Bears Report Card: How we graded Chicago in Week 18 win vs. Packers

The Chicago Bears were victorious in their final game of the 2024 season. They took down the Green Bay Packers, 24-22, for the first time since Dec. 16, 2018. That snapped a losing streak against them that reached 11 games.

This was a great way for the Bears to end their season, as it also snapped a 10-game losing streak as they hadn't won since Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in October. A lot of hard decisions are going to be made during the offseason, but beating the arch-rival to the north is going to put a smile on everyone's faces.

If each unit on the team received a letter grade for their performance on Sunday, things might not be as ugly as they have been at times this season. Here's how we graded the offense, defense, special teams and coaching in this Week 18 victory?

Offense: C

Chicago's offense was good enough to beat the Packers in Week 18, which was all you could ask for at this point. With very little pressure to win due to the circumstances of the season, it was nice to see them help do what they can to pull out a win. All people want to see is a Bears quarterback that can be a franchise guy. After this season, it is fair to think that Calen Williams might be able to do that. In this win, Williams went 21-of-29 for 148 yards and one touchdown. His completion percentage is nice, but the other stats don't jump off the wall. With that said, on a lousy team with a bad line in front of him, he has had as good of a season as you can ask from a rookie.

Williams also drove the team down the field with under a minute left and that allowed them to kick the game-winning field goal. Drives like this are not easy and should be celebrated when they happen, especially when they're led by a rookie. The ball was spread around a good amount. Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, and Keenan Allen were all a part of the passing game and D'Andre Swift ran the ball well. With that said it could be better. With a new (better) coaching staff in place next season, you'd like to see Williams get even more out of his weapons.

Defense: A

The Bears defense didn't have to face Jordan Love as much in this game, which made things easier, but they did what they were asked to do. They kept the Packers off the board enough to make the game winnable in the end. Although the offense did what they needed to do to win, it isn't like they were this incredible unit that kept the defense off the field.

Without them doing what they did throughout the game, including takeaways, Williams and the offense would have never been able to drive down the field and kick the game-winning field goal. With more health and some smart decision-making by the front office over the summer, this unit is still on track to be good shortly. One player who deserves individual praise is Kevin Byard III. He had nine tackles and five assists to go with one sack. To say he was all over the field on defense would be an understatement.

Special Teams: A

The special teams units get an A for the first time in a long time here. For one, they used deception to return a punt early in the game. It looked like DJ Moore was back to receive the punt and Josh Blackwell was the one camped under the ball. He ran it back 94 yards to the endzone, which gave the Bears a 7-0 lead, and they were in the game from that moment on.

There is also the game-winning kick. Cairo Santos hit the 51-yard field goal for the Bears to end their losing streak and their one to the Packers. He also made all three of his extra point attempts, which proved to be important in this game. Seeing Santos hit that game winner, after the blocked field goal against the Packers in Week 11, was special.

Coaching: C

The coaching is what the coaching is right now. It is fairly obvious that Thomas Brown is not the guy for the job but he did okay based on the hand he was dealt this year. There needs to be an overhaul to the entire staff as they prepare for the second year of the Caleb Williams era.

It wasn't brilliant coaching that allowed the Bears to win this game, but they didn't mess it up at the end either, which has been an issue this season going back to the Matt Eberflus days. We will see where Brown lands next, as he deserves a job in the NFL doing something, but the Bears need a new head coach badly.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears Report Card: How we graded Chicago in Week 18 win vs. Packers