Caleb Williams, Bears stun Packers again with wild-card win

CHICAGO -- As the Chicago Bears clawed back from an 18-point deficit against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, Soldier Field shook.

Many in the crowd of 60,338 stood throughout the fourth quarter and jumped from their seats as Chicago put together another late rally to advance to the divisional playoffs after pulling off a 31-27 win.

The Bears are the fourth team in NFL history to win a playoff game after trailing by 15-plus entering the fourth quarter.

Chicago's only points of the first half came on a field goal. The Bears' 18-point halftime deficit was the team's largest ever in a home playoff game. But Ben Johnson told Prime Video's broadcast that he kept his foot on the gas despite unsuccessful fourth-down attempts because of the Packers' offensive capabilities.

And the Packers knew what the Bears were capable of late in games. Chicago also had a miraculous comeback to win in overtime against Green Bay in the regular season.

In familiar fashion, the Bears did most of their damage in the final moments. It was enough to capture the lead with 1:48 to play, when Caleb Williams connected with DJ Moore for a 25-yard touchdown, and a defense that struggled in the first half held on to secure the win.

Chicago Bears

What to make of QB performance: Williams turned around his success on deep-ball attempts in the second half. In the first half, Williams completed only 2 of 5 passes for 40 yards and an interception on throws of 15 or more air yards downfield. In the second half, Williams took more shots downfield, completing 7 of 13 passes for 166 yards and a TD. The 166 such passing yards are Williams' most in a half in his career. He finished 24 of 48 for 361 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Williams has seven game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or OT this season, tied with Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix for the most in the NFL and the most in a season by a Bears QB since the 1970 merger (his six entering Saturday were already the most).

Most surprising performance: The Bears led the league in takeaways but were minus-2 in turnovers Saturday. Chicago's red zone defense had been its only saving grace as of late (Green Bay was 0-for-5 in Week 16; Detroit was 1-for-4 in Week 18), but it got torched in the first half, when Jordan Love threw three touchdowns outside the numbers inside the 20-yard line. The Bears played too much man coverage and saw brutal results because of it. But the defense came alive in the second half by forcing the Packers to punt on four straight possessions.

Stat to know: Johnson is the first head coach in Bears history to win a playoff game in his first season with the team.-- Courtney Cronin

Next game: TBD

Green Bay Packers

It happened again. For the second time in three weeks, the Packers suffered a collapse of epic proportions against the Bears. The first one cost them the NFC North title. The second one cost them their season.

The Packers blew a 21-3 halftime lead, one they built with touchdowns on each of their first three possessions, and got bounced from the playoffs Saturday. Last month, the Packers blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost in overtime thanks in part to botching an onside kick late in regulation. The Packers ended the season on a five-game losing streak, and their Super Bowl drought is now at 15 years.

What to make of the QB performance: Rust? What rust? It wasn't a slow start by Love, who played for the first time since missing the past 2½ games, that eventually cost the Packers. Love threw touchdown passes on the first three drives of the game to become just the second player in Packers history with three touchdown passes in the first half of a playoff game. Love finished 24-of-46 for 323 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Most surprising performance: The Packers had only one dropped pass in the game entering the final drive. They dropped two of them on their final drive -- one by Jayden Reed and one by Romeo Doubs. The three dropped passes matched a single-game season high.

Trend to watch: The Packers have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for the second straight season, and they last won a postseason game during the 2023 season. The loss dropped coach Matt LaFleur to 3-6 all time in the playoffs. -- Rob Demovsky

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