Bears beat Packers, end season on a positive note

JB and Lester with their cooled-down recap of the Bears vs. Packers game, plus some year-end awards.

One of the most disappointing Chicago Bears seasons is finally over, but it ends on a high note with a much-needed win against the Green Bay Packers. It may not mean anything in the standings, but the emotion from the players both during and after the game tells us all we need to know.

Caleb Williams was well aware of the rivalry's recent history. He discussed it in his postgame on-field interview on FOX, in the locker room when he addressed his teammates before giving a game ball to head coach Thomas Jones, and in his postgame press conference.

The 2024 Bears lost so many games in excruciating fashion, so finally finishing a game with a victory will give this team a positive memory as they work through their offseason.

“Being able to have the first win (of) 2025, being able to have the first win since 2015 in Lambeau, being able to have the first win versus Green Bay in 10 games,” Williams reflected in his postgame presser. “So it’s the first of a lot, and (I’m) really excited about this offseason, being able to grow for myself, the moves and people that we’ll get to be able to grow and make a monumental jump for next year and to be able to start next season off right.”

Check out Jeff Berckes and me right here, or join us live on our 2nd City Gridiron YouTube channel at 6:00 p.m. (CT).

Here's our usual bullet point outline of Bear & Balanced.

• Intro: We'll both share some general thoughts about the game.
• Trench Tribute: This is our weekly pick for lineman of the game.
• Sweet Tweets: We’re both active on social media — so be sure you’re all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr — and we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week. We’re also at Bluesky, in case you’re over there.
• The Caleb Corner: We talk about the play of quarterback Caleb Williams.
• Caught up in a numbers game: This segment features one number or statistic from the game that we found interesting.
• The 3 Bears: You all know the story of the Three Bears, so in this porridge-themed portion of the show, we give our picks for the Bear that was hot, the Bear that was cold, and the Bear that was just right in the game against the Packers.

After we wrap up the podcast portion of the show, we'll stick around to answer any questions you guys may have from the YouTube comment section in some video-exclusive content.

You can listen to the podcast version here (ASAP) or download it wherever you get your pods:

Our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms, so hit subscribe wherever you get your audio. Our YouTube home is also called 2nd City Gridiron*, so subscribe there...