On Thanksgiving night, November 26, 2015, the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 17-13 at a rainy Lambeau Field. It was the night the Packers retired Brett Favre’s No. 4 in a halftime ceremony, and it ended with Aaron Rodgers throwing four straight incompletions from the Chicago 8-yard line in the final minute.
The Bears came in 4-6 in John Fox’s first season as their coach. The Packers were 7-3 but had lost three of their previous four games. The game-day conditions were listed as rain, 39 degrees and a 19 mph wind out of the north.
A fourth-down stop and a Lacy touchdown
Green Bay went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Chicago 48 on its opening drive, and Eddie Lacy was stopped for no gain by Jonathan Anderson and Pernell McPhee. The Packers got on the board on their third possession. Tracy Porter intercepted a deep pass at the Chicago 3, but he was flagged for illegal contact and the play was wiped out. Two snaps later Rodgers threw short over the middle to Lacy, who took it 25 yards for a touchdown. Replay upheld the call, and Green Bay led 7-0 with 5:20 left in the first quarter.
Seven points before halftime
The Bears tied it after a takeaway. Early in the second quarter Lacy broke a 15-yard run, but Chris Prosinski knocked the ball loose and Lamarr Houston recovered at the Green Bay 34. Chicago drove to the 3, and on third-and-goal Jay Cutler hit tight end Zach Miller for a 3-yard touchdown with 6:03 left in the half.
Jeff Janis returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to the Chicago 33. The Packers reached the 1 when Randall Cobb caught a 4-yard pass, but James Jones was called for offensive pass interference, and the drive ended with Mason Crosby’s 22-yard field goal. Green Bay led 10-7 with 2:03 left.
Chicago answered with its own two-minute drive. Jeremy Langford ran 14 yards to the Green Bay 31, Alshon Jeffery caught an 11-yard pass, and Marquess Wilson’s catch on the next play was first ruled a 20-yard touchdown before replay placed the ball at the 1. Langford ran it in from there, and the Bears led 14-10 with 30 seconds left. The Packers still had time: Rodgers found Richard Rodgers for 13 yards and Cobb for 23, and Crosby made a 50-yard field goal with four seconds on the clock. It was 14-13 at halftime.
Favre’s night, and a scoreless third quarter
At halftime the Packers held a ceremony to retire Favre’s No. 4. Neither team scored in the third quarter. The Packers’ best chance ended near the Chicago 20: a holding penalty wiped out an 11-yard Rodgers scramble to the 10, and on the next snap the ball was fumbled on an aborted exchange and Rodgers fell on it back at the Chicago 45. Green Bay punted on fourth-and-29.
Gould’s field goal and Porter’s interception
The Bears took the lead for good on a drive that started at their own 14 late in the third quarter. A pass interference penalty on Demetri Goodson kept it going on third-and-14, and Cutler hit Jeffery for 22 yards to the Green Bay 4 early in the fourth. Matt Forte gained 3 yards and then lost 2, a third-down pass fell incomplete, and Robbie Gould kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 17-13 lead with 12:18 to play.
Green Bay reached midfield with 3:23 left, and Rodgers threw short to Davante Adams. Porter stepped in front of the pass and intercepted it at the Chicago 43. The Packers used all three timeouts to get the ball back, and after Pat O’Donnell’s punt went into the end zone, Green Bay took over at its own 20 with 2:45 to play.
Four throws from the 8
Starting from the 20, Rodgers moved the Packers quickly. James Starks caught an 18-yard pass, Cobb caught a 32-yarder down to the Chicago 19, and on third-and-7 Adams made an 8-yard catch for a first down at the 8 with under a minute left.
Rodgers then threw four straight incompletions. The first-down pass for Jones and the second-down pass for Richard Rodgers fell incomplete, Porter broke up the third-down throw for Jones, and the fourth-down pass for Adams over the middle fell incomplete with 22 seconds left. Cutler knelt once, and the Bears had won 17-13.
| Quarter | Time | Team | Scoring play | Score (CHI-GB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5:20 | GB | Eddie Lacy 25-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Mason Crosby kick) | 0-7 |
| 2nd | 6:03 | CHI | Zach Miller 3-yard pass from Jay Cutler (Robbie Gould kick) | 7-7 |
| 2nd | 2:03 | GB | Crosby 22-yard field goal | 7-10 |
| 2nd | 0:30 | CHI | Jeremy Langford 1-yard run (Gould kick) | 14-10 |
| 2nd | 0:04 | GB | Crosby 50-yard field goal | 14-13 |
| 4th | 12:18 | CHI | Gould 21-yard field goal | 17-13 |
The numbers
Rodgers completed 22 of 43 passes for 202 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and was sacked twice. Cutler completed 19 of 31 for 200 yards and a touchdown without an interception. Lacy ran 17 times for 105 yards and caught four passes for 34 more, but Green Bay’s only touchdown came in the first quarter. Jeffery led Chicago with seven catches for 90 yards.
| Chicago | Green Bay | |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | Jay Cutler, 19 of 31, 200 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT | Aaron Rodgers, 22 of 43, 202 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing leaders | Jeremy Langford, 12 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD; Matt Forte, 15 carries, 44 yards | Eddie Lacy, 17 carries, 105 yards; James Starks, 7 carries, 39 yards |
| Receiving leaders | Alshon Jeffery, 7 catches, 90 yards; Marquess Wilson, 4 catches, 44 yards | Randall Cobb, 6 catches, 74 yards; James Starks, 4 catches, 41 yards |
| Sacks | 2 (Lamarr Houston, Willie Young) | 1 (Quinten Rollins) |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 (lost fumble, interception) |
What came next
The win lifted Chicago to 5-6, but the Bears finished 6-10 and last in the NFC North. Green Bay fell to 7-4, finished 10-6 behind 11-5 Minnesota, won a wild-card game at Washington 35-18 and lost in overtime at Arizona 26-20 in the divisional round.
It was also the Bears’ last regular-season win at Lambeau Field for more than nine years. Green Bay won the next eight meetings there before Chicago won 24-22 on January 5, 2025. A year before this game, the Packers had beaten the Bears 55-14 at Lambeau. Favre’s own first trip back to Lambeau, in a Vikings uniform, is the story of November 1, 2009.
The 2026 connection
The Bears are 7-2 and off this week after a 27-24 win over Tampa Bay. They play on Thanksgiving again this year, at Detroit on November 26, with Wu-Tang Clan at halftime. The Packers (6-3) host Minnesota on Sunday and play the night before Thanksgiving, at the Rams on November 25. Green Bay won this season’s first meeting with Chicago 31-7 at Lambeau in Week 5, and the two meet again on Christmas Day at Soldier Field.
The scoring plays, drive notes and player numbers above come from the official play-by-play and game data.
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