Bears stun Packers 22-16 with improbable rally as Williams finds Moore for winning score in OT

CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Williams felt it as soon as the ball left his hand. Then, in a flash, the Bears were celebrating yet another wild win.

Williams threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore in overtime, and Chicago overcame a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night for a 22-16 win over the Green Bay Packers, who lost quarterback Jordan Love to a concussion.

“I knew it was good,” Williams said. “You've got that belief. You've got that confidence. You've got that swagger as an offense. You've practiced well. You've hit plays like that in practice. It was pretty identical to practice. When the play gets called and the moment comes up like that, it's time to go hit it. It's time to go win the game.”

The Bears (11-4) extended their lead in the NFC North to 1 1/2 games over the Packers (9-5-1) with two to play and got some payback for a loss at Lambeau Field two weeks earlier. It was Chicago's sixth win this season after trailing in the final two minutes and its most incredible — Green Bay had a win probability of 99%.

Chicago moved closer to its first postseason trip since 2020 with a rare victory in the NFL’s longest-running rivalry. Counting the playoffs, the Bears are 7-30 against Green Bay since 2008. They would clinch a berth if old nemesis Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“This is a special group,” coach Ben Johnson said. “I felt that early in the season. You get with some of those wins — the Raiders game and the Washington game — and you start feeling it, the belief coming. This group — I'm talking about coaches and players combined — it’s rare. It really is.”

As for the Packers?

“It should hurt because these guys, all of us, we put a lot into this thing and we had opportunities," coach Matt LaFleur said. "You’re up two scores late in the game and unfortunately, it flipped pretty quick.”

Cairo Santos kicked a 43-yard field goal that got Chicago within 16-9 with 1:59 remaining. The Bears had no choice but to try an onside kick, and Josh Blackwell recovered it.

The Bears tied it with 24 seconds left when Williams beat an all-out blitz on fourth down and lofted a pass to a wide-open Jahdae Walker in the right corner of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. Johnson opted to have Santos kick the tying extra point rather than go for a 2-point conversion.

In overtime, the Packers had fourth-and-1 at the Chicago 36 when backup quarterback Malik Willis fumbled the snap. Chicago took over at the 36 and, four plays later, Moore hauled in the winning TD from Williams with Keisean Nixon draped all over him, setting off a wild celebration.

Two weeks earlier, Nixon sealed the Packers’ win when he intercepted Williams' pass in the end zone. This time, the Bears came out on top with a play they installed in the days leading up to the game.

“I just had to run, run like I did in practice and connect like we did at practice," Moore said. "It was really a practice rep but we did it in a game. Like I said, it was just amazing that we did it against the Packers.”

Already missing Micah Parsons after the star pass rusher sustained a season-ending knee injury in a loss at Denver last week, the Packers had to get by without Love, who took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chicago’s Austin Booker in the second quarter. Love jogged to the medical tent and then headed to the locker room.

Williams completed 19 of 34 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. With eight career fourth-quarter comebacks, he tied Bo Nix's NFL record for quarterbacks in their first two seasons.

Moore had 97 yards receiving with Rome Odunze missing his third straight game due to a foot injury. The Bears won their sixth in a row at home since a season-opening loss to Minnesota.

Love led two field goal drives and completed 8 of 13 passes for 77 yards before getting hurt. He had nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions in five previous games against Chicago.

Willis was 9 of 11 for 121 yards and a touchdown. Romeo Doubs had 84 yards and a touchdown catch, though he also injured his wrist during the game.

Packers: LB Kristian Welch (ankle) was hurt making a tackle on a kickoff early in the second quarter. ... TE John FitzPatrick (Achilles tendon) was helped off the field in the fourth quarter.

Bears: CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee) exited in the fourth quarter.

Packers: Host Baltimore next Saturday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love is attended to after being hurt during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Chicago Bears' Cairo Santos celebrates after an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams celebrates after overtime of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Chicago Bears' DJ Moore catches a touchdown pass with Green Bay Packers' Keisean Nixon defending during overtime of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bowen Yang bid an emotional farewell to “Saturday Night Live” with music, laughter and help from his “Wicked” buddy Ariana Grande.

Yang starred in the night's final sketch, playing a retiring airport lounge worker working his final shift on Christmas Eve, serving eggnog to travelers. He sang “Please Come Home for Christmas” and was joined by Grande, the night's host, and Cher, its musical guest. The women joined Yang in song and hugged him.

The sketch gave Yang a chance to say goodbye to some castmates — he delightfully sprayed Kenan Thompson with eggnog — and its premise gave a chance for Yang to deliver lines about moving on. “I just wanted to enjoy it for a little longer,” an emotional Yang said. By the end of the performance, he was in tears.

The show closed with a brief photo tribute to slain director Rob Reiner and the cast curtain call.

“We love you so much,” Grande told Yang, who was a constant presence throughout Saturday's show and drew huge applause with each appearance.

Yang joined the show as a writer in 2018, became a featured player the following season and was promoted to the main cast two seasons after that. Yang was a fan favorite with five Emmy nominations over the years.

In an Instagram post Saturday, Yang wrote: “i loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people. i was there at a time when many things in the world started to seem futile, but working at 30 rock taught me the value in showing up anyway when people make it worthwhile.”

Yang, coming off a huge year or two of projects, departed “SNL” mid-season.

Grande helped kick off Saturday’s show with a parody of “All I Want for Christmas is You” about buying gifts for people you barely know during her opening monologue. Yang slid onto the stage to huge cheers and helped her complete the song.

The friends appeared together often during the show, including a dance class sketch and a pre-recorded “Home Alone” sketch in which the McCallister family meet violent ends from Kevin’s leftover traps.

Word of Yang's departure came after a major exodus of cast members last summer ahead Season 51's start. They included Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and John Higgins.

The news wasn't entirely a surprise. Yang had publicly discussed the idea, telling People in September he had mulled it over with the NBC sketch comedy show's creator Lorne Michaels. He got a vote of confidence from Michaels and decided to stay at that time.

“Lorne was like, ‘You have more to do,’ and that means a lot, because I even confessed to him. I was like, ‘I feel the audience is maybe getting sick of me.’ And he was like, ‘That’s not true. There’s more for you to do. I need you,’” Yang said.

Of Michaels, Yang added: “That man has changed my life, and I owe a lot of my life to that show. And I love working there. The people are the best. I really love each of them so much.”

In addition to “SNL,” Yang co-hosts the pop culture podcast “Las Culturistas” with his friend and fellow comedian Matt Rogers. He was in “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” as Pfannee and co-starred in the remade “The Wedding Banquet” this year.

In 2023, he appeared in “Dicks: The Musical” and “Fire Island” the year before that. He also co-starred in “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens” from 2020 to 2023.

Yang and Rogers hosted the spoof Las Culturista Culture Awards on Bravo last summer. Yang posted on Instagram that the two will be back for more pop culture comedy on the awards next year.

Mid-season departures from “SNL” are not unprecedented. Cecily Strong did it in December 2022.

Among the bits that earned Yang breakout status was his turn as the Titanic iceberg on the recurring “Weekend Update” segment, his favorite place on the show, according to an October interview with Esquire. He also played George Santos, a straight man who hooks up with Gina Gershon and Sydney Sweeney, and a gay Oompa Loompa. And he spoofed Vice President JD Vance.

Yang made a final “Weekend Update” appearance alongside former “SNL” cast member Aidy Bryant, playing characters who offered viewers tips on what trends are in and which are out for the holidays and 2026.

Yang, the son of Chinese immigrants, was Esquire's recent cover star. In an Oct. 28 interview accompanying his cover shoot, he told the magazine: “There’s an idea that all of what I do is queer and Asian, which I don’t think is true. I get sick of people reducing the work I do on the show to those identifiers.”

Work, he said, “is not the most meaningful thing for me anymore. The things I like are spending time with friends, working every now and then, not being caged by it.”

Yang noted some advice he once received from Kristen Wiig when she hosted “SNL.”

“She was like, ‘Have fun. It’s the most fun job in the world, and you’ll miss it when it’s done. You won’t realize how much you miss it until you leave.’”

FILE - Bowen Yang attends The Museum Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)