The Dolphins, Jets and Cardinals all rallied from double-digit deficits to record stunning comeback road victories Sunday afternoon.
The Bears tried to continue that trend hours later in Green Bay, closing to within 24-10 of the Packers on Cairo Santos' 44-yard field goal in the third quarter and then marching 89 yards to the Green Bay 1 on their next possession.
Looking to make it a one-score game, Justin Fields took a shotgun snap on fourth-and-goal and powered into the line. He disappeared into a sea of bodies but was ruled to have come up short of the end zone. Bears coach Matt Eberflus challenged the call, but the ruling was upheld after a replay review.
"We thought we had a good look at it, so we made the challenge," Eberflus said. "They thought otherwise and that is the way it goes sometimes. But we thought that was the best play we had at that point to score. If we score there, it is a different ballgame. It is a one-score game at that point and we still have a chance right there to win."
The stop on Fields came with 8:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. Asked if he felt he broke the plane of the goal line, he said: "Yeah." Asked how much a TD would have altered the game, Fields said: "It changes everything. Again, I didn't get in, so I have to face the facts, move on."
It appeared that the Bears had scored a touchdown on the play before Fields was stopped short. On third-and-goal from the 6, Fields raced around right end and dove for the goal line. After conferring, officials signaled a TD, ruling that Fields had touched the pylon with the ball. But a replay review showed that his knee was down before the ball touched the pylon.
After the Bears turned the ball over on downs, Mason Crosby's 28-yard field goal widened the margin to 27-10, capping a 10-play, 89-yard drive with 2:28 left in the game.
