After another improbable comeback win, the Chicago Bears were gathered in their locker room, waiting for head coach Ben Johnson to speak, when he let out a guttural scream. “F— the Packers, man,” Johnson said. “F— them!”
The players roared with laughter and glee. Chicago had just beaten the Green Bay Packers, its hated rival, in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs — the Bears’ first playoff win in 15 years.
Once Johnson calmed down, he addressed the team. “You look up at halftime, in this game, and it’s 21-3,” he said. “No f—ing panic … built for pressure. That’s you guys!”
The Chicago Bears haven’t had this much swagger in a long time, maybe not since the 1980s, when they were the Monsters of the Midway. Since 2011, the Bears have had more last-place finishes in their division (seven) than playoff berths (three). On one of the few occasions they did make the playoffs, their season ended on a missed kick that was so heartbreaking it was given its own moniker: the double doink.
This year, the Bears have reversed roles. They have mounted several odds-defying comeback wins that have left their opponents devastated. They’ve won seven games — including last week’s win over the Packers — with a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime. Now, a new moniker has been coined: the Cardiac Bears. Local journalists have gone as far as to interview actual cardiac specialists, asking how Bears games might affect fans’ hearts.
On Sunday, in the divisional round, the Bears will face their toughest test yet in the Los Angeles Rams, a team that boasts an elite head coach (Sean McVay), an MVP candidate at quarterback (Matthew Stafford) and a young defense with a vicious pass rush. The Rams have been perennial contenders in recent years, whereas the Bears are … new to the scene.
The Bears have a rookie head coach in Johnson, the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, who’s considered a wunderkind; a second-year quarterback in Caleb Williams; and two rookie pass-catchers who’ve emerged as Williams’ top targets, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III.
All season, this group faced some long odds together. Those seven games the Bears won late? In each instance, Chicago’s “win probability” dipped lower than 25% at some point in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Analytics, before the Bears made their move.
“There’s a belief with this team that shows up each and every week,” Johnson said this week. “It’s kind of who we are here at this point.”
A major catalyst for the comebacks has been Williams, the Bears’ quarterback. Chicago drafted him No. 1 overall in 2024 out of USC, where he had gained a reputation for his playground-like ability to improvise plays. Last season, under a previous coaching regime, Williams largely struggled and was sacked 68 times, the third-most in a single year in NFL history.
The Bears then hired Johnson as head coach, and under his tutelage, Williams has flourished. Despite the occasional hiccup, Williams seems to be playing with more poise, more purpose — especially in the fourth quarter, when the game is on the line. During the regular season, Williams recorded his highest number of passing yards (1,096), most touchdowns (10) and most rushing yards (129) in the game’s final frame. He also posted a much higher quarterback rating in situations where his team was losing (97.8) than when it was ahead (79.8).
All of those comebacks helped the Bears go 11-6 and win the NFC North. That earned them a home game last week, in the wild card round, against the Packers. The first playoff game for Williams and Johnson, Chicago was losing 21-3 at halftime, 21-6 entering the fourth quarter, and then … the Bears outscored the Packers 25-6 the rest of the way. In that quarter alone, Williams threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns and made a number of clutch plays.
With less than six minutes to go, the Bears were trailing by 11 points and facing a fourth-and-8 situation in their own territory. If they failed to convert, their season would have likely been over. Instead, Williams rolled to his left, leaped in the air and hurled the ball downfield, all in one motion — and completed a 27-yard pass. It wasn’t a high-percentage pass. But for Williams and these Bears, it worked. Afterward, many fans recognized that as Williams jumped, he’d contorted his body in such a way that he resembled Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” Nike logo. The pose is also immortalized in a statue of Jordan at the Chicago Bulls’ United Center.
Now, can the Bears beat the Rams and continue this run? Is this type of play sustainable for another week? Another two? Beyond this season? Chicago hasn’t secured back-to-back playoff berths since the 2005 and 2006 seasons. At this point, it might be difficult to say, at least before we see the fourth quarter play out Sunday night. If Johnson, Williams and the rest of the Bears have proved anything this season, it might be unwise to count them out until then.