It was truly a Christmas miracle. What the Chicago Bears did to the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 was the perfect way for Bears fans to enter the week of Christmas. What better gift than to come back and beat the Packers in overtime?
So many things had to happen, in such a short period of time, for the Bears to come away with the dub. But, against all odds, they did it -- and one Packers player was reeling in the visitors' locker room afterwards.
Green Bay defensive tackle Colby Wooden tried explaining his emotions to the Packers media in the locker room, and all he could do was stop, stutter, grasp for words, shake his head, sigh, and sit in disbelief. When he finally gathered himself (kind of), he still couldn't really put it into words:
"Cause it's like ... it's ... always got to get back to work ... give those guys credit, they finished we didn't. It stings, it stings knowing like ... bro, this one's going to stick with us. This one's going to stick with us.
"Just knowing that we came in their house pretty much dominated from whistle to ... and they was able to make a couple plays at the end to ... bro, we just got to look at the film, keep going and get better. That was, that was, yeah that's a gut punch. That's a reality check right there."
The Bears are headed one direction while the Packers are going the complete opposite
It's usually challenging to say that two teams are headed in the opposite direction after just one game, especially when they were so evenly matched to begin with. But that's where we are.
After Packers quarterback Jordan Love left the game with a concussion, Green Bay relied on backup Malik Willis, who actually performed well in Love's absence. But late in the game, Willis got hurt, and now the Packers don't even know where the quarterback situation stands.
Green Bay is hanging onto its playoff hopes by a thread, at this point, and it might not even have a single healthy quarterback other than practice squad member Clayton Tune.
Read more: J.J. Watt made the claim every Bears fan begged to become a reality
Meanwhile, Chicago has clinched a playoff berth thanks to a little help from Aaron Rodgers and his Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Detroit Lions. For the Bears, life is good. They are guaranteed a spot in the postseason, but still have a path to the no. 1 seed if they get a little help from the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams over the final couple of weeks.