me be more specific. About that it maybe wasn't because of Ben Johnson's in game tactics, the play calling, the stuff you generally say when, when you describe a coach as being a six day a week coach. Some guys are really, really good from Monday through Saturday, but they're not that great on Sunday. I think it may be the Monday through Saturday of Ben Johnson that had them in a position mentally to win this game. And even though he didn't have his best game as a play caller, his best, he didn't have his best game day. I do think now that I think about it and sort of hear myself say it, I think perhaps this team's unwavering belief must also be credited to the job that he's been doing since training camp.
- [26:39]
Matt Abeticola
No, I mean I think you've said that perfectly because it really wasn't because of his in game tactics today that they won. But it really is the leadership that he has brought into Hallis hall from day one to where they're at now and instilling that belief and telling all of us that they're going to play their best football in December. And he let his team know and so he mentally started getting that going in their brains to where they're at now. I also want to credit two other guys we didn't mention Nishan Wright today.
- [27:07]
Dan Bernstein
Oh, you're right. Absolutely.
- [27:09]
Matt Abeticola
Who again, who again forces another fumble. Does it again leads the NFL in creating turnovers. Does it once again. And also great to have TJ Edwards playing today. The one play where again the packers tried to get cute too. And the keeper, the third and one and they faked the handoff and Malik Willis runs and he was right there. He sniffed it out because it happened once, it wasn't going to happen twice. He doesn't go for the fake and he just takes his body and runs right through Malik Willis chest like you're supposed to do. Just run right through him and he brings him down. Great play. But yeah, certainly don't want to go this show without mentioning to Sean Wright again creating another turnover. Oh, and how about let's, let's talk about that Kyle Manon guy run, he gets tackled and then he's on the ground on his ass and the packers guy flips the ball out of his hands and, and the side judge comes in and says turnover Packers Swift.
- [28:02]
Dan Bernstein
That was swift.
- [28:03]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, swift. You're right, it was swift. But are you kidding me? Really? What are you seeing that you're going to run in and say packers ball. Good grief, man.
- [28:10]
Dan Bernstein
I mean there's A fail safe system in there.
- [28:13]
Matt Abeticola
I know there is, but he was.
- [28:15]
Dan Bernstein
There for an hour.
- [28:15]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, he was for at least an hour. Laying there like, come on, man. I can see it here and I'm not at the fucking stadium 15 yards away. Like, you are just annoying. It's annoying because you have that shit happen and DJ Moore gets clocked. That's illegal and dirty. And that just, it just pisses me off.
- [28:31]
Dan Bernstein
The, the reaction to have DJ Moore after the touchdown, lying in the end zone just too tired to move at that point is like, can we go home? Yeah. He just like, okay. He was too tired to even celebrate.
- [28:44]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Dude, I got to tell you, man, if you're out there and you're in a play call, and if you're not the primary receiver, run your fucking route. Like, I don't give a. If you're tired. You're a professional making a lot of money. Run your routes, dude. Expect the wall. Come on, man, be better.
- [28:57]
Dan Bernstein
We spent a lot of this week discussing Bears packers history and talking about what it's meant and especially having a game like this that we didn't have to build anything up. We didn't have to create something that wasn't there because of the meaning of this game. This was the most significant Bears packers game since the, the, the Chris Connie ending since Aaron Rodgers found Cobb for that touchdown. And it was, it's been interesting to me as, as we hear from young people who say, oh, yeah, I wasn't alive for that, or I don't remember what happened in 85 and I, I, I didn't know about that game or this game. My hope is, especially because this is on a Saturday and there are young Bears fans who were allowed to stay up for this one. There were some young Bears fans that rode this roller coaster with their siblings and their dads and maybe grandparents. And my hope is that as some next generations of Bears fans grow up, this ends up being a really special memory for them for a long time. I really think so. Because it had all the earmarks of it. It had the earmarks of a game you don't think you're gonna win. And it just, the pace of it gets weird. And for them to, to pull this out in the way that they did. This is the thing that, that fandoms are made of. This is the thing that connections to fans are really made of, of memories like this. This would be indelibly seared as a positive memory of Bears and Packers. They had lost 13 of 14. 13 of 14. That's years. You got a generation of young Bears fans that now has a positive Bears packers memory at Soldier Field because of what they watched them do tonight. And that's really damn cool.
- [30:55]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, no, it is awesome. And I had. I had text messages from both my boys. So almost 13 and 11 and a half. Having sleepovers tonight at Buddy's houses, watching that game and getting texts that they just couldn't believe. One of them I actually had to reprimand because his language wasn't very. I can't repeat child.
- [31:12]
Dan Bernstein
I'm looking here, cousins. My dad is texting me things that he would not want me to share my. And Jason, of course, is right in the room with me, running laps around the house and screaming.
- [31:25]
Matt Abeticola
I heard Jason before you came down and got on. I was sitting here, had my headphones on. I could hear Jason yelling, screaming.
- [31:32]
Dan Bernstein
He's been crushing beer cans on his forehead. They were full, too, and gave him another concussion, probably.
- [31:39]
Matt Abeticola
Yes.
- [31:39]
Dan Bernstein
I'm going to make him wear a guardian cap for that, too. Wow. Wow, what a.
- [31:46]
Matt Abeticola
Unbelievable win, man.
- [31:47]
Dan Bernstein
And even to look at the. At the tone of my notes and how angry I was, drawing question marks and angry exclamation points and frowny faces. And then things just kind of got crazy and I start screwing, scribbling because I'm trying to keep up with everything. And now I have to learn about what the juby slide is because Jade Walker is. Is celebrating with that little floating dance that he's doing. Pretty awesome.
- [32:11]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. You know. You know, that's just so you know that that's not like his. His dance. Like, that's a. That's a really. Okay, that's a real famous, like, online.
- [32:18]
Dan Bernstein
I'm. I'm aware. But he did it in college, so he was known for doing it in college at Texas A and M. And apparently that's why he did the. As a bear. He did the tutorial for how to do that dance, but we didn't get. I can't believe it.
- [32:34]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
- [32:34]
Dan Bernstein
No free hot dogs. In case you're. You. You didn't know. Ari Levy and the fine folks at Wiener Circle had tweeted earlier this afternoon that if there was a big guy touchdown, that they would again award free hot dogs to everyone. So my first thought was when I saw what they were trying to engineer with the snap through Cole Commence legs that that was going to end up being a big guy touchdown. I don't think so. If we look at the history and some of the stuff, there were some videos going around of what Detroit had Run. But they were not going after that. That would definitely been a little bit too much.
- [33:07]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. And it's our. One of our listeners here, Booker, cheap shot wasn't a cheap shot. I don't know if you're asking or making a statement, but it was not a cheap shot at all. It was illegal, but not a cheap shot.
- [33:17]
Dan Bernstein
No, it was. It was.
- [33:18]
Matt Abeticola
Despite what Howie Long said.
- [33:19]
Dan Bernstein
No, not. It was. It was textbook how you're not allowed to hit a quarterback. But I don't think he went in with intent to injure. I don't. And there are also people getting mad about the brisker unnecessary roughness in the fourth quarter on a sliding Malik Willis. Again, we discussed this. That was forcible contact to the head with an arm.
- [33:43]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. He took his forearm and he hit him right in the helmet.
- [33:46]
Dan Bernstein
And hit him in the helmet. That is forcible. That isn't an accidental knee. It isn't a heel. It isn't his side. It is by the letter of the law, forcible contact to the head with an arm. That's going to be a flag every time. What a night for everybody at Soldier Field. What a night that was. It just, it looked like the energy was absolutely off the charts. And then for emotions to be. Be whipsawed the way that they were and to come out on top with a 46 yard touchdown. He had. He had to finish that catch, too. He had to absolutely confirm every last action of that catch. And it's a bucket throw. It is. It is a perfect game winning pass from Caleb Williams.
- [34:33]
Matt Abeticola
Oh, I get it. So this guy's a Packers fan. Is that accurate? Are the Bears 2 and 12 against LaFleur? Is that, does that sound about right?
- [34:39]
Dan Bernstein
I don't know. And at the moment I don't care.
- [34:42]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Because they are actually two, two and one in the last three. So I'll take that. That's a winning record for. For the Bears.
- [34:49]
Dan Bernstein
Right. And. And this. And to do this at home backs up what Ben Johnson said he was looking forward to doing.
- [34:56]
Matt Abeticola
And who's in first place right now?
- [34:57]
Dan Bernstein
The Bears are, as far as I know, The Bears at 11 and 4 are in the process of taking the north. And let's add this, the Lions play the Steelers tomorrow. I believe it's a 325 kick.
- [35:12]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, that sounds right.
- [35:14]
Dan Bernstein
And if the Lions do not win, if the Lions tie or lose, the Bears clinch a playoff spot.
- [35:22]
Matt Abeticola
That's correct. Okay.
- [35:24]
Dan Bernstein
So there will be absolutely correct, meaningful football for you to watch as a Bears fan.
- [35:30]
Matt Abeticola
And so so far my of the three games I gave you, I said bears minus two. That that came through for us today. So we got that.
- [35:37]
Dan Bernstein
Well, as far as my DBU picks from my bookie, I got the Caleb Williams or over the passing yards of 209.5. I finished luckily two two and a half yards short of my Deandre Swift receiving yards total.
- [35:51]
Matt Abeticola
I told you he wasn't going to get it.
- [35:52]
Dan Bernstein
I needed 15. He got 12. I thought that that was going to be an easy winner, but no, indeed it was not. I'll say this too. As much as Austin Booker is going to have to reign in some of his his intensity, I'd rather that than have to light a fire under him. I'm like 100%.
- [36:14]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
- [36:15]
Dan Bernstein
This is even though he, he did a couple things that weren't smart, I like the fact that he is. He's establishing himself as if nothing else. A a rotational level defensive end at minimum. Because the defensive line needs major upgrades. It there they are. It will still keep them, I'm worried from winning a Super Bowl. You've got to get home. You've got to get pressure. You've got to beat your guy. And it does. I know Montez sweat came up with a late sack that mattered but you got to get there. You got to win more often. Win more often.
- [36:52]
Matt Abeticola
Hey, remember early in the, in the game, the first quarter, there was a play, it was an out route that Jalen Johnson was covering on and it looked like his legs just weren't underneath him. Trying to make the recovery up to get and he ended up pushing the receiver out of bounds. He just doesn't look like himself, man.
- [37:11]
Dan Bernstein
The phrase that is used often by positional coaches is out of phase. He looked a little bit athletically out of phase in a way that I'm not used to with him. Especially when you're mirroring the receiver. When you, he turns his hips, you turn your hips. He looked just, just a little off. And you've got time for that to come back. He was out a long time. He was out a long time. But he's not the, the guy who was taken away a whole side of the field.
- [37:42]
Matt Abeticola
No. And it's just, it's odd. I don't know if it's just the way that teams are attacking or just the way that Bears are setting up defensively a lot in in zone coverage, but you're not seeing a lot of plays for Jalen Johnson, not a whole lot of plays for Tyreek Stevenson. It's like they're barely even out there on the field. Yeah, no, it's, it's, it's fine. But it's just like your guys that are there to make plays for you. You want to see those guys making plays.
- [38:06]
Dan Bernstein
There were a couple of nice pass breakups in the game. Tyreek Stevenson busted up the triangle once. Did have that one in the game. You know, cj, GJ had a nice pass defense that was a pass intended for Watson that was broken up. I have to say too I, Malik Willis acquitted himself tremendously. For him to come in, in those conditions on the road without any reps, you know, running scout team to come in and do that, that's, that's a very, very solid performance from him despite the late fumble.
- [38:41]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, and a couple people have asked. I have it on my notes too. When Gardner Johnson gave up that touchdown to Romeo Dobbs gets beat and he's like running sillily into the, into the end zone and then he like busted his knee up. It looks like he hyperextended his knee a little bit with some funny strides that he, that he took.
- [38:58]
Dan Bernstein
I didn't know what that was.
- [38:59]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what he was doing if he, if he really got hurt or was this pissed off that he got beat again. But the guy, we've mentioned him once because he had the forced fumble here. Nishan Wright is, has got to be with the way he's playing the run as well too. He's, he's got to be the MVP of this defense this year. I mean unexpected one year, little over a million dollar dollar deal. This guy has just played himself into a multi year big time deal next year with some team.
- [39:29]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, he has. When asked about it, it sounded like he wants to be here because the Bears were the team that believed in him. But I'm sure the. There's always a number. There's always a number that could change that and I'm not going to be concerned about that now. Let me also give another reason why the Bears won outside of the. The Bears control the face mask by Warren Brinson. Yeah, without, without that they lose. Think about that. Without the faith. It was third and 20 and Williams is sacked. That was the game. They were down 16 to 6 right there it was 16 to 6, third and 20 and it was Warren Brinson who grabs Williams's face mask. Williams of course has the wherewithal to throw his hand up to at least be like somebody call this. Had he not done that, the Bears lose And that's what kept them alive, that gave them brand new life at that point. And that's, that's what ended in the 43 yard field goal. That took forever by the way. And I don't know what the, what was going on with the clock management there. Yeah, third and nine. The short pass to DJ Moore. They're all standing around, I don't know what was going on. And then that, that the difficult 43 yard field goal makes it 16 to 9. That gave them the chance for the onside kick. That doesn't happen without that face mask.
- [41:09]
Matt Abeticola
When they get the touchdown from Jade Walker, were you at all thinking that he was going to try to go for two? No. Okay.
- [41:18]
Dan Bernstein
No, you're at home, they've got their backup quarterback. You know, I just. No, I didn't think so.
- [41:24]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, but I, you know, with, with, with Johnson, you just, you just never know. And I was, I was saying the whole time, please don't go for two, please don't go for two, please. Just like my heart wouldn't be able to take it if they, if they lined up for two. I might have dropped dead right there in front of the tv. I just, I would have not been able to handle that.
- [41:42]
Dan Bernstein
We've been really good generally at predicting game balls. I've, I haven't seen anything because I haven't really been looking, trying to see right now.
- [41:53]
Matt Abeticola
I don't, haven't seen anything. Anyway.
- [41:54]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. I was going to say, because I'm going to make my preference predictions.
- [41:57]
Matt Abeticola
Okay. It's your, your week to get it right. So what do you got?
- [42:01]
Dan Bernstein
I am going to give one to Cairo Santos and let me think of the other. I think I'm going to give Caleb Williams the other one. I was thinking Walker, but probably not.
- [42:24]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I think you might. I had four guys in my brain. I had, I had Caleb Williams, Jade Walker, DJ Moore, Cairo Santos. Yeah, it's, it's got to be, it's, it's got to be. You know, I'm going to go with Caleb Williams and DJ Moore.
- [42:44]
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
- [42:45]
Matt Abeticola
Because DJ had that, that big catch there that got them in deep in the red zone. He had that real big catch, jumps up high, has the game winning, game winning touchdown in overtime. Yeah, I'll go DJ Moore and Caleb, but if Cairo Santos gets one. No, actually, no. What? I changed that. Kevin Warren, Ryan, I'd say three game balls all.
- [43:08]
Dan Bernstein
Kevin Warren.
- [43:09]
Matt Abeticola
Yes. And a sub sandwich.
- [43:13]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. I hope we're not debating whether or not he should have gone for, for two. Because I think the, the outcome will probably change.
- [43:19]
Matt Abeticola
No, no, no, no, no.
- [43:20]
Dan Bernstein
I had no problem with it. Win or lose, I had no problem.
- [43:23]
Matt Abeticola
No, you're at home and yeah, you tie the game. You have momentum going now. You got a backup quarterback in there. Yeah, tie the game, play for overtime, win the game. It worked out just, just perfectly.
- [43:35]
Dan Bernstein
I've got a quote here from DJ Moore via Patrick Finley. Apparently DJ Moore said quote, it's got a lot to do with Virginia looking over us and Ben being on our ass. Oh boy, oh boy. I hope we're not doing that now. But yeah, I definitely agree with the latter because his, his ability to keep this team disciplined and never feeling like I feel they never, they never get to this is over. They lose. This sucks. They can't be the Packers, Malik. I mean, the fact that somehow Ben Johnson has allowed his team to never have my thought process in a game is great.
- [44:20]
Matt Abeticola
So Ben Johnson said this on the decision to kick the point after Andre Day Walker's touchdown. He said two point conversion success is under 50%. And I thought we had a better than 50% chance to win in overtime.
- [44:34]
Dan Bernstein
Okay. And I just saw this from our old buddy Joe Ostrowski. This 22 to 16 overtime victory was the fifth most improbable win in the last 10 years. Wow. The Bears win probability before recovering the onside kick was 0.5%.
- [44:56]
Matt Abeticola
Wow.
- [44:57]
Dan Bernstein
When you talk about a stolen win, you talk about again where you couldn't rush the passer, you had 10 penalties for 105 yards, you were dropping passes all over the place. And, and you, you won your essentially won your division in spite of that.
- [45:16]
Matt Abeticola
You know, and I also saw, I don't know if you saw, they had it up real quick on the screen on Fox, but it was the first time since like 1960 that the Bears have come back from trailing 10 or more against the packers like in the fourth quarter or something like that. So again, just a lot of, a lot of history and a lot of, a lot of reasons to remember this game tonight.
- [45:41]
Dan Bernstein
This is, and according to our guy, Jack Silverstein, 46 yards was the longest Bears walk off touchdown since Jim Harbaugh threw a pass to Neil Anderson in 1990 and that was to beat the Lions at soldier field in 1990. This is the longest walk off since then. And the obviously the longest would be Thanksgiving Day of 79, 78 or 79. The Davey Williams kickoff return touchdown in the Silver Dome. So this, this does go down in Bears history. This one sure does. This one that is, is one to remember. And frankly, it's one that is worth you heading out and partying. If you are younger than we, this is, this is a time to go safely celebrate.
- [46:37]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. And several of our listeners here in the chat have mentioned our old friend from the score, Les Gropstein, smiling. Oh, yeah, you know, smiling down upon us tonight. He hated the Packers. He'd be really happy, more than anybody we've ever known. And yeah, this would have been one that he would have gladly talked about on overnight radio for hours and hours and hours with all the his listeners.
- [47:00]
Dan Bernstein
Not to mention. And you know, we try to get. I, I don't try to channel too much fandom when we're actually doing this. You want to see me when I'm, you know, upstairs and, and running around and screaming. It's a little bit different. But from enduring all of the Aaron Rodgers heartbreak. All of the Aaron. All of those games where up there's another slant and of course, of course. Yeah, they got. How do you not get them done? It is the, it's almost a foreign feeling to be on the other side of it to know that packers fans had their hearts ripped out of their chests by the Bears quarterback. Pretty good.
- [47:49]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Suck on it. Malik Willis is.
- [47:52]
Dan Bernstein
I didn't see that.
- [47:53]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I did. Suck on it, packers fans. Malik Willis took blame for the fourth quarter botched snap. The fourth down botched snap. He said that he sped up the snap count to get the snap off in time. Should have let the Sean Ryan know in the huddle that he'd do that. I'm not sure how you could let someone know in the huddle you're going to do that. But he said that play ultimately decided the game, so he took blame for that.
- [48:15]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, fair enough. Now, as much as I just spent that time talking about vanquishing the specter of Aaron Rodgers tomorrow, you got to cheer for him. Go Aaron Rodgers. See if the Bears could get themselves locked in to a playoff spot. That was, that was memorable. That was a, that was a special win for a lot of reasons and certainly in a lot of ways, but they were able to fill up a highlight reel in the last, last few minutes.
- [48:47]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, buddy. I mean, going up to that, that on site kick, I mean, I was mentally prepared for a very different postgame show about. And I was, I was really trying to talk to my, I was trying to calm myself down and say, all right, don't, don't be too angry. Don't yell and scream. There's still two games to go. They can win those two games. It's okay. You know, week 18 could be really important to clinching a playoff spot. It's okay. Don't, don't go crazy on the post game show. And then they recover the onside kick and they win. I just cannot believe that this is the post game show that we get to have today. That was just, it was unbelievable. 22 to 16 win a game that the Bears shouldn't have won. But the packers let them stay around. Packers let them do it. Sure. It certainly helped that Jordan Love was out. So I'm not going to, not going to forget to mention that. But yeah, let's, let's go just crazy.
- [49:35]
Dan Bernstein
We will be covering the Bears and their pursuit of the NFC north and the solidification of their playoff position all week here on Forward Progress. Also on Dan Bernstein Unfiltered. If this is your first time hanging out with 312 sports, welcome. Where you been, man? Come on. This is what we do. We drop Dan Bernstein Unfiltered Monday through Friday as close as we can to 11am and then we drop forward progress Monday through Friday as close as we can to 1 o'. Clock. So make sure that you are set up to either watch it on YouTube, get it on Apple Podcasts on Spotify or through our app. We have the 312 sports app and you can have it on your phone to get you absolutely everything you need. And there's rewards that you can end up winning but all you do is you go to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store and then you just hit this little thing and, and it looks like this. And then you have all kinds of stuff for your sports excitement and edification and entertainment. That is 3312 sports app. This was fun. So I imagine that there are some people in some various states of excitement, inebriation and anticipation of probably what's to come into the wee hours of the the morning. So have fun with it. Enjoy it. The Bears.
- [51:02]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, this is great.
- [51:02]
Dan Bernstein
Now we have a stole one away from the Packers.
- [51:04]
Matt Abeticola
We have a Sunday that you can, you can watch football or not watch football. You can relax and enjoy. You can get ready for any holiday festivities that you might have coming up. You have an extra Sunday now just to relax and let it breathe.
- [51:17]
Dan Bernstein
Can I wear my pants that have no ass? Is that you should, you should wear that.
- [51:21]
Matt Abeticola
You should wear those. Yeah. If you're going. Oh, aren't you?
- [51:23]
Dan Bernstein
Is it.
- [51:24]
Matt Abeticola
When, when do you have your. You're going to. Oh, that was last night you went somewhere? To a holiday party.
- [51:29]
Dan Bernstein
Yes. Yeah, the nice holiday party.
- [51:30]
Matt Abeticola
Okay, well. Yeah. Too late. You should have worn your asses pants then.
- [51:33]
Dan Bernstein
No, no. I think tomorrow is a day to wear the pants I can't leave the house while wearing and just watch a bunch of football.
- [51:40]
Matt Abeticola
You know, you should do. You should wear those pants along with the fishing shirt your family hates.
- [51:44]
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
- [51:45]
Matt Abeticola
Wear those together.
- [51:46]
Dan Bernstein
The. The MAGA shirt. Yes, that. The assless pants. Maybe I should head down to Arizona and make a surprise appearance in Phoenix. Hey, everybody. How's it going? That'd be great. All right.
- [51:58]
Matt Abeticola
Thank you. Do we have game balls yet or no? Do we have game balls out? I can't see it anywhere.
- [52:03]
Dan Bernstein
I have.
- [52:03]
Matt Abeticola
Oh no, they're still talking.
- [52:05]
Dan Bernstein
Okay, so we haven't had the good, better, best yet.
- [52:07]
Matt Abeticola
Not that I've seen the okay come out.
- [52:11]
Dan Bernstein
That was a lot of fun. I'm glad I sat and watched that game.
- [52:14]
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, me too.
- [52:16]
Dan Bernstein
22 to 16. The final. The Bears are 11 and 4.
- [52:21]
Matt Abeticola
Unreal.
- [52:21]
Dan Bernstein
Packers are not. We'll talk to you on Monday morning and Monday afternoon on 312 Sports.
- [52:29]
Matt Abeticola
Yes, you will. You certainly will do that because you talk to us.
- [52:32]
Dan Bernstein
I do have it.
- [52:33]
Matt Abeticola
No, you don't.
- [52:33]
Dan Bernstein
I do have already.
- [52:35]
Matt Abeticola
See, I'm always. I always have.
- [52:36]
Dan Bernstein
Ready?
- [52:37]
Matt Abeticola
I'm always good to go.
- [52:38]
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, I know you are.
- [52:40]
Matt Abeticola
Don't you be smirching my good name. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 31 2SP.