The Green Bay Packers cruised to a 21–3 halftime lead, but the game flipped in the second half as the Chicago Bears rallied all the way back to win 31–27 in the NFC wild card round.
The comeback marked the largest in Bears' playoff history and the largest blown lead in Packers' playoff history. Chicago's win Saturday night at Soldier Field was the team's first playoff victory since the 2010 divisional round against the Seattle Seahawks, snapping what had been tied for the third-longest active playoff win drought in the NFL.
Green Bay silenced Soldier Field early, with quarterback Jordan Love throwing touchdowns on the Packers' first three drives — a 7-yard pass to wide receiver Christian Watson, an 18-yard strike to wide receiver Jayden Reed and a 1-yard toss to wide receiver Romeo Doubs. Love's third touchdown of the opening half was set up by the Bears turning the ball over on downs at their own 32.
For as hot as the Packers were in the first half, they went ice-cold in the second. Green Bay punted on its first four drives after halftime, allowing the Bears to close within 21–16 with 10:08 left after two field goals and a 6-yard touchdown run by running back D'Andre Swift. Love briefly answered, connecting with first-round rookie wideout Matthew Golden on a screen pass that Golden turned into a 23-yard touchdown -- the first of his career -- to put Green Bay back up 27–16 with 6:36 remaining.
The Bears then ripped off 15 straight points, starting with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to Olamide Zaccheaus, followed by a two-point conversion to tight end Colston Loveland. Wide receiver DJ Moore later broke free for the go-ahead 25-yard touchdown. Moore also caught the go-ahead touchdown against Green Bay in Week 16.
Love and the Packers reached the Bears' 28-yard line after getting the ball back with 1:43 left, but Green Bay came up empty after a pair of late heaves fell incomplete.
Here are three takeaways from one of the wildest playoff games in recent memory.
Matt LaFleur's seat just heated up
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and the Packers were set to meet in the near future to discuss a contract extension, per NFL Media, with 2026 the final year of his current deal. Leading Green Bay into the worst playoff collapse in franchise history -- against enemy No. 1, the Chicago Bears -- could complicate those talks.
LaFleur's 76 regular-season wins in seven years are tied for the second-most by a head coach in his first seven seasons in NFL history, along with Hall of Famer Paul Brown. That stands in stark contrast to his now 3–6 postseason record. The Packers reached the NFC Championship Game in his first two seasons in 2019 and 2020, but they have gone 1–4 in their last five playoff games over the past four seasons.
Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson are who Bears fans hoped they would be
After Williams struggled through the first three quarters (14 of 27 passing for 177 yards and two interceptions), he flipped a switch and powered the Bears to their largest playoff comeback ever. He completed just 10 of his 21 throws in the fourth quarter, but they went for 184 yards and two touchdowns. His 361 passing yards are the second-most in a victory by a quarterback making his playoff debut in NFL history.
Johnson became the first head coach in Bears history to win a playoff game in his first season. He led Chicago to an NFC North title, the epic wild-card win over the hated Packers, and now the Bears will host another postseason game in the divisional round. Not a bad start at all.
|
Team points | 6 | 25* |
Williams' completions/pass attempts | 14/27 | 10/21 |
Williams' pass yards | 177 | 184 |
Williams' TD-INT | 0-2 | 2-0 |
* Bears' 25 points in fourth quarter are the third-most by any team in playoff history
The Packers badly missed Micah Parsons
Green Bay recorded an NFL-low three sacks over the final four games of the regular season after All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons went down with a torn ACL in Week 15 at Denver. On Saturday night, the Packers produced just one sack, from edge rusher Lukas Van Ness, despite leading by three scores at halftime -- a game script that put Caleb Williams in passing situations for much of the second half.
Pro Bowl edge rusher Rashan Gary totaled 7.5 sacks in 2025, but none came after the Packers' 35–25 Week 8 win over the Steelers. Green Bay can clear just under $11 million in cap space in 2026 by releasing him.
