Packers head coach Matt LaFleur's decision to rest his squad in Week 18 paid major dividends in the first half of the NFC wild card game at the Bears, who played all of their starters in Week 18. The Packers lead their hated NFC North archrival 21-3 at halftime.
Chicago won the coin toss and opted to take the football. After a long drive that ended in a field goal, Jordan Love threw touchdowns on each of Green Bay's first three drives. The first came on a play-action rollout to Christian Watson for a 7-yard score, and the second came on third-and-long, when Jayden Reed cooked Tremaine Edmunds out of the slot for an 18-yard touchdown to the left-front corner of the end zone.
After seeing his defense get cooked on the first two drives, Bears head coach Ben Johnson turned up the offensive aggression to the max. Facing a fourth-and-5 at the Chicago 32-yard line, the Bears went for it, but Caleb Williams' pass was deflected and fell well short of Luther Burden for a turnover on downs.
Green Bay capitalized fully on the Bears' giveaway, with Love hitting Romeo Doubs on an out route to the front-left corner of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal. That put the Packers up 21-3 with 1:56 left to play in the half.
Following another fourth-down incompletion by Williams, Green Bay began the final drive of the half at its own 37-yard line with 32 seconds left and no timeouts. Green Bay settled for a 55-yard field goal to conclude the first 30 minutes, but Brandon McManus missed it after making his first try before a Bears timeout.
Love finished the half with 155 yards passing and three touchdowns while completing 10 of 16 throws. Williams finished the half with 78 yards passing and an interception while completing 8 of 17 throws.
Will the Packers put the game too far out of reach after starting the third quarter with the football? Or do the Bears have a magical comeback in store in the second half? Stay tuned to our live blog below to find out.
Brandon McManus has now cost his team seven points tonight after missing a 44-yard field goal, his second of the game. (He also missed an extra point.)
The Bears have the ball back with 2:51 left to play down by three points. With the way the Packers' defense has played in the second half, anything could happen here.
Williams also hit Colston Loveland on the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game, 27-24, with 4:18 left to play. Brandon McManus' missed extra point beginning to loom large.
Matthew Golden caught a screen pass for Jordan Love, and after a broken tackle, he ran away from the Bears' defense for a 23-yard receiving touchdown. Golden, a rookie first-round pick, didn't score a touchdown in the regular season, but he picked an ideal time to score for the first time in the playoffs.
The Packers pushed their lead back out to 11 (27-16) with 6:36 left to play. Brandon McManus missed the extra point.
Chicago took the football out of Caleb Williams' hands in the red zone this time, and it paid off with five-yard rushing touchdown from D'Andre Swift. The Packers' lead is now down to just five, 21-16, with 10:08 left in the game. Green Bay is still searching for its first first down of the second half.
The Packers' lead is now down to 12, 21-9, with 12:05 remaining in the game. Despite Green Bay's defense punting on all four of their drives in the third quarter, Chicago has netted just six points on two field goals
The Packers' lead is now down to 12 points with 13:29 remaining in the game. Despite Green Bay's offense punting on all three of its drives in the third quarter, Chicago has netted just six points on two field goals.
Green Bay has run nine plays and netted 29 total yards. All three drives have been punts. That's a stark contrast to Green Bay scoring on its first three drives of the game with touchdown passes from Jordan Love.
With Green Bay suiting up just a couple tight ends, the Packers lined up offensive tackle Darian Kinnard as eligible to catch a pass. Kinnard caught the football and rumbled ahead for six yards, but then he fumbled the football. However, Green Bay dodged a bullet as the football ricocheted out of bounds of a Bears defender.
Defensive tackle Karl Brooks blew through the middle of Chicago's offensive line to apply pressure on Caleb Williams on fourth-and-1 from the Packers 6-yard line. That resulted in Williams tossing an interception to backup linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper. Hopper, a 2024 third-round pick, was on the field in place of the injured Edgerrin Cooper. The Packers lead 21-6 at their own 9 with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
After another Packers' punt, Caleb Williams is back on the field trailing 21-6.
Williams is dealing with a leg injury that he is now working through on the sideline.
After a Packers' three-and-out, the bears marched eight plays for 48 yards on a drive that resulted in a 34-yard field goal. Chicago now trails 21-6 with 10:07 left in the third quarter.
Chicago had the most comeback wins -- six to be exact -- of any NFL team in the 2025 regular season. The Bears need to summon more of that magic if they want to avoid elimination after trailing 21-3 at the half.
| Bears' comebacks this season | Trailed | End result |
|---|---|---|
Week 4 at Raiders | 14-6 | W, 25-24 |
Week 6 at Commanders | 24-16 | W, 25-24 |
Week 9 at Bengals | 42-41 | W, 47-42 |
Week 10 vs. Giants | 20-10 | W, 24-20 |
Week 11 at Vikings | 17-16 | W, 19-17 |
Week 16 vs. Packers* | 16-9 | W, 22-16 in OT |
* Jordan Love concussed in second quarter
Facing a fourth-and-4 at the Packers' 37-yard line, Caleb Williams airmailed his throw over the middle intended for Colston Loveland. Packers have the football back up 21-3 with 32 seconds left and no timeouts. Green Bay will start the second half with the football.
Green Bay capitalized fully on the Bears' turnover on downs at its own 32-yard line with Jordan Love hitting Romeo Doubs on an out route to the front-left corner of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal. That put the Packers up 21-3 with 1:56 left to play in the half.
Love has completed 9 of his 12 throws for 139 yards and three passing touchdowns on three drives.
Edwards was carted off and will not return tonight.
Chicago shockingly went for it on fourth-and-4 from their own 32-yard line, and it failed. Caleb Williams' throw to wide receiver Luther Burden was deflected at the line of scrimmage, which caused the pass to flutter to the ground as an incompletion for a turnover on downs.
Despite being carted off, Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards was not ruled out immediately. He's doubtful to return with an ankle injury.
Despite starting the first two drives at the 15-yard line and the 13-yard line, the Packers scored touchdowns on both possessions thanks to passes from Jordan Love.
This time, Love hit wide receiver Jayden Reed up the left sideline after Reed beat linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in coverage on third-and-9 for an 18-yard touchdown. The Packers lead 14-3 with 6:46 left in the first half.
Love is rolling: he's completed seven of his nine throws for 116 yards and two touchdowns thus far.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson clearly doesn't trust his defense to slow down Packers quarterback Jordan Love and the Green Bay offense.
Chicago went for it twice on fourth down on its second drive, and the second try failed in grand fashion. Quarterback Caleb Williams went deep, and the only player in the area was cornerback Carrington Valentine, who intercepted the football.
However, it would have been to Green Bay's benefit for Valentine to let the ball fall incomplete. The interception forced Green Bay to start its next drive at the 13-yard line instead of the 40.
The Packers lead 7-3 with 11:04 left in the first half.
As noted by CBS Sports NFL analyst JP Acosta, Packers quarterback Jordan Love leads the NFL with a 0.43 expected points added (EPA) per play against man coverage this season (min. 100 attempts), per Sumer Sports.
The Bears ran man coverage on 29% of their defensive plays in 2025, the eighth-highest rate in the NFL.
Love is off to a good start early with 52 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Watson, with completions on four of his first five throws.
Love rolled out for an easy pitch-and-catch with top wide receiver Christian Watson for a seven-yard touchdown on a play-action pass.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur called a balanced drive with five passes and four runs on Green Bay's nine-play, 85-yard scoring possession. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker walked off on his own with an injury at the end of the play.
The Packers lead 7-3 with 2:06 left in the first quarter.
Chicago converted its first four third downs, but Green Bay's defense forced two incompletions on the Bears' final series. Chicago connected on a 27-yard field to take an early 3-0 with 7:02 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers' offense will take the field for the first time tonight coming up next.
Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense will start the game with the football.
No love lost between these NFC North rivals, especially after Packers QB Jordan Love suffered a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit in the Bears' Week 16 overtime victory
Chicago's defense has had a topsy turvy 2025 season. Lately, the Bears lost their last two regular season games, and they allowed 30.5 points per game across Weeks 17 and 18.
| Bears this season | WL | PPG allowed |
|---|---|---|
First 2 games | 0-2 | 39.5 |
Next 13 games | 11-2 | 21.2 |
Last 2 games | 0-2 | 30.5 |
The Packers have lost a number of key contributors throughout the season, but they will get quarterback Jordan Love (concussion in Week 16 at Bears) and running back Josh Jacobs (limited snaps since missing Week 12 with a knee injury) after a week of rest in Week 18.
Green Bay will be without right tackle Zach Tom (knee/back injury in Week 15), tight end Tucker Kraft (tore ACL in Week 9, center Elgton Jenkins (broken ankle in Week 10, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (fractured ankle in Week 13) and edge rusher Micah Parsons (tore ACL in Week 15).
Chicago is seeking their first playoff win since the 2010 season, which is tied for the the third-longest active drought in the NFL. Bears head coach Ben Johnson is looking to join Kevin Stefanski (Browns in 2020) as the only rookie head coaches in NFL history to snap a franchise's 15-plus-year playoff win drought.
Longest active playoff win droughts
* Last win: 2010 divisional round vs. Seattle Seahawks
