We’re sitting here in February, the offseason silence already settling over Halas Hall, and I still can’t shake the sound of Soldier Field in overtime. That roar when Caleb Williams found Rome Odunze deep down the sideline—the one that sent the Packers home and moved the Bears to 11-4—it’s the kind of noise that lingers in your ribs for months.
The Bears lost in the Divisional Round a week later. That’s the reality we have to live with now. But that 22-16 win over Green Bay? That was the moment Ben Johnson’s team announced they weren’t just happy to be in the playoffs. They were built to steal games they had no business winning.
Five takeaways from the miracle
1. Caleb Williams played the final 17 minutes like a veteran who had been there ten times before.
Let’s be honest about the first three quarters: Williams looked tight. The pocket was collapsing, the timing was off, and Declan Doyle’s offense had managed six points against a defense that had spent the regular season getting torched by everyone. Down 16-6 entering the fourth, Williams was staring at a one-and-done playoff exit in his first year under center.
Then he just… unlocked. The throw to Odunze—rolling left, off-platform, dropping it into a window the size of a mailbox between two Packers defensive backs—wasn’t just arm talent. It was audacity. Williams completed 8 of his final 10 passes, including the game-winner to DJ Moore in overtime that sent Greg Braggs into tears and Adam Hoge searching for superlatives he hadn’t used in 15 years covering this team.
2. Dennis Allen’s defense adjusted or died.
The first half was a mess. Green Bay’s offense was gashing the Bears on third down, and Jordan Love had time to check his blind spot twice before throwing. But whatever Allen said at halftime—or more likely, whatever he adjusted schematically—worked. The Bears went from a passive Cover-3 look to more aggressive man coverage underneath, forcing Love into three straight three-and-outs to close regulation.
The defensive line, which had been getting pushed around in the run game, started winning with stunts. You saw it on the final Green Bay possession of the fourth quarter: the interior pressure forced Love to throw the ball away on third-and-7, setting up the overtime period that would seal it.
3. Ben Johnson’s aggressiveness almost cost them, then won them the game.
Johnson’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Packers’ 38 in the third quarter—down 10 points—wasn’t just analytics. It was a statement that he trusted Williams more than he trusted his defense to get a stop later. Williams converted with a dart to Moore. That drive stalled, but the tone shifted. Johnson didn’t coach like a first-year head coach in his first playoff game. He coached like someone who understood that playing not to lose against Green Bay is exactly how you lose.
4. The offensive line’s second-half recovery was underrated.
Ryan Poles traded for Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney for exactly these moments. After Williams took three first-half sacks and spent the second quarter throwing off his back foot, the protection solidified. Thuney’s ability to slide left and pick up Green Bay’s interior twists gave Williams the half-second he needed to find Odunze on that fourth-quarter bomb. It wasn’t perfect—Williams still took pressure—but it went from disastrous to functional, and that’s all the offense needed.
5. This was the validation of the Virginia McCaskey era’s final chapter.
The matriarch died nine days before this game. The Bears played with a patch on their jerseys and something heavier on their shoulders. To beat Green Bay in the playoffs—at Soldier Field, in overtime, after trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter—felt like the football gods finally giving this franchise a moment of pure joy after decades of torture. It didn’t erase the pain of losing in the Divisional Round the following week, but it gave the McCaskey family and the city a memory that will outlast the disappointment.
Grading the performance
Offense: B+ Sixteen points in regulation against that secondary should have been a disaster. But the fourth-quarter execution and overtime drive were so pristine that you have to bump the grade. Williams’ passer rating in the final two quarters: 128.4.
Defense: B- Gave up too many easy completions early and let Green Bay control the clock for most of the first three quarters. The second-half adjustment saves this from a C. Holding the Packers to zero points in the fourth quarter and overtime is what championship defenses do, even if it took too long to get there.
Coaching: A- Johnson’s timeout management in the final two minutes of regulation was shaky—he burned one unnecessarily that almost cost the Bears a possession. But the game-plan adjustments at halftime, particularly Allen’s defensive wrinkles, showed a staff that was listening and adapting in real-time.
Special Teams: C+ Cairo Santos drilled the game-tying field goal, but the coverage units gave up a 34-yard return in the fourth quarter that flipped field position at the worst possible time. In a one-score playoff game, that can’t happen.
What went wrong
The first three quarters were a reminder that this team was still learning how to win. The offensive line was getting whipped at the point of attack. Williams was holding the ball too long, trying to make hero plays instead of taking the checkdown. And the defense was playing soft coverage like they were protecting a lead instead of chasing one.
If Green Bay converts one more third down in the fourth quarter—if Love hits that slant on third-and-5 instead of throwing it behind his receiver—we’re not talking about the greatest win in franchise history. We’re talking about another early exit and a long winter of questions about whether Ben Johnson was ready for this job.
What went right
Everything after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. The two-minute drill that ended with Santos’ field goal was surgical—eight plays, 52 yards, no hesitation. Then the overtime possession: seven plays, 75 yards, culminating in Moore’s winning score.
More than that, it was the belief. You could see it in the huddle. Williams wasn’t looking at the sideline for help. Johnson wasn’t panicking. This was a team that expected to win, even when the scoreboard said they shouldn’t.
What this means going forward
The Bears lost the next week. That’s the truth that sits heavy now, in the quiet of February. But that win against Green Bay proved the formula works. Ryan Poles’ roster construction—trading for proven veterans like Thuney and Jackson, drafting Williams and surrounding him with weapons—can stand up to playoff pressure.
Ben Johnson has a team that knows how to fight out of a hole. Dennis Allen has a defense that can adjust on the fly. And Caleb Williams has the clutch gene.
They fell short of the Super Bowl. But they buried the Packers in overtime at Soldier Field in a playoff game. In Chicago, that buys you patience. It buys you belief. And it buys this regime time to figure out how to get back there next January—and finish the job.