On a frigid January night in Chicago, the Bears delivered a playoff performance for the ages, stunning the Green Bay Packers 31-27 in a game that no one in Soldier Field—or watching at home—will soon forget. The stakes were sky-high: two bitter NFC North rivals clashing with a divisional round berth on the line. The storyline? A classic tale of heartbreak and heroics, with the Bears mounting a wild fourth-quarter comeback to keep their Super Bowl dreams alive, while the Packers are left to pick up the pieces after another postseason collapse.
It all started so brightly for the Packers. Jordan Love, Green Bay’s young quarterback, came out firing, slicing through the Bears’ defense like a hot knife through butter. Love threw three touchdown passes in the first half alone—a seven-yarder to Christian Watson, an 18-yard strike to Jayden Reed, and a 21-yard toss to Rico Doubs. By halftime, the scoreboard read 21-3, and the mood in the Packers’ locker room must have been sky-high. The Bears, meanwhile, looked lost, their offense sputtering and their defense gasping for answers.
But if there’s one thing Chicago fans know, it’s that no lead is safe in the NFL playoffs. The Bears refused to fold, and kicker Cairo Santos kept them within striking distance, nailing a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 34-yarder in the third. Still, as the fourth quarter began, the Bears trailed 21-6, and the odds looked grim. Packers fans were already dreaming of the next round.
Then, everything changed. Bears head coach Ben Johnson, in his first year at the helm, made some bold adjustments that paid off. The Packers’ offense, which had been so electric early, suddenly sputtered. Critics would later point to Green Bay’s conservative play-calling as a major factor in their downfall. As one analysis put it, "The most deserving criticism is how conservative [Matt LaFleur] gets when the Packers are leading in the second half. He immediately enters killing the clock mode, and the efficiency of the unit goes away." That trend proved costly yet again.
With the Packers’ defense unable to generate meaningful pressure—especially noticeable with star linebacker Micah Parsons sidelined—the door was left open for Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. And boy, did Williams seize the moment. He engineered a furious 25-point fourth quarter, showcasing poise and athleticism that belied his age. Williams finished the night 24-of-48 for a whopping 361 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Most importantly, he delivered when it mattered most.
Williams’ fourth-quarter heroics began with a five-yard touchdown toss to D’Andre Swift. The Packers answered with a 23-yard touchdown from Love to Matthew Golden, but disaster struck when veteran kicker Brandon McManus missed the extra point. The score stood at 27-16 with just over six minutes remaining—still a daunting gap, but the Bears weren’t done. Williams found Olamide Zaccheaus for an eight-yard touchdown and then coolly delivered a two-point conversion. Suddenly, it was a three-point game. The Soldier Field crowd was roaring, sensing something special in the air.
Green Bay’s offense, meanwhile, continued to stall. The Bears defense, much-maligned in the first half, stiffened in crunch time. The Packers’ inability to generate a pass rush was glaring, especially given their investment in the defensive front with Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness. As one report noted, "The defensive front couldn’t generate pressure—and when it did, quarterback Caleb Williams escaped it with ease throughout the entire game."
The drama reached its peak when Williams connected with D.J. Moore for a 25-yard touchdown, capping the comeback and sending Bears fans into a frenzy. McManus, already having missed a 55-yard field goal in the second quarter and a crucial extra point, would later miss a 44-yard attempt in the game’s waning moments. Those missed kicks proved fatal for the Packers’ hopes, and the special teams unit once again found itself under the microscope. As one Packers observer lamented, "Everything started to go downhill when kicker Brandon McManus missed a 55-yard field goal to end the first half. And if you could determine the one responsible for the loss, that’s the veteran kicker."
For the Packers, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow. Jordan Love’s stat line—24-of-46 for 323 yards and four touchdowns—was impressive, but it wasn’t enough. The defense couldn’t close the deal, and the offense’s second-half conservatism raised fresh questions about head coach Matt LaFleur’s approach in big games. Despite the disappointment, there are rumblings that Green Bay will offer LaFleur a contract extension in the offseason, though some fans are understandably frustrated after another postseason collapse.
The Bears, on the other hand, are riding high. Their 31-27 victory not only sends them to the NFC Divisional Round but also injects new life into a franchise that has suffered its share of playoff heartbreak in recent years. With Caleb Williams under center and Ben Johnson pulling the strings, Chicago suddenly looks like a team no one wants to face. As for their next opponent, the Bears will watch closely as the San Francisco 49ers take on the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday. Whoever emerges, they’ll have their hands full with a Bears squad brimming with confidence and momentum.
It’s hard to overstate how much this win means to the city of Chicago. Beating the Packers is always sweet, but doing it in the playoffs, with a dramatic comeback, makes it all the more special. The mistakes and penalties that plagued the Bears in the first half were forgotten in the euphoria of victory. For the Packers, it’s another long offseason of soul-searching, with questions swirling about their defense, special teams, and the direction of the franchise under LaFleur.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the 2026 NFC Wild Card clash between the Bears and Packers will go down as one of the great playoff comebacks in recent memory. The Bears, once left for dead, are moving on. The Packers, left to wonder what might have been, will have to wait another year for redemption. The NFL playoffs march on, and Chicago’s improbable run is just getting started.
