The Good, Bad and Ugly, NFL Week 16: Bears Finish Off Packers in Another Epic Finish

Chicago overcame a 10-point deficit late to tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime. Plus, the Eagles captured back-to-back NFC East titles for the first time since winning four straight from 2001 to 2004.

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore reacts after catching the game-winning 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb Williams in overtime to beat the Packers on Saturday night. / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Caleb Williams and Malik Willis delivered one of the best games of 2025 with a wild final five minutes at Soldier Field on Saturday night.

Finally, the Bears have a superstar quarterback, one who delivered a walk-off 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to give Chicago an improbable 22–16 overtime victory. Willis, who filled in for the injured Jordan Love, helped the Packers build a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before a series of killer mistakes helped the Bears steal the game. 

With the loss, the Packers remained the seventh seed in the NFC, while the Bears are now in an ideal position to capture the NFC North title in the final two weeks of the regular season. Green Bay could be without Love, who sustained a concussion in the second quarter.

In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Philadelphia put aside a handful of special teams miscues to defeat Washington, 29–18, and clinch a fifth consecutive playoff appearance in the process. The Eagles are the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles since 2004.

Jalen Hurts’s clutch touchdown pass on third-and-goal from the 15-yard line opened the floodgates for this up-and-down Eagles offense in the second half. Hurts had a pair of touchdown passes, and Saquon Barkley rushed for 132 yards and one touchdown. 

SI NFL Newsletter. Get MMQB's Free Newsletter. dark. Sign Up

The week started with the Seahawks and Rams delivering the game of the year and perhaps the best Thursday Night Football matchup ever. Los Angeles blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead before falling in overtime, 38–37. 

The Seahawks’ bold decision to go for the two-point conversion in overtime paid off. They now control first place in the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the conference with two games left in the regular season.

The Sunday slate could also create plenty of shuffling when it comes to playoff seeding. The Broncos (12–2) will host the Jaguars (10–4) in a matchup of two AFC division leaders. The Ravens (7–7) are on the outside of the playoff picture, but they can help their postseason hopes with a victory vs. the AFC East–leading Patriots (11–3) during their Sunday Night Football showdown.   

Week 16 will conclude with an intriguing Monday Night Football battle between the 49ers (10–4) and Philip Rivers’s Colts (8–6). It’s still hard to believe the 44-year-old Rivers is playing meaningful games in 2025. San Francisco could steal the NFC West by winning its final three games. Indianapolis needs to win out and get help from other teams to sneak into the playoffs. 

Let’s assess all of the action, starting with Saturday’s doubleheader.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown in Philadelphia's NFC East-clinching win over Washington on Saturday night. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Good: Jalen Hurts provides clutch throws

Hurts helped the Eagles (10–5) regain control of a messy game after delivering a tight-window touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert on third-and-15 for a 14–10 advantage with 3:27 left in the third quarter.

It was all downhill from there for Washington, as the Eagles turned a Cooper DeJean interception into a Barkley 12-yard touchdown run, extending the advantage to 11 points with 11:33 left in regulation. 

Everything changed after that clutch throw from Hurts; the Eagles couldn’t afford to settle for another field-goal attempt from Jake Elliott, who missed three kicks in the first half. 

If the Eagles had turned those empty red-zone drives into touchdowns, this game would have been over by halftime and the most significant talking point would have been about Hurt’s sensational performance. He also had a five-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith on the opening drive, helping Philadelphia put aside a fumble on the opening kickoff.

This was another ugly Eagles’ game because of the special teams miscues, but this was a rare, efficient offensive performance, with Smith (six catches, 42 yards, TD), Barkley and A.J. Brown (nine catches, 95 yards) providing highlight plays. Hurts finished 22-of-30 for 185 yards and added seven carries for 40 yards. Overall, the Eagles recorded 385 total yards, with a whopping 207 coming on the ground. 

Finally, offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo delivered positive results for this inconsistent offense, and has Hurts to thank for that after coming through on third-and-goal from the 15-yard line. 

---

Bad: Eagles might have a kicker problem

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni will have to decide whether to stick with Elliott before the postseason arrives. 

Elliott has been a reliable kicker for many years. Still, he might have lost his confidence after going wide left on his three field-goal attempts in the first half—only two counted because the Commanders were penalized on the second try. Elliott entered the game 17-of-22 on field-goal attempts and 35-of-36 on extra-point tries. 

To make matters worse for special teams coordinator Michael Clay, returner and running back Will Shipley fumbled on the opening kickoff, which led to Washington taking a 3–0 advantage. Shipley later made the mistake of returning a kick near the goal line instead of just settling for the touchback. 

---

With Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels injured most of the season, it's been a struggle for Washington offensively. / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Ugly: Washington fans should skip the final two games

It’s hard not to blame Commanders fans if they decide to skip the final two games of the season after the team’s atrocious performance against the Eagles on Saturday. 

There’s no need to suffer through watching Marcus Mariota or Josh Johnson operate one of the slowest and oldest offenses in the league. Mariota was injured in the second half and was unable to finish the game. Terry McLaurin had a team-high three catches for 53 yards, which tells you plenty about this sluggish offense.  

There are so many better options than having to sit through two more Sundays of watching coach Dan Quinn’s paper-thin defense, which allowed Philadelphia to break out of its funk. If that’s not painful enough, TV broadcasters constantly reminded viewers of all the draft picks the Commanders (4–11) don’t have due to the trades for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil. 

Unless you’re a Commanders fan who enjoys misery, enjoy the outdoors, and check back on this dreadful team in March when free agency opens. 

Without Jayden Daniels, there’s no point in watching the Commanders on Christmas against the Cowboys. And there’s no need to see this team get pummeled again by the Eagles to close out the regular season.

---

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams tossed a 46-yard walk-off touchdown pass to DJ Moore to give Chicago a 22-16 overtime victory over the Packers on Saturday night. / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

Good: Williams, Willis take turns playing hero in wild finish 

Williams went from being outplayed by a backup for long stretches to ending the game as a Chicago hero. 

The Bears (11–4) having a superstar quarterback became a reality after Williams unleashed a walk-off 46-yard touchdown pass to Moore in overtime. Chicago could have easily played it safe by settling for a field goal after forcing a turnover on downs for Green Bay’s first possession of the extra period.

But Williams didn’t hesitate on his opportunity after failing to connect on the deep shot most of the game. Willis, the fourth-year backup, also had his hero moments, hitting Romeo Doubs for a 33-yard touchdown pass and a 13–3 advantage with 33 seconds left in the third quarter. 

But Williams picked up the pace in the final five minutes of regulation. He extended plays with his legs and had big-chunk plays in the middle of the field to trim the deficit to three points before the Packers (9–5–1) gifted the Bears another opportunity with a failed onside kick recovery inside the final two minutes. 

Williams made the most of the extra possession, hitting a clutch, fadeaway six-yard touchdown pass to undrafted rookie receiver Jahdae Walker for the improbable game-tying score on fourth-and-4 to eventually send the game to overtime. Williams went 19-of-34 for 250 yards and two touchdowns and added three carries for 30 yards. 

It was a sour ending for Willis, who might have gotten hurt in the final seconds of regulation, but he clearly proved he’s one of the better backups in the league. Willis (9-of-11, 121 yards, TD) showed poise by calmly operating the Packers’ offense once Love exited in the second quarter with a concussion, leaning on his legs to extend plays (44 rushing yards) and hitting timely throws to tight end Luke Musgrave.

---

Bad: Short-handed Packers could miss playoffs 

Plenty has changed since the Packers beat the Bears in their first meeting just two weeks ago. 

After the Week 14 victory, Green Bay had control of the NFC North and was in contention for the No. 1 seed. But now there’s a chance the Packers miss the playoffs altogether. 

They blew a nine-point second-half lead against the Broncos last week, when Micah Parsons sustained a season-ending knee injury, and followed that with the 10-point meltdown in Chicago. Now they could be without Love for a Week 17 matchup against the Ravens. Green Bay ends the season on the road against Minnesota.

Green Bay’s sudden free fall could benefit Detroit, which is outside of the NFC playoff picture. The Lions (8–6) would be a half-game behind the Packers if they beat the Steelers on Sunday. 

It would be a monumental disaster for the Packers to miss the playoffs after relinquishing two first-round picks to the Cowboys during the summer blockbuster trade for Parsons.   

---

Ugly: Green Bay will be thinking about its killer mistakes 

The Bears appeared dead in the water after being forced into an onside kick due to poor time management, failing to get Cairo Santos’s 43-yard field goal through the uprights before the two-minute warning. 

But instead of kicking themselves for the blunder, Williams was back on the field because Doubs failed to recover Santos’s onside kick. That moment led to Williams delivering the best performance of his young career. Ironically, cornerback Keisean Nixon allowed Walker to break free in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in regulation. Nixon had the game-saving interception off Williams to give the Packers the victory in the first meeting.

Green Bay got the ball first in overtime but ended up giving Chicago a short field after a turnover on downs. However, the Packers should never have gotten to overtime, as they had many chances to put the Bears away before the wild final five minutes. 

The Packers had awful execution inside the red zone, starting with the opening drive that ended on the 7-yard line after Love’s incompletion to Christian Watson on fourth-and-1. Four out of Green Bay’s first five drives ended inside Chicago’s 10-yard line and had only six points to show for it due to a Josh Jacobs fumble and the turnover on downs. The Packers later returned to the red zone in the fourth quarter and were forced to settle for another Brandon McManus field goal. 

The Packers have no one to blame but themselves for the late collapse.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed