Second-year defensive lineman Karl Brooks received the game ball from coach Matt LaFleur following a blocked field goal that allowed the Green Bay Packers to escape Soldier Field with a 20-19 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Brooks got just enough of Cairo Santos’ 46-yard field goal attempt to force a miss and preserve the win as time expired.
“I’ve got one game ball here. Representing the field goal block unit. Where’s KB at?” LaFleur said in the victorious visitor’s locker room on Sunday.
The Packers trailed at halftime, gave up a lead in the second half and were on the verge of suffering a crushing defeat late in the fourth quarter, but Brooks saved the day.
The victory improved the Packers’ record to 7-3. Brooks’ blocked prevented the Packers from suffering a third straight divisional defeat and a fourth conference loss in 10 games.
“First of all, we will never, ever apologize for winning in this league,” LaFleur said post-game. “Never. Alright? It was not up to our standard. And there’s a lot of (expletive) that we need to improve upon. But I’ll you what. We talk about competitive endurance. And that was a competitive (expletive) game that went down to the final play. So give it up for yourselves.”
LaFleur said special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia often says the toughness and spirit of the field goal block team defines a football team. On Sunday, the field goal unit made the game-defining play and saved the Packers from a tough defeat in Chicago.
Here’s LaFleur’s locker room speech and game ball presentation following Sunday’s win: