The stakes are always higher when the Bears and Packers face off. On Sunday night, they were sky-high as Chicago faced a fourth-and-goal from the Packers' 1 trailing by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter. The Bears had to go for it.
In a puzzling decision, quarterback Justin Fields lined up in shotgun formation. He took the snap, rushed ahead and then leaned into the scrum at the goal line. He was ruled short on the field. Chicago challenged but the call stood.
To add insult to injury, the Packers responded by driving 89 yards and kicking a field goal to push their lead to 27-10 with 2:28 left. That turned out to be the final score.
DENIED ON 4TH AND GOAL! #GoPackGo comes up big. #CHIvsGB on NBC and @peacock. pic.twitter.com/QAT1GCKPC8
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 19, 2022
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What made the call by Bears coach Matt Eberflus so odd was that, rather than have Fields line up under center and try to move the pile, he was lined up 5 yards deep in the backfield. Fields darted to the left — missing a slightly more open hole to the right — and made the play closer than it should have been.
Eberflus told reporters after the game that he liked the play because of the number of Green Bay defenders in the box.
"We practiced it and repped it because, a lot of times, what you do in that regard, you outnumber the box [with blockers]," Eberflus said. "So you're using your quarterback as a runner, you've got an additional blocker, so you like your numbers in the box there. That's why we called it. It was the best play we had right there at the time."
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At certain angles, it looked as if the tip of the ball might have crossed the plane of the goal line. A TD would have made the game a one-score contest.
🗣 You make the call.
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 19, 2022
Is this a touchdown? #DaBears pic.twitter.com/P1ePlJYc5Q
As ProFootballTalk noted, there had to be clear and convincing evidence to overturn the call of no touchdown. There wasn't enough in this instance.
The league has explained in the past that in a situation like this they have to actually see the ball in order to constitute clear and obvious evidence.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 19, 2022
Fields thought he got in. He said the officials' call changed "everything."
"But again, I didn't get in, so, got to face the fact, move on," he said.
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The Bears needed less than a yard and had had little to no issues running the ball on the drive. Chicago had carries of 11, 14, 28, 27, 6, 4, 4, 2, 2 and 6 yards as it moved 89 yards on its best drive since the first quarter.
Fields, who stands 6-3 and weighs 228 pounds, should not have had an issue pushing himself through the line from a few inches away. Lining up in the shotgun gave the defense time to break through the line.
Just the play before, Fields narrowly missed reaching the end zone on a scramble. He initially was ruled as having scored, but upon review, the call was reversed and Fields was ruled down inside the 1.
THAT CLOSE 😳#DaBears | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/huYaIxY3CI
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 19, 2022
It's worth noting that Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, who stands only an inch taller than Fields, has sneaked in touchdowns from a yard out 19 times in his career, according to Stathead. If Brady can do it, then there should be no reason the more athletic Fields can't be relied upon to punch it in from under center.