How the Bears’ second-half adjustments led to a wild-card win

After him in the Bears’ postgame locker room 31-27 win over Packers In nfl playoffs‘ Wild-card round Saturday night, running back kyle monangai Celebrated the team’s seventh anniversary come back Win of SeasonOn the one hand, they have Seven At times, but certainly this one — the Bears’ first postseason home game in eight years — felt a little different at halftime.

“No,” said Monangai. “The same old ones.”

After trailing the Packers 21–3 at halftime, the Bears erased an 18-point deficit – the fourth-largest comeback in franchise history, and the largest in team postseason history. They are the fourth team to win a postseason game while trailing by more than 15 points entering the fourth quarter.

But these bears don’t feel the difference of that moment, instead they feel the familiar embrace of an old friend: adversity. After the game, coach Ben Johnson recalled a day at training camp during which the team watched film of the Patriots’ famous Super Bowl comeback after falling 28–3 against the Falcons. “That was my message to the group,” Johnson said of his halftime speech. “Just reminding them that it’s been done before. Instead of saying, ‘Oh, shame on me’ or ‘Oh crap, we’re in a hole,’ it’s more like, ‘This is a great opportunity to turn this into a game we’ll never forget.’ And that’s what he did.”

The halftime locker room is a special place for Chicago – it’s where adjustments are made. League-leading adjustment. In the second half, the Bears’ offense tops the league in EPA per game. Chicago’s yards per play increased from 5.3 in the first half to 6.1 in the second half (second best in the NFL). And the Bears’ points per drive increased from 2.05 in the first half to 2.88 in the second half (fourth best).

In three games against the Packers this season, the Bears averaged 0.5 points per drive in the first half and 3.85 points in the second half.

Of course, these aren’t all coaching adjustments. As if every Bear wasn’t upset by the loss, quarterback Caleb Williams Was astonished by the impossibility. Facing fourth-and-8 with the game on the line and guiding the Bears’ offense, which was 1-for-5 on fourth down in the game, Williams made One of his best throws In a season defined by magic.

The Bears had to end it first.

And they got it and a lot more!

GBVSCHI on Prime Video
Also streaming continues @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zFAk3egnmE

– NFL (@NFL) 11 January 2026

This is not coaching, this is not coachable. It’s like the franchise-definition, future changing talent Who gets drafted No. 1 overall by an indifferent franchise in need of a savior QB. These were 27 of Williams’ 361 hard-earned yards in the game – the most by a Bears quarterback in a playoff game in franchise history.

However, Williams wasn’t the only offensive standout on Saturday night. rookie tight end colston loveland He had 137 receiving yards, just short of the record (142 yards) for a rookie tight end in a postseason game. As much as the Bears are a second-half team, Loveland is a second-half player. Since Week 9, Loveland has averaged 66.7 yards per game, which is 20th among all pass catchers and only third among pass catchers. george kittel And trey mcbrideBetween tight ends. Good company.

On Saturday night, Loveland gained 115 of its 137 receiving yards in the second half, including three corner passage They all got wide open with great ease against the Packers defense. (Hello, halftime adjustment.)

pic.twitter.com/TpBbDcYSzw

– Good Clips (@MeshSitWheel) 11 January 2026

Loveland was also on target during the success 2-point conversionThat gave the Bears a four-point lead at the end of the fourth. The Bears called an isolation route for Loveland, who beat the linebacker. nick neiman In the front corner of the end zone. These separation routes generally lead to star receivers. The Bears called it for their rookie tight end.

“I know there’s a lot of confidence in Caleb [Loveland],” Johnson said after the game. ”He’s one of the first people in the building every day. He’s always studying his playbook while eating breakfast. He is always the last one off the practice field to work on the JUGS machine. He has been a model of consistency, which says a lot for a rookie. As a coaching staff, we really lean on him.”

There’s no comeback in the second half without a shutout, and the Bears defense somehow found them. On four drives in the first half, the defense gave up three touchdowns and one field goal attempt as the half ended. Johnson’s aggressive fourth-down decisions were criticized due to the defense’s weaknesses.

To start the second part? Three more out, three more out, five more out, three more out. Those drives collected only one first down, never reset field position and took only 6 minutes, 13 seconds off the game clock. As the offense tried to find its footing, the defense gave it one chance after another.

The Bears defense hasn’t been a great second half unit this season, being so opportunistic, leading the regular season in takeaways (33). But there was never a turnover in this game. The Packers’ sixth offensive lineman, Darian KinnardFumbled (you read that right) into an open space, but was bounced out by the defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr..’s hands. cornerback tyreek stevenson forced an airplane Christian Watson To stumble inches short of the goal line, but the ball lands right there romeo doubs‘ Feet. corner nahshon wrightJoe finished second in the league in interceptions with five, still had one in his sights jaden reed Interfered with the catch.

Instead, it was a relentless run defense that allowed only 6 yards on seven carries in the second half. was present kyler gordonThe slot corner returned from injury and did not play a single snap on the first two drives, taking over for Nick McCloud And brought new physicality to the situation. It was a much-needed pass rush presence that forced Love to force 32% of his dropbacks in the second half, compared to 18% in the first half.

“obviously [Dennis Allen] Got really aggressive: corner blitz, sending Brisker,” safety. Kevin Byrd III Said after the game. “And in coverage, we covered just a little bit better, got some [pass breakups] …We executed better. There’s confidence in this team, we’re not going to be where we want to be at halftime. But there was no panic. We just knew it was going to be one game at a time and that’s what we did.”

Byrd is the veteran voice of a young team, one of precious few Bears with postseason experience. He knows what it’s like to play win-or-go-home football; Allen, the Bears’ defensive coordinator and longtime Saints defense coach, knows what it’s like to play win-or-go-home football. But Williams, Loveland and the Bears offense know what it’s like to play second-half football.

Put it all together, and you’ve got a statement after a season’s worth of wins – a resounding stamp of belonging. Lucky or not, impossible or not, young or not, bears are HereThey won a postseason game – and against the Packers no less, Eight teams will remain in the NFL playoffs until the matter is resolved over wild-card weekend, and the Bears are one of them,

No matter what Monangai thinks, he is not “the same old”.