Bear Digest

Historic Bears-Packers Wild Card game delivers unprecedented result

Chicago’s Wild Card win over Green Bay produced a surprising milestone that adds another chapter to the rivalry.
Bryan Perez|
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Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears fans weren't the only ones who enjoyed the Caleb Williams-led miracle fourth-quarter comeback win over the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round.

Packers fans weren't the only ones who watched, either.

According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, the NFL's oldest rivalry set streaming history with 31.5 million viewers.

That's a lot of viewers.

And boy were they treated to one hell of a game.

"Watching the tape, it's just credit to them for being able to [overcome] a 21-3 deficit there at halftime," Bears coach Ben Johnson said this week. "Defense bowing up in the second half, only allowing six points, and then offense slowly chipping away and finding a way there, last three possessions to score touchdowns."

The best of the Chicago Bears was on display in the second half. It's a team that's built an identity centered around never giving up, and they proved in their seventh fourth-quarter comeback win of the season that they can never be counted out, regardless of the score.

"And the veteran leadership showed up as well, particularly at halftime," Johnson added. "No one was panicking or anything like that. There's a belief with this team that shows up each and every week. It's kind of who we are here at this point."

Those 31.6 million viewers got a chance to see Johnson win the first playoff game of his career, an accomplishment that earned a game ball from Caleb Williams in the locker room.

Williams expressed his gratitude for Johnson in an emotional post-game moment, bringing the human side of football into focus.

"It's why you get into coaching," he said. "You want to make an impact on the people around you. It meant a lot, it really did."

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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