It was a night that will haunt Green Bay Packers fans for years to come and one that Chicago Bears supporters won’t soon forget. On January 10, 2026, Soldier Field became the backdrop for one of the most dramatic playoff collapses in recent memory, as the Bears stormed back from an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat their arch-rivals, the Packers, 31-27, in the NFC Wild Card round. The story of the night, however, wasn’t just the Bears’ grit—it was the unraveling of Packers kicker Brandon McManus, whose three missed kicks proved pivotal in the stunning turnaround.
For the first two quarters, it looked like the Packers were set to cruise into the divisional round. Green Bay dominated the opening half, building a commanding 21-3 lead thanks to disciplined defense and efficient offense. But as any seasoned football fan knows, no lead is ever truly safe in the postseason, especially when special teams’ woes rear their ugly head.
Brandon McManus, a veteran kicker with a Super Bowl ring from his days with the Denver Broncos, was expected to bring stability and poise to the Packers’ special teams. Instead, he found himself at the center of a nightmare performance. McManus’s troubles began just before halftime. With time expiring, he lined up for a 55-yard field goal attempt, aiming to extend the Packers’ lead to 24-3. The Bears called a timeout just before the snap, and while McManus drilled the first attempt, the play didn’t count. On the rekick, he hooked it wide left. The miss left Green Bay’s lead at 21-3, a margin that, in hindsight, would prove far too slim.
The second half saw the momentum swing violently in Chicago’s favor. The Bears, led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, came out of the locker room with renewed energy. After managing just three points in the first two quarters, Chicago exploded for 28 points in the second half, including an eye-popping 25 in the fourth quarter alone. Williams orchestrated a series of precision drives, culminating in a six-play, 68-yard march that ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore. That score, which came with just under two minutes to play, put the Bears ahead for the first time all night.
But the Bears’ comeback was made possible in large part by McManus’s continued struggles. His second miss came at a crucial juncture in the fourth quarter. After Packers quarterback Jordan Love found Matthew Golden for a 23-yard touchdown, McManus shanked the extra point wide left. Instead of extending the Packers’ lead to 28-16, the score remained 27-16, an 11-point gap that kept the Bears within striking distance. The missed PAT loomed large as Chicago mounted their comeback, scoring two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to seize the lead.
With just under three minutes remaining and the Packers clinging to a 27-24 advantage, McManus had a chance to redeem himself. Green Bay’s offense stalled, setting up a 44-yard field goal attempt that would have given the Packers a six-point cushion. Once again, McManus faltered, pulling the kick wide right. The miss was met with groans from the Packers sideline and an eruption of cheers from the Bears faithful. It was the third missed kick of the night for McManus, and it left the door wide open for Chicago’s game-winning drive.
McManus’s night was historically bad. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, "Brandon McManus is the first kicker to miss two kicks in the fourth quarter of a playoff game since Lawrence Tynes in the 2007 NFC Championship Game for the Giants at the Packers." Unlike Tynes, who redeemed himself with a game-winner in overtime, McManus never got another shot. Skip Bayless summed up the sentiment on social media, posting, "Packers got literally KICKED in the stomach by Brandon McManus." The reaction from fans was swift and merciless, with memes and criticism flooding social platforms as the Packers’ season slipped away.
The collapse was not solely on McManus’s shoulders, but his missed opportunities were undeniably the turning point. The Packers’ defense faltered in the second half, allowing Williams and the Bears to move the ball at will. Special teams, however, bore the brunt of the blame. As The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman observed, "The defense was horrid in the second half, and special teams were again a postseason disaster." Even head coach Matt LaFleur, who is now 3-6 in the playoffs and has seen his team eliminated in the opening round two years running, couldn’t hide his disappointment. "This one is gonna hurt for a really, really long time," LaFleur told reporters. He declined to address questions about his future, saying it wasn’t the right time to discuss it.
For McManus, the loss was particularly painful. A decade ago, he was the hero of the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 run, going a perfect 10-for-10 on field goals and converting every extra point during the playoffs. That postseason performance helped solidify his reputation as one of the league’s most reliable kickers. But in his second season with Green Bay, age and inconsistency caught up with him. He finished the 2025 regular season ranked 28th in the NFL in field-goal percentage, converting just 80% of his attempts—a far cry from his previous standards. By the end of the wild-card game, McManus had missed six field goals and one extra point during the regular season, then added three more misses on the playoff stage.
After the game, McManus was candid about his performance, calling it "embarrassing." Packers management now faces a tough decision regarding his future. McManus is under contract through 2027, but after such a high-profile meltdown, speculation is swirling that the team may cut ties and look to younger options. Releasing him would carry a $3.3 million dead money hit but save $2 million on the 2026 cap, making the move a real possibility.
Meanwhile, Bears kicker Cairo Santos was flawless, nailing a 51-yard field goal and all four extra points. The Bears’ special teams left no points on the field, a stark contrast to the Packers’ costly miscues. For Chicago, the victory marked their biggest playoff comeback in franchise history and their first postseason win since 2010. The jubilation in the Windy City was matched only by the despair in Green Bay, where fans are left to wonder what might have been had just one of McManus’s kicks found its mark.
As the dust settles, the Packers will have to regroup and address lingering questions about their roster, coaching staff, and, most pressingly, their kicking game. For the Bears, the win is a testament to resilience and opportunism—a night when everything changed in just two quarters of football. The rivalry between these two storied franchises just got a new chapter, and next season’s rematch at Lambeau Field is already circled on calendars.
For now, Chicago celebrates a miraculous comeback and Green Bay faces an offseason of soul-searching, all set in motion by a night where three missed kicks changed everything.
