What we're watching
• A truly epic night of NFL playoff action: The Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears are headed to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs after pulling off dramatic fourth-quarter comebacks in a great first day of the NFL playoffs.
• The Bears pull out a miracle win! Once trailing by 18 points and looking as lifeless as the Lake Michigan lakefront in winter, the Chicago Bears pull off the largest playoff comeback in franchise history to beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-27. They score 25 points in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.
• The Rams survive a challenge in Carolina: Everyone expected the Los Angeles Rams to ease by the Carolina Panthers in the day’s opening game. Instead, the NFC South champions gave the Rams all they could handle, forcing Matthew Stafford to lead his team to a come-from-behind victory in the final seconds. The Rams advance with a 34-31 victory.
• Come back tomorrow for more: We’ll be back on Sunday for three NFL playoff games, providing more live updates and analysis.
Caleb Williams leads Bears in historic comeback win over rival Packers
The Chicago Bears win games late. Quarterback Caleb Williams had an NFL-leading six fourth-quarter comebacks in the regular season.
The Bears start slow in games against their division rival Green Bay Packers. In two regular season matchups, the Bears finished the first half with just 3 and 0 points, respectively.
On Saturday night, the two teams clashed for the third time in five weeks. The game followed that same narrative arc – an almost self-defeating start for Chicago followed by fourth-quarter heroics from Williams. But watching it play out felt anything but predictable.
The first three quarters were defined for the Bears by aggressive but ultimately futile fourth down attempts, with the occasional field goal.
The Packers meanwhile scored three touchdowns in the first half to jump out to a 21-3 lead. But Green Bay’s offense fell apart in the second half, not only failing to reach the end zone again for the rest of the game but also, crucially, missing kicks that would come back to haunt them.
Kicker Brandon McManus missed an extra point and a 44-yard field goal that, together, ultimately proved to be the difference in the game.
While the Packers offense was falling apart, the Bears came alive. In the final quarter of the game, they scored three touchdowns. Williams set a Bears postseason record with his 361 passing yards and set an NFL record with his seventh comeback in the final two minutes of the season.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions, but the Packers’ season ends to their longtime rival. Coming off three-straight last-place finishes in the division, the Bears are now poised to host a division round playoff game in head coach Ben Johnson’s first season in Chicago.
Rams escape Carolina with a thrilling win over Panthers
What a difference about a month and change make.
The Los Angeles Rams suffered a heartbreaking loss in Charlotte at the end of November but after Saturday’s 34-31 win over the Panthers, it’s safe to say that loss has been avenged.
It was truly a tale of two halves.
The Rams dominated much of the first but the Panthers fought back, scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter to cut it to a three-point game heading to halftime.
With Matthew Stafford appearing to be hampered by a hand injury, Carolina’s defense was able to shut him down for most of the second half.
And with that, came the Bryce Young show.
The third-year quarterback was throwing all over the Rams typically stout defense and led the Panthers to a touchdown that gave them the lead early in the fourth quarter.
Both teams battled back-and-forth before Young found wide receiver Jalen Coker for a seven-yard touchdown to give Carolina a four-point lead with just under three minutes left.
He marched the offense down the field and capped it off with an incredible 19-yard throw to tight end Colby Parkinson, who made an acrobatic catch for the game-winning touchdown with seconds remaining.
But Stafford did what Stafford does – lead game-winning drives.
Young and the Panthers got the ball back with a little over 30 seconds left but it was too little, too late and the Rams will have a date with division rivals, the Seahawks in Seattle next week.
Looking ahead to Sunday's NFL action
WOW! What a day of NFL football today.
We can only hope tomorrow can bring at least a sliver of that excitement.
Lets take a look at Sunday’s slate:
- 1 p.m. ET: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars on CBS
- 4:30 p.m. ET: San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles on Fox
- 8 p.m. ET: Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots on NBC
Bears QB Caleb Williams was very 'understand'ing after miraculous win
After overcoming a 15-point fourth quarter deficit, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams waxed poetic on the improbable win during his postgame interview.
“We understand that it’s 60 minutes of football,” Williams told broadcaster Prime.
“And so you keep going, you keep going, you keep fighting, and when the clock hits zero, you’ll look up and see who wins.”
Williams also understands that the Bears will have to player better, cleaner football if they want to move deeper into the postseason.
“We gotta get better this week. We gotta understand where we are,” Williams said. “We gotta execute, do the small things. That’s what we did in the second half.”
BEARS HOLD OFF THE PACKERS
WHAT A COMEBACK IN CHICAGO!
BEARS HOLD OFF THE PACKERS TO WIN AND ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND!
Final: Bears 31, Packers 27
Packers are driving...can they do this?
The Bears defense got the Packers all the way to fourth down but Jordan Love found wide receiver Matthew Golden for a first down.
There are only 13 seconds left in the game with Green Bay at the Bears’ 28-yard line and the Pack is down four points.
Can the Packers do this?
Score: Bears 31, Packers 27
The Bears come all the way back to take the lead!
A missed extra point and then missed field goal by Packers kicker Brandon McManus sets up the Bears for a potential final drive of the game down by three.
It only takes Caleb Williams six plays to go 66 yards, throwing to DJ Moore for Chicago’s third touchdown of the fourth quarter – after not managing a single one through the first 45 minutes of game play.
As improbable as it feels, this is what the Williams and the Bears do. He had six fourth-quarter comebacks in the regular season.
Score: Bears 31, Packers 27
It's the two-minute warning and the Bears are trying to pull off the improbable
We are at the two-minute warning and the Chicago Bears have a chance to win this game, something that felt impossible an hour ago.
The Bears can tie the game with a field goal – a risky proposition on a blustery night – or win with a touchdown on this drive. Caleb Williams has been pulling rabbits out of hats against the Packers all season, and has two minutes to keep this dream Bears season alive.
Score: Packers 27, Bears 24
Packers are keeping the door open for the Bears
WOW!
All the Packers needed was a score there to put the game away but that did not happen.
To make things more interesting, kicker Brandon McManus missed a 44-yard field goal, meaning the Bears can either tie or win the game with this upcoming drive.
BUCKLE UP!
Score: Packers 27, Bears 24
Packers' missed kicks could prove pivotal as this game comes down to the wire
As the Bears improbably trim their deficit down to just three points, Packers fans are likely throwing some sideways glances at their kicker Brandon McManus.
At the close of the second quarter, McManus appeared to have nailed a booming 55-yard field goal in cold, blustery Soldier Field. But the Bears had called a timeout before the snap, and McManus could not repeat on his second attempt, depriving Green Bay of three points before halftime.
Then after the Packers’ fourth quarter touchdown, McManus hooked the extra point attempt wide left, forfeiting another point.
Either one of those kicks could wind up proving pivotal in the final minutes of this game.
Score: Packers 27, Bears 24
Unwavering aggression begins to pay dividends for the Bears as they pull within 3
And, just like we’ve been saying all night, that’s why you go for it on fourth down.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been resolute in gambling on fourth down all night. Prior to this drive, it had panned out just one in five attempts. But even after a five-yard penalty set up a fourth and eight, the Bears go for it again and this time Caleb Williams demonstrates his superlative arm strength, with a 27-yard pass to Rome Odunze.
A successful third and ten, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion and the Bears have brought the game within three points with under five minutes to go in the fourth.
In a momentum shift oddly reminiscent of the two regular season matchups of these two teams, the Bears are surging late after looking like the offense was hibernating in the first half.
Cue the shots of fans in cheesegrater hats.
Score: Packers 27, Bears 24
Packers get much needed touchdown
The Packers must’ve seen my last post because the offense finally woke up and scored a touchdown that they needed in the worst way imaginable.
Green Bay rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden took it 23 yards for the score with an impressive run after a short pass. Kicker Brandon McManus missed the extra point but the Packers still lead by nine points with 6:36 to play.
Can the Bears respond?
Score: Packers 27, Bears 16
Bears get their first touchdown of the night, come with five points of a possible comeback
Caleb Williams love(lands?) throwing to Colston Loveland. Even better when it (love?)lands for a completion.
A 22- and 21-yard pass to Loveland brings the Bears all the way back downfield and this time, finally, they finish the drive in the Packers’ endzone, with D’Andre Swift ultimately running for the touchdown.
The game, which has felt mismatched all night, is suddenly within reach. Who says chipping away with field goals doesn’t work? (Me, it was me, just like several drives ago.)
Score: Packers 21, Bears 16
Packers have gone cold
No way around it – the Packers have gone cold since halftime.
After scoring 21 points and Jordan Love cooking up three touchdowns along the way, Green Bay have scored a grand total of zero points in the second half.
On top of that, Love was called for his second intentional grounding of the quarter. For reference, according to the Prime broadcast, Love had one intentional grounding penalty in his entire career before this game.
The Bears get the ball back with just over 12 minutes remaining and ever-so slightly knocking on the door.
Score: Packers 21, Bears 9
Bears manage another field goal, still no TD
Devin Duvernay runs 37 yards on the punt return to Green Bay’s 35-yard line and once again the Bears are deep in Green Bay territory.
The fourth quarter starts with the Bears yet to score a touchdown. And, despite advantageous field position at the outset of the drive, that ignominious streak continues.
Caleb Williams is sacked for a loss of nine yards to stall the Bears’ progress and force them to settle for yet another field goal, this one 51 yards. It’s not nothing! But it’s getting late to be chipping away so slowly.
This is still a game, somehow. But the Bears need to find the endzone.
Score: Packers 21, Bears 9
Fourth down failures are hurting the Bears in a big way
How aggressive is too aggressive?
Bears head coach Ben Johnson is taking on the persona of “Riverboat Ben” in Chicago Saturday night.
The Bears have gone for it on fourth down an astounding FIVE times so far in less than three quarters of football. The problem? They’ve only converted on one of those five attempts.
The risk of going for it on fourth down, to state the obvious, is that if you fail to convert, bad things tend to follow.
Sometimes you take points away from your team. Three times, the Bears have failed on fourth down in Green Bay territory, sacrificing potential field goal attempts. Two of those times, Bears QB Caleb Williams threw interceptions.
Another time, Chicago’s shortcoming handed the ball back to the Packers at the Bears’ 32-yard line, setting up a short field and a Packers touchdown.
If the Bears aren’t able to mount a fourth quarter comeback, “Riverboat Ben” will surely have some questions to answer after the game.
Score: Packers 21, Bears 9
A big man fumble highlights the Packers latest drive
Do you think Darian Kinnard woke up today thinking he was going to get a reception?
The 6-foot-5, 322-pound offensive tackle received a pass from Jordan Love and took it six yards before fumbling it. The ball would bounce around between Packers and Bears players before going out of bounds.
That was the most exciting part of the Packers’ latest drive as they were forced to punt just before the end of the third quarter.
After a hot first half, the Pack’s offense has cooled off just as the temperatures at Soldier Field continue to plummet as well.
Caleb Williams and the Bears have one quarter remaining to add some points.
Score: Packers 21, Bears 6
Long drive by the Bears ends in futility after another failed fourth down
After driving 76 yards deep into Packers’ territory, the Bears fail yet again on fourth down — this time needing just one yard for a first down, and just six yards for what would have been their first touchdown of the game.
Caleb Williams was back on the field after rolling his ankle. He seemed to be moving OK, although it’s his arm that did most of the heavy lifting with a 25-yard pass to Luther Burden III to open the drive.
A couple of short runs and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty — just the second penalty of the night for either team — pushes them downfield.
And yet, ultimately, the Bears fail to score. The game is slipping away and despite aggressive play calling, Chicago has little to show for it.
Score: Packers 21, Bears 6
Bears trim deficit, but QB Williams rolls his ankle and is in pain
Bears get another field goal but quarterback Caleb Williams hobbles off the field after rolling his ankle to end the drive.
On the first drive of the second half, Williams throws three consecutive passes downfield to Colston Loveland. The first is bobbled, dropped and ruled incomplete. The next two go for 29 and 19 yards respectively.
But the Packers defense stifles any further progress toward the endzone and the Bears settle for a field goal — and possibly a pyrrhic one at that.
The cameras are focusing on Williams on the bench and he does not look happy.
He’ll get back on the field shortly after the Packers are held to a three-and-out and are forced to punt.
Score: Packers 21, Bears 6
Good start for the Bears D to open the second half
Wow, the Bears needed that.
The defense was able to finally stop Jordan Love and the Packers offense, forcing the team to punt for the first time tonight.
Can Caleb Williams and the Bears get it going?
Score: Packers 21, Bears 3
