Believe it or not, the Chicago Bears are still in the hunt for the NFC North despite playing some of their worst football at home against Green Bay on Monday night.

With the wind chill temperature lingering frigidly below zero, the Bears looked awfully cold for most of this game. They were outgained and outplayed in most respects; as a matter of fact, the team didn’t even show up for the first half, gaining only 48 yards to Green Bay’s 221.

Consider these numbers through three quarters: 92 yards of total offense, 8/16 for 76 yards with one touchdown and one interception from Kyle Orton, 13 carries for 22 yards by Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson (an appalling 1.7 yard per rush average), eight possessions resulting in five punts, one interception, and two fortunate scoring drives. A bit difficult to swallow, no?

But, as they say, football is a game of inches, and never was that more evident than tonight. How’d the Bears pull it out, you ask? It all rested on these three plays:

1.) Facing fourth-and-seven on their own 31 after a thoroughly disheartening start to the second half, Brad Maynard booted a 42-yard punt to Green Bay return man Will Blackmon. Seeing the ball hanging in the air, Blackmon motioned his teammates away to let it fall. However, in a twist reminiscent to the Bears’ special teams fortunes against the Vikings in week six, the ball took a wondrous bounce, striking a Packer—who was tied up blocking Rashied Davis—on the leg. The Bears pounced and Jason Davis recovered, setting up Orton’s three-yard touchdown to Greg Olsen.

2.) Down by seven with only a handful of minutes left, Chicago encountered another fourth down at Green Bay’s four. Handing off to Matt Forte, the rookie pushed forward behind the right guard, getting spun around but always moving his feet. The conversion was successful thanks to Forte’s second effort and a generous spot. The back tied the contest at 17 on the next play with a three-yard touchdown run.

3.) The Packers, benefiting from a great return and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Adrian Peterson, moved 15 yards to set up a game-winning 38-yard field goal by kicker Mason Crosby. With the season on the line, the Bears got a great push up front, and Alex Brown stretched out his hand just enough to block the low kick. Chicago went on to win in overtime.

These few plays, in addition to a bit more luck, won the game for the Bears. However, it was their defense that kept them in contention by preventing the Packers from pulling away. Green Bay threatened to do just that early on, moving the ball efficiently for most of the first half behind Aaron Rodgers’ precise throws that exploited Chicago’s soft zones over the middle and near the sideline.

However, when the Bears brought pressure, they got results. On second-and-eight near midfield, Rodgers lined up in the shotgun and fired a short pass over the middle to Donald Driver. Danieal Manning, timing his blitz perfectly on the left side, raced in with hands extended frantically, deflecting the pass into the waiting arms of Alex Brown.

Still, Rodgers led the team on two scoring drives of 91 and 58 yards in the second quarter to build a 14-3 lead at the half.

Then Chicago tightened up. The Packers gained only 99 yards in the second half thanks to some stout run defense by the Bears that limited Green Bay to 65 yards on 29 carries, a 2.2 yard per rush average.

More importantly, the unit held the Packers to a mere three points off two Orton interceptions. The first, occurring late in the third, gave Green Bay possession at Chicago’s 30. Marching downfield, it wasn’t long before the Packers faced first-and-goal at the five. Two incompletions and a key sack by Tommie Harris forced them to settle for a field goal. The second occurred with under ten minutes left in the fourth: Driving to go up by two scores, Green Bay handed the ball off on two consecutive plays to Ryan Grant, the second rush losing six yards due to great penetration by Harris. Following an incompletion, the Packers punted.

It was a trademark performance by a team that prides itself on stopping the run: The players stayed in their lanes, maintained their gap integrity, and contained the rusher. Textbook.

Ultimately, though, it was up to the offense to win the game. Virtually non-existent for the first fifty-three minutes of the game, the Bears came to life midway through the fourth behind some timely running. Gaining possession at their own 49 with 7:14 left in the contest (and potentially their season), Ron Turner had little intention of putting the ball in Orton’s hands. Instead, the Bears fed the ball to their best and most consistent weapon, Matt Forte. Having struggled to rush up the middle all game, Forte bounced to the left and then the right on the drive’s first two plays, running for 28 and eight yards, respectively. Forte touched the ball five more times on the eight-play drive, gaining 48 total yards, converting a fourth down, and hitting the end zone in the process.

After the blocked field goal, the Bears followed a similar formula—Forte, Forte, Forte—in overtime to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning kick.

In spite of Orton’s tepid performance (14/27, 142 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) and a lackluster effort by the offensive line, both stepped up when they needed to. It was eerily similar to last week’s effort against New Orleans, another contest decided by a Gould field goal in extra minutes.

Amidst this holiday season, Chicago got an early Christmas present with this win. They may have blown other games this season, but this one was gift-wrapped for them by the football gods, giving these Bears life for one more week.

Final Score: Green Bay 17, Chicago 20 (OT)

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