Bears pull off another 4th-quarter rally to beat Packers, 31-27, advance to divisional round

Sean Hammond and Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune on Jan 11, 2026

Published in Football

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CHICAGO — Jordan Love dropped the snap, and chaos ensued. The Green Bay Packers quarterback picked up the football and waited for what felt like an eternity as he looked for an open target.

He found none. Love’s last pass fell incomplete with the clock at zero.

Somehow, some way, the Chicago Bears did it again.

Coach Ben Johnson’s Bears erased an 18-point deficit in one of the largest comebacks in franchise history, and they did it in a playoff game against the hated Green Bay Packers on Saturday night in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. The Bears advanced to the divisional round with a 31-27 victory.

Caleb Williams connected with DJ Moore for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Bears ahead 31-27 with 1:43 remaining. Then the Bears defense came up with one final stop as the clock ticked down and the 60,388 fans at Soldier Field erupted.

The Bears had to come from behind for their first playoff victory in 15 years. They trailed 21-3 at halftime, 21-6 heading into the fourth quarter and 27-16 with less than five minutes remaining.

But Johnson’s team did what it has all season. The Bears came from behind six times in the fourth quarter during the regular season.

Add a seventh.

The comeback was eerily similar to the Bears’ Dec. 20 comeback victory against these same Packers at Soldier Field. Moore caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime that night — and he did it again Saturday in the playoffs.

Williams threw for 361 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Bears struggled on fourth-down attempts, especially in the first half. But the defense found a way to stop the Packers in the second half, and the offense came to life.

The Bears move on to next weekend’s divisional round. They will host either the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams on either Jan. 17 or Jan. 18 at Soldier Field.

The top-seeded Seattle Seahawks, who earned a bye in the first round, will face the lowest remaining seed in the NFC. If the third-seeded Eagles beat the No. 6 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Bears will host the Eagles. If the 49ers win, the Bears will host the Rams, who beat the Carolina Panthers earlier Saturday.

The Bears’ last playoff victory came on Jan. 16, 2011, when they beat the Seahawks in a divisional-round game at Soldier Field. That Bears team lost to the Packers a week later in the NFC championship game.

This is only their third playoff appearance since that season. Johnson inherited a five-win team and guided it to an 11-6 record and its first NFC North title since 2018.

The Bears have become appointment viewing. They played in 11 one-possession games in the regular season, winning seven. It was fitting that Saturday night’s game also went down to the wire.

This was only the third time the Bears and Packers squared off in the playoffs and the first time since that NFC championship game in the 2010 season.