The Bears went into their bag of tricks to take a lead against the Packers today.
With the Packers punting, the Bears had two returners on the field. While one pretended to be fielding the ball along the left sideline, the actual returner, Josh Blackwell, was going largely unnoticed by the Packers’ coverage as he actually caught the ball along the right sideline. Blackwell raced downfield for a 94-yard touchdown.
It was a huge error by the Packers’ special teams, and a great play by the Bears’ special teams — though it’s fair to question why the Bears waited until the end of the season to get creative when they’ve desperately needed it all year.
The Bears are up 7-0. It’s the first time the Bears have had a lead at any point in any game since Week 12.
The Bears have nothing to play for, but the Packers are playing to win as they hope to improve from the 7 seed to the 6 seed in the NFC playoffs. Early on, the Packers aren’t playing playoff-caliber football.
