Bear Digest

Ben Johnson had epic message for Bears when down 21-3 in Wild Card

The Chicago Bears finally have a head coach who tells them exactly what they need to hear.
Pete Martuneac|
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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After a five-year absence from the playoffs, the Chicago Bears' return to the postseason started about as badly as Bears fans could have feared. The offense had completely stalled after the opening drive, but the defense allowed touchdowns on each of Green Bay's first three drives. The Packers led 21-3 going into halftime, and it looked like Chicago's once-promising season was about to end in an all too familiar oblivion.

We all know what happened next. Caleb Williams put the team on his back and carried the Bears all the way into a four-point lead, completing a triumphant Wild Card victory over the Packers. An instant classic, this game should mark an inflection point for both the Bears and the Packers, the start of a new chapter of the rivalry.

Of course, anytime a team pulls off such an unbelievable comeback victory, people want to know how it happened. They want to know who lit the spark that led to the rally. Sean Hammond, a Bears beat reporter for the Chicago Tribune, asked Cole Kmet this question after the game, and Kmet told him what Ben Johnson said to the team at halftime: "That we're going to have the greatest comeback in Bears history, and then we did."

It's one thing for a head coach to say that. NFL coaches say it all the time. Making it happen, however, is something else entirely. There was absolutely no reason for any person to believe that the Bears would even score a touchdown against Green Bay, let alone get the win. But Johnson never stopped believing in his players, and they got the job done.

Only a Super Bowl win could top this Wild Card victory

Given all the circumstances, Kmet is right to call this the greatest comeback in Bears history. Losing at home to their biggest archrival and allowing the Packers to proclaim another level of ownership of the hapless Bears would have cast a pall over the entire offseason. Indeed, an argument could have been made that a Wild Card loss to the Packers would erase all the goodwill Ben Johnson had gained from the fans after clinching the 2025 NFC North championship. Mercifully, Bears fans will never know what such a future would have been like.

It's also a simple fact. Before Saturday night, Chicago's biggest comeback win in a postseason game was the 1933 NFL Championship game against the New York Giants, but that was only a five-point deficit. This Bears team overcame a 15-point deficit in the final quarter. At this point, it could be argued that the only win that could ever top Saturday night's performance would be a Super Bowl victory, but let's not get outover our skis.

Wherever you rank this win in the history of Chicago Bears' victories, one thing is certain: it could not have happened without Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. The Bears have their franchise quarterback and head coach, and they're not going away anytime soon.

Caleb William
Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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