Week 15 recap: Bears lose to the Packers 21-13 and are later eliminated from playoff contention

The Bears had one final play to try to keep Sunday's game against the Packers — and their playoff hopes — alive at Lambeau Field.

With 34 yards to go for the touchdown, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky passed to Tarik Cohen, who threw a lateral pass to Trubisky, who threw another lateral to Jesper Horsted. But as Horsted's pitch near the goal line dropped to the ground, so did the Bears' hopes.

Trubisky had three chances to lead tying drives in the final seven minutes of the 21-13 loss to the Packers. But he threw an interception to Dean Lowry on the first and threw four straight incompletions on the second as the Bears turned the ball over to the Packers.

The third ended on that wild play when cornerback Tramon Williams fell on the ball.

A couple of hours later, as the Vikings completed a 39-10 victory over the Chargers, the Bears officially were eliminated from playoff contention.

The Packers led just 7-3 at halftime but burst out with two touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the third quarter, both on runs by Aaron Jones.

The Packers had scored their only touchdown of the first half on a short field following a questionable kick catch interference penalty on the Bears' Cordarrelle Patterson. But the Bears defense missed a few tackles to help the Packers surge to the lead in the second half.

Trubisky led two second-half scoring drives, which included a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Anthony Miller that brought the Bears within a touchdown and two-point conversion of tying the game.

But Trubisky and the Bears couldn't close the rest of the gap.

On fourth down of the second potential drive, Trubisky scrambled to his right under pressure from two Packers defenders and let the football fly. But it sailed over wide receiver Allen Robinson's head and dropped to the ground in front of cornerback Chandon Sullivan.

A year ago Monday, the Bears beat the Packers to clinch the NFC North title, but the tide has turned this season as the Packers improved to 11-3. The Bears dropped to 7-7 with games against the Chiefs and Vikings remaining.

From the locker room

"If that would happen, that would be very difficult to accept. That's what you play the season for, to get in the playoffs, to get a shot at the Super Bowl. That's what we worked for this year, so it will be difficult." --Bears running back Tarik Cohen on being eliminated from playoff contention.

"Almost had it. Almost had it. It was kind of ad-libbed. It wasn't all the way schemed up like that. Just can't go down with the football, and try to keep it alive. A lot of credit to our guys for knowing the situation, sticking with it and just going until the clock was 0:00. It would've been cool, but it didn't happen." --Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky on the game's final play.

Here's how the game unfolded.

Inactives announced

Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks is active for the Bears on Sunday against the Packers, one day after the Bears activated him off injured reserve.

Hicks will play in his first game since he injured his elbow Oct. 6 against the Raiders in London.

Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks during warmups before facing the Packers at Lambeau Field on Dec. 15, 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris, who missed some practices during the week with a foot injury, is inactive. But wide receiver Javon Wims, who injured his knee last week against the Cowboys, is active.

The Bears previously announced wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion), inside linebacker Danny Trevathan (elbow) and right tackle Bobby Massie (ankle) were out for the game. They placed tight end Ben Braunecker (concussion) on injured reserve to open the roster spot for Hicks.

Tight end Eric Saubert, offensive lineman Corey Levin and defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson are healthy scratches.

Wide receiver Ryan Grant, running back Dexter Williams, cornerbacks Tony Brown and Ka'dar Hollman, offensive linemen Jared Veldheer and Yosh Nijman and linebacker B.J. Goodson are inactive for the Packers.

Packers take 7-0 lead

Aaron Rodgers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams to give the Packers a 7-0 lead against the Bears with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter.

The play came on fourth-and-4 after two Aaron Jones runs gained 1 yard apiece and Rodgers hit Allen Lazard for a 4-yard pass on third down.

The Packers started the drive at the Bears' 35-yard line after the Bears previous drive stalled at the 16-yard line.

Pat O'Donnell's punt went 34 yards, but Cordarrelle Patterson was called for kick catch interference when he hit returner Tramon Williams. That resulted in a 15-yard penalty to put the Packers at the 35.

Bears' gamble on 4th down backfires

The Bears wasted a good scoring chance midway through the second quarter.

The Bears converted three third downs and got to the Packers' 41-yard line. But they turned the ball over on downs after two incomplete passes by Mitch Trubisky.

On the first, Anthony Miller was open downfield, but Trubisky just overthrew him and the ball bounced off one hand.

On the second — on fourth-and-7 — Trubisky scrambled under pressure and launched another pass to Miller on the right sideline just before the goal line. Miller caught the ball, but he was just out of bounds.

The Packers couldn't capitalize though, also turning the ball over on downs after two Aaron Rodgers incompletions. Inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski dropped a potential interception deep in Bears territory on the drive.

Eddy Pineiro gets the Bears on the board

Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro made a 30-yard field goal to cut the Packers' lead to 7-3 with 1:45 to play in the first half.

The Bears got their first scoring drive of the game rolling when quarterback Mitch Trubisky hit Anthony Miller for a 33-yard pass down the left sideline to get to the Packers' 28-yard line.

Trubisky also had a 9-yard scramble on the drive, but he was sacked for a loss of 6 yards to put the Bears behind. His third-down pass to Jesper Horsted was broken up by safety Darnell Savage, and the Bears turned to Pineiro.

Bears trail 7-3 at halftime

The Packers lead the Bears 7-3 at halftime, but the Bears defense kept the deficit from growing worse in the final two minutes.

The Packers got to the Bears' 31-yard line, but they stopped an Aaron Rodgers pass to Jimmy Graham on second down for no gain.

Under pressure from Leonard Floyd on third down, Rodgers was called for intentional grounding, and the 10-yard penalty took the Packers out of field-goal range.

Rodgers threw an incomplete pass on fourth down.

Bears coach Matt Nagy let quarterback Mitch Trubisky throw a Hail Mary pass into a crowd of players with 4 seconds remaining, but Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander intercepted it. After the Packers threw three lateral passes, the Bears ended the play by tackling Darnell Savage to head into the locker room down four points.

Packers take 14-3 lead

Aaron Jones scored on a 21-yard run on the Packers' opening drive of the third quarter for a 14-3 lead against the Packers with 12:44 to play in the third.

Jones charged past a tackle attempt from cornerback Prince Amukamara and beat safety Eddie Jackson to the end zone to score.

The Packers got the drive going on Aaron Rodgers' 34-yard pass to Davante Adams. Rodgers also had his longest rushing play of the season, a 17-yard scramble.

Rodgers scooted through a big hole up the middle before sliding down at the Bears' 21-yard line. Jones scored on the next play.

Packers take commanding 21-3 lead

Aaron Jones ran for his second touchdown of the third quarter to give the Packers a 21-3 lead against the Bears.

Jones' 2-yard run with 7:48 to play in the third quarter capped a 66-yard drive that took less than two minutes.

Aaron Rodgers hit wide receiver Jake Kumerow for a 49-yard pass two plays earlier. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix missed a chance to take Kumerow down, and Kyle Fuller and Kevin Pierre-Louis became tangled up as they also tried to tackle Kumerow.

The Bears challenged that Kumerow stepped out of bounds before the catch, but the call on the field was upheld.

Davante Adams then had a 9-yard catch after getting past Buster Skrine to set up Jones' run.

The Packers started the drive at their own 34-yard line after the Bears turned the ball over on downs following a Mitch Trubisky incompletion.

Eddy Pineiro hits another field goal as Bear trail 21-6

Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro made a 27-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter to cut the Packers' lead to 21-6.

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky got the Bears into the red zone on back-to-back passes of 22 and 21 yards to Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller.

But he threw incomplete on first down from the 13-yard line. After Tarik Cohen rushed 4 yards on second down, Cordarrelle Patterson caught Trubisky's pass, but his foot was just out of bounds, and it was ruled incomplete.

Pineiro then made his second field goal of the game.

Anthony Miller's TD catch makes it 21-13

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky found Anthony Miller for a 2-yard touchdown pass to cut the Packers' lead to 21-13 with 8:09 to play in the game.

Trubisky made several big plays on the drive, including hitting Miller with a 17-yard pass earlier in the series and rushing for 8 yards on third-and-15. The Packers were called for holding on that scramble, which gave the Bears first down.

Trubisky also hit Allen Robinson with a 15-yard pass to get the Bears to first-and-goal at the 10. After two David Montgomery runs, Miller caught his second touchdown pass of the season — and his second in two games.

Mitch Trubisky throws 4th-quarter interception

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw an interception on a potential tying drive when his short pass went straight into the arms of Packers defensive lineman Dean Lowry.

The Packers took over on the Bears' 33-yard line, but the Bears defense held, giving the Bears another shot.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Bears defense nearly looked like they also forced a turnover. On third-and-20 from the Packers' 15-yard line, Aaron Rodgers scrambled forward, and safety Deon Bush pulled the ball from his hand.

It was ruled a fumble on the field, which the Bears had recovered. But officials ruled upon review that Rodgers' elbow was down at the 22-yard line before the fumble, and the Packers punted.

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