Bears 31, Packers 27: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL playoff victory

BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — A few Bears and Packers were close enough around to be within earshot. That’s when an unfriendly exchange took place.

Some smack talk led to some light shoving which caught the eye of both squad, who converged upon each other on the Bears midfield logo. Officials quickly quelled the exchange, forming a wall between navy and green.

If all the pregame hype didn’t resonate, that image should. Combatants in the NFL’s longest (and most intense) rivalry don’t like each other. Not one bit.

The Bears and Packers rivalry has been renewed this season after years of Green Bay dominance, with Chicago splitting the regular-season series and winning the NFC North to set up Saturday’s NFC wild-card clash.

Emotions were high on both sidelines. Execution was only good on one. In the first half. In the second half, it flipped. That made this game interesting late. As you’d expect from these Chicago Bears. After a season full of dramatic finishes, this one was the craziest.

The Bears fell behind three scores early but came roaring back with an incredible second half, earning a 31-27 victory over the Packers in the NFC wild-card round.

Let’s examine what we learned about the Bears from this playoff contest at Soldier Field:

Caleb Williams surges back

Caleb Williams has been so good in the clutch, this season and throughout his football career. The second-year quarterback talked a ton about his confidence being at “an all-time high” and head coach Ben Johnson saying he was “built for this.”

On this particular Saturday night, Williams wasn’t on point. He struggled find receivers consistently. His at times unreal accuracy and timing were a tick off. He threw an interception in the red zone. He got tripped a hurt the lower part of his leg, though he didn’t missed an offensive

Boosted by a defense that cut off Green Bay’s circulation (for a while), he led a scoring drive that cut the deficit to 21-16 on a D’Andre Swift touchdown.

The Packers responded with a touchdown, meaning the Bears need some trademark Williams heroics. They got some from Williams on a 10-play, 76 yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus and a 2-point conversion to Colston Loveland.

The defense got a stop — more on that unit below – and set Williams up for a late-minute push to win or tie. He pushed the Bears down the field and pushed them ahead with a 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore.

The Bears defense made that score stand, completing a shocking comeback for the ages.

Fourth-down decisions go awry

The Bears tried a fourth down attempt from their own 32 yard line. They went for it within Cairo Santos’ field-goal range on the next drive didn’t get either of them. They attempted another from their own 38, converting the one of four fourth-down attempts in the first half.

The failed attempt from the Bears’ 32-yard line resulted in a Packers touchdown. There was another fourth down from the Packers’ 40 and Williams threw a pick after a clear miscommunication with Luther Burden.

The Bears felt obligated, and rightly so, to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Packers 6-yard line. A touchdown would’ve made it a one-score game, but Williams was immediately pressured and threw an interception in the red zone.

This segment isn’t meant to question all of Ben Johnson’s fourth-down decisions, that helped the Packers build a 21-3 first-half lead. It’s to point out the unsaid in all those decisions, that Johnson didn’t trust his defense to get a stop and didn’t believe, rightly so, that a bunch of field goals would win this game.

It’s an example of the offensive futility that put the Bears in a bind and way behind in the scoreline.

Bears defense awful early, better late

The Bears defense could do no right in the first half, allowing the Packers and quarterback Jordan Love to do whatever they wanted. The Packers seemingly scored a will in the first half, tallying 21 points in the first two quarters.

Green Bay did whatever they wanted against a talented yet worn down Bears defense. In it’s current state, Chicago didn’t have the speed to keep up with the Packers in this one, especially early.

They found late life, however, with a run of stops to start the second half. The Bears were able to get but 13 points out of four stops, with the other drive ending in an interception.

Once the Bears crawled within one score, Love threw his fourth touchdown pass to Matthew Golden with 6:36 left that made things difficult when the defense had to be near perfect. It was an ill-timed touchdown and put the game in real jeopardy. While the Bears responded with another score.

The defense desperately needed a stop or a turnover, late in the fourth quarter and they got it. The Bears forced a field goal that Brandon McManus missed giving the Bears a chance to tie or win it late. After how the defense started, the turnaround was as impressive as it gets.

The defense needed one final stand at the end of the game, and held strong, as Kyler Gordon defensed Love’s pass in the end zone.

The post Bears 31, Packers 27: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL playoff victory appeared first on Marquee Sports Network - Home of the Cubs, Bears, Red Stars and Sky.