Trailing significantly, Chicago's defense ignited, fueling a dramatic second-half rally that stunned Green Bay and snatched a playoff victory.
Soldier Field opened its doors to host a playoff game for the first time since 2018, as the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers met in the Wild Card round on Saturday night.
The rivals split the season series and met in the playoffs in their final game. Chicago needed comebacks in both games. Green Bay tried to make sure that wouldn't happen again.
With how close the other two meetings were, there was no room for mistakes, but the Bears made plenty in the first half.
The Bears managed only three points in the first half, as everything seemed to be working for the Packers' offense. Green Bay scored a touchdown on its first three drives and jumped out to a 21-3 lead.
Head coach Ben Johnson didn't want to get behind again as the Bears did in the first two games. He was very aggressive on fourth down, but the problem with that was that he didn't convert a lot.
Chicago went 1-for-4 on fourth-down conversions in the first half. It seems the head coach was trying to mimic Dan Campbell, following Johnson's days with the Detroit Lions as offensive coordinator.
The Packers nearly scored another touchdown before halftime, but were limited to a field goal attempt. Brandon McManus' 55-yard attempt missed the uprights, but Chicago still had a steep hill to climb in the second half, down 21-3.
The defense woke up in the third quarter, but the same couldn't be said for the offense. Chicago added a field goal to make it a two-score game. Neither team scored a touchdown in the third quarter.
Did the Bears have another fourth-quarter comeback in them? If there was any time for one, they needed it on Saturday night with their season on the line.
After Cairo Santos hit another field goal, the offense finally had their breakthrough. D'Andre Swift found the end zone to make it 21-16.
The Packers didn't let the Bears get too comfortable, however. Green Bay slammed the door on the Bears' comeback hopes momentarily with a tough, 23-yard touchdown reception from Matthew Golden to make it 27-16.
The reason it was 27 instead of 28 was because McManus missed the extra point.
The Bears weren't done yet.
Chicago went down the field and scored on its next drive, as Caleb Williams hit Olamide Zaccheaus for a touchdown to make it 27-24 after a two-point conversion.
You could feel the entire city of Chicago holding its breath as the Packers got the ball back with 4:18 left.
The Packers got into position to potentially put the game out of reach with a touchdown. The fans got involved and forced Jordan Love into a delay-of-game penalty, forcing the Packers to try a field goal.
It was clear that McManus was still thinking about his earlier miss. This time, he pulled it wide the other way, as it stayed a three-point game.
Chicago could either tie the game and force overtime or score a go-ahead touchdown. Johnson opted to take the points, drawing up a perfectly executed play to D.J. Moore.
Moore was all but wide open and could've walked into the end zone. The Bears had their first lead of the game, 31-27, with under two minutes to go.
The Bears made things interesting. The Packers got to the Bears' 28-yard line with time for one final play.
Love ran around in the pocket for what felt like an eternity. He threw a pass into the end zone that fell short as Chicago fans exorcised the demons from that 2018 "double doink" loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Johnson talked about beating the Packers twice a year in his introductory press conference. The head coach didn't beat them twice in 2025, but in the same season. Bears fans won't care either way.
Chicago's next opponent will depend on who wins the game between the Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers.