GREEN BAY, Wis. – Cairo Santos' 51-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Bears to a thrilling 24-22 win over the Packers in Sunday's season finale at Lambeau Field.

The kick came one play after Caleb Williams' 19-yard pass to DJ Moore over the middle to the Green Bay 32. Out of timeouts, Williams spiked the ball to kill the clock with :02 remaining. The Bears marched 47 yards in six plays in just :54 to set up the decisive kick.

"It was good to get that done," said tight end Cole Kmet. "We've had a lot of opportunities and moments where we've come really close, and things haven't ended the right way. But it was really cool for it to end that way and get the game-winning field goal and get the win."

The Bears led 21-13 before the Packers rallied late. Green Bay cut the deficit to 21-19 on Emanuel Wilson's 21-yard TD run with 4:28 to play and then took a 22-21 lead on Brandon McManus' 55-yard field goal with :54 remaining.

The kick came after the Packers had recovered a Moore fumble on a bubble screen at the Bears' 43 with 1:49 left. But the veteran receiver made amends by setting up Santos' game winner.

"After that bubble I was going to be on everybody's hit list," Moore joked. "[The catch that set up the field goal] felt amazing. Once I saw them playing outside leverage, I knew it was going to be a catch and I just had to get down and we had to clock it."

Santos' winning kick came seven weeks after his 46-yard attempt was blocked by the Packers as time expired, preserving Green Bay's 20-19 victory at Soldier Field.

"Ever since that game against Green Bay at home, I've had a terrible taste in my mouth," Santos said. "I've tried to stay in the moment every game after that, but I had this game circled in my heart. I literally got on my knees all week and prayed that I would have a game-winning kick. It's just surreal that it happened this way."

The victory came in Thomas Brown's final game as Bears interim head coach. During Saturday night's team meeting, Brown spoke to the players about embracing difficult moments, quoting a passage from the book, "The World Less Traveled."

"I talked about one of the greatest enemies of success is ease or the desire for things to be easy," he said. "I'm proud of those guys for the way that they battled and overcoming obstacles. It got very difficult towards the end.

"I also talked about doubts. It's one of the biggest enemies of success. I wanted to continue to express how much I believe in the group. I wanted them to believe in themselves, to walk into this arena, this atmosphere, that we haven't won in in a very long time and capitalize the right way.

"I wanted our last game together to be about firsts: The first time we won in 10 games. The first time we beat these cats in [12] tries. The first win in 2025. There was a lot to play for in this game. I'm so proud of those guys the way they capitalized and finished. Also, even more so on Virginia McCaskey's [102nd] birthday. To be able to get a win was a huge deal."

The Bears played complementary football Sunday in Green Bay, producing impact plays on offense, defense and special teams.

They pulled off a sensational trick play on special teams midway through the first period, taking a 7-0 lead on Josh Blackwell's 94-yard punt return touchdown.

Moore dropped back to return the punt and drifted to his left when the ball was in the air. Several teammates followed in his direction. But the ball was actually punted to the other side of the field. Blackwell blocked a gunner downfield, spun around and caught the ball, reversed his field and was raced down the right sideline to the end zone.

It was a carbon copy of a play the Bears ran against the Packers in a 2011 game at Soldier Field. Devin Hester faked out Green Bay's coverage team and Johnny Knox returned the punt 89 yards for a touchdown. But the play was nullified by a penalty.

After the Packers cut the deficit to 7-3 on McManus' 37-yard field goal, the Bears defense generated a key takeaway. Jaylon Johnson punched the ball away from receiver Jayden Reed on a 4-yard run and Jonathan Owens scooped up the fumble and returned it 14 yards to the Green Bay 21.

The Bears capitalized on the turnover, extending their lead to 14-3 on D'Andre Swift's 4-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

The Packers responded with a 7-play, 63-yard drive that was capped by Josh Jacobs' 9-yard TD run, closing the gap to 14-10 with 11:12 left in the first half. It was the first touchdown allowed by the Bears defense in seven quarters.

McManus' 30-yard field goal drew the Packers to within 14-13 late in the half.

On the opening possession of the second half, Williams completed a 6-yard pass to Roschon Johnson on fourth-and-5 from the Green Bay 46.

But the Bears turned the ball over on the next play when Williams handed off to Moore, who pitched it to Keenan Allen. The veteran receiver looked downfield, then threw along the sideline to Swift. But the pass was intercepted by safety Xavier McKinney, who returned it 17 yards. Darnell Wright stripped the ball from McKinney, but linebacker Edgerrin Cooper recovered the fumble at the Green Bay 44.

The Bears defense responded with its second takeaway of the game. Kevin Byard III blasted quarterback Malik Willis on a blitz, forcing a fumble that T.J. Edwards recovered at the Chicago 46. Willis entered the contest in the first half after Jordan Love exited with a right elbow injury.

The defense produced another big play when Terell Smith dropped Reed for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-and-3 run from the Bears' 37, turning the ball over on downs.

The offense followed with an eight-play, 61-yard drive that was capped by Williams' 32-yard TD pass to Moore. The veteran receiver showed his excellent run-after-catch ability, snaring a short screen, weaving through the defense and turning the corner, tiptoeing down the right sideline to give the Bears a 21-13 lead.

"I said, 'There's a lot of people inside, so I'm about to do some Mario Kart stuff and go back outside and hopefully I'll score,'" Moore said.

Earlier on the drive, Moore caught passes from Williams of seven yards on third-and-6 and nine yards on third-and-5. Williams completed 21 of 29 passes for 148 yards and a 95.2 passer rating. Moore led the Bears with nine catches for 86 yards—capped by his 18-yarder that set up Santos' game winner.

"I told [special teams coordinator Richard] Hightower that I felt comfortable anywhere on the field, I've been hitting the ball so well, and then we got a 51[-yarder] in the middle of the field," Santos said. "It's my job to get it through and I'm so happy that I did that."