Jordan Love runs for go-ahead TD and Packers beat Bears on Karl Brooks' FG block at buzzer

CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers made just enough plays to squeeze out yet another win over the Chicago Bears.

This time, it took a late touchdown and a blocked field goal.

Love ran for a go-ahead score in the closing minutes, and Green Bay hung on to beat Chicago 20-19 on Sunday when Karl Brooks blocked Cairo Santos' kick from 46 yards as time expired.

Christian Watson set a career high with 150 yards on just four catches, including a 60-yarder that set up Love's touchdown run, and the Packers (7-3) avoided falling further behind Detroit and Minnesota in the NFC North. They also beat the last-place Bears (4-6) for the 11th straight time, the longest streak by either team in the storied rivalry.

“We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game, four-quarter battle," Love said. “And I’m proud of the guys. Nobody batted an eye, nobody flinched. It wasn’t by any means our perfect game or our best game.”

Love put Green Bay on top 20-19 when he scored from the 1 with 2:59 left. That touchdown was set up by the long completion to Watson, who got up after making a lunging catch and ran all the way to the 14. Chicago's Jaylon Johnson tripped when he got his feet tangled up with Watson trying to defend the pass.

Love got stopped just short of the end zone on a 13-yard run before scoring on the next play. The 2-point conversion failed.

“Phenomenal play, phenomenal catch by Christian, and then just obviously the awareness to get up not being touched and to go put together a huge run. I think Christian made some big-time plays in the game, had a couple big-time catches and I’m proud of the way he balled out,” Love said.

Green Bay sacked Caleb Williams on the first two plays of the next possession. But facing third-and-19, Williams regrouped. The No. 1 draft pick hit fellow rookie Rome Odunze with passes on back-to-back plays to put the ball in Packers territory.

The Bears drove all the way to the 28, only to end a chaotic week with their fourth straight loss when Brooks got through the center of the line and reached up with his left hand to block Santos' kick.

“I kinda knew, like, I'm gonna block this,” Brooks said. “I said that to myself. I heard the call. I saw Lukas (Van Ness) was next to me and I told him, ‘Hey, just do this, this for me.’ He did it and I got a hand on it.”

The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday and replaced him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, hoping to spark a unit that ranks among the worst in the NFL.

Love completed 13 of 17 passes for 261 yards and a touchdown. He also threw his league-leading 11th interception, matching his total from last year.

Josh Jacobs ran for 76 yards and a score for the Packers. Brenton Cox, active for the first time this season, had a sack, as did Rashan Gary and T.J. Slaton, helping Green Bay beat Chicago for the 26th time in 29 games.

Williams threw for 231 yards and ran for 70 after regressing in the previous three games.

Chicago's D’Andre Swift had 14 carries for 71 yards. His 39-yard score near the end of the third quarter gave the Bears a 19-14 lead.

"There were a lot of positives to build from," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “That's what you have to do. The last three weeks the offense hadn’t played well. We hadn’t played good complementary ball on defense. We hadn’t done a lot of things together the last three weeks but today, today we played complementary football.”

The Packers were in position to add to a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. But Love, who's been intercepted at least once in every game, overthrew Tucker Kraft under pressure on third down at the 15 and Terrell Smith picked it off at the 1.

The Bears then scored their first touchdown since the final minute of a loss at Washington in Week 8. Roschon Johnson powered in from the 1 in the closing seconds of the half to cap a 13-play drive. The offense had gone 25 possessions without reaching the end zone.

Packers: CB Jaire Alexander, who's been dealing with a knee issue, sat out the second half. ... The Packers placed rookie G Jordan Morgan (shoulder) on injured reserve on Saturday. The first-round pick was splitting time with Sean Rhyan at right guard, with Rhyan getting the majority of snaps.

Bears: LG Ryan Bates (concussion) left the game in the first quarter.

Packers: Host San Francisco next Sunday.

Bears: Host Minnesota next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Chicago Bears' Kyler Gordon tackles Green Bay Packers' Christian Watson after a catch during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears' Cairo Santos reacts after having a field goal attempt blocked in the final seconds of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. The Packers won 20-19. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love reacts as he walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. The Packers won 20-19. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. The Packers won 20-19. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Karl Brooks blocks a field goal attempt of Chicago Bears' Cairo Santos during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. The Packers won 20-19. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Green Bay Packers defensive end Karl Brooks (94) celebrates after blocking a winning field goal attempt by Chicago Bears place kicker Cairo Santos late in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams runs during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears' Roschon Johnson celebrates his touchdown run during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Former Chicago Bears Devin Hester speaks during a halftime ceremony of an NFL football game between the Chiicago Bears and Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears' Kyler Gordon congratulates MarShawn Lloyd (32) after Lloyd's interception during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears' Roschon Johnson celebrates his touchdown run during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears' Kyler Gordon tries to stop Green Bay Packers' Chris Brooks during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams is stopped by Green Bay Packers' Xavier McKinney during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. McKinney was called for a penalty on the play. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur argues a call during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Green Bay Packers' Brenton Cox Jr. sacks Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter.

The decision allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along Ukraine's northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

Biden's move also follows the presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has said he would bring about a swift end to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the United States' vital military support for Ukraine.

The official and the others knowledgeable about the matter were not authorized to discuss the U.S. decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's reaction Sunday was notably restrained.

“Strikes are not made with words," he said during his nightly video address. “Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”

Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

Zelenskyy's statement came shortly after he posted a message of condolence on Telegram following a Russian attack on a nine-story building that killed at least eight people in the northern city of Sumy, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the border with Russia.

Russia also launched a massive drone and missile attack, described by officials as the largest in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians. The attack came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity before the winter.

“And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs and appeasement,” Zelenskyy said.

The comment appeared to be a dig at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke Friday with Putin in the first such call with a sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

Some supporters have argued that the limitation and other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies.

Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

Putin has warned that Moscow could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allies allow Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

News of Biden's decision followed meetings over the last two days with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China. The addition of North Korean troops was central to the talks, which took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a stop in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20 summit.

Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the U.N. position is “to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”

“We want peace, we want fair peace,” Guterres said Sunday before the summit in Rio de Janeiro. He didn't elaborate.

The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people familiar with the development.

The overall supply of ATACMS missiles is short, so U.S. officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine enough to make a difference. Some supporters of Ukraine say that even a few long-range strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to change deployments and expend more of its resources.

North Korea has provided thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized this year. The introduction of North Korean troops to the conflict comes as Moscow has seen a favorable shift in momentum. Trump has signaled that he could push Ukraine to agree to give up some land seized by Russia to find an end to the conflict.

As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian assessments. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea also has provided Russia with significant amounts of munitions to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Trump, who takes office in January, spoke for months as a candidate about wanting Russia’s war in Ukraine to be over, but he mostly ducked questions about whether he wanted U.S. ally Ukraine to win.

He also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His victory has Ukraine’s international backers worrying that any rushed settlement would mostly benefit Putin.

America is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.

Worried about Russia’s response, however, the Biden administration repeatedly has delayed providing some specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under pressure from Kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with allies.

That includes initially refusing Zelenskyy’s pleas for advanced tanks, Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other systems.

The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weaponry for limited strikes just across the border with Russia.

Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.

FILE - US President Joe Biden, left, participates in a wreath laying ceremony with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the memorial wall outside of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, listens as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, speaks during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives on Air Force One at Manaus-Eduardo Gomes International Airport, in Manaus, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)