Chicago’s 31-27 wild-card comeback wasn’t just historic—it was a psychological sledgehammer that flipped the rivalry narrative and left Green Bay’s season—and coaching staff—in ashes.
The Chicago Bears didn’t just beat the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night—they detonated 104 years of rivalry mythology with a 25-point fourth-quarter tsunami that turned a 27-6 laugher into a 31-27 season-ending nightmare for the visitors.
Green Bay safety Javon Bullard tried to frame the collapse as self-inflicted, telling reporters, “It ain’t s*** that they did. It’s us. We gotta finish.” Yahoo Sports captured the quote in full, but the tape tells a different story—one where Caleb Williams threw for 289 second-half yards and three touchdowns while the Packers’ defense played shell-shocked prevent football for 15 catastrophic minutes.
Handshake gate 2.0: LaFleur-Johnson cold war escalates
Seconds after the final whistle, cameras locked on a three-second fly-by handshake between Bears coach Ben Johnson and Packers counterpart Matt LaFleur. Johnson then sprinted toward the tunnel screaming, “F*** the Packers! F*** them!”—a sound bite instantly looped on every highlight show and inside every NFC North group chat.
Johnson’s contempt is rooted in history. At his introductory press conference he openly stated he “enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year,” a line that hung over every subsequent matchup. Yahoo Sports documented the origin of the feud, and Saturday’s brush-off adds another chapter to a growing coaching cold war that now stands 2-0 in Johnson’s favor since he took the Chicago job.
Historic numbers behind the collapse
- 25—largest fourth-quarter comeback in Bears playoff history.
- 27-6—Green Bay’s lead with 18 minutes left; they were outscored 25-0 the rest of regulation.
- 0-for-3—Packers’ third-down conversions in the fourth quarter; Chicago’s defense forced two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs.
- 3—touchdown drives of 75+ yards authored by Williams in the final frame, each taking under 2:20 off the clock.
The advanced metrics are uglier for Green Bay: per Yahoo’s live win-probability model, the Packers’ chances peaked at 96.7% midway through the third quarter. By the two-minute warning it had cratered to 11%, the steepest in-season collapse the algorithm has recorded in 2025-26.
Bullard’s bulletin-board bomb already backfiring
Johnson admitted the Packers’ “noise coming out of their building up north” was heard “loud and clear.” Translation: Bullard’s rant was pinned on every bulletin board in Halas Hall. The Bears responded by turning garbage-time audibles into dagger touchdowns, exposing man-coverage busts and sideline miscommunications that Green Bay never corrected.
Fallout: LaFleur’s seat, Williams’ star, draft order ripple
While Johnson preps for a divisional-round showdown, LaFleur will meet with Packers brass to discuss his future. He’s 0-2 against Johnson, 0-1 in the playoffs since the 2022 season, and his staff blew double-digit leads in both head-to-head matchups this year. The optics—combined with a bloated salary cap and aging core—could force GM Brian Gutekunst into an uncomfortable reset conversation.
For Chicago, the win accelerates the Caleb Williams timetable from promising to superstar. The rookie became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw four second-half touchdowns in a playoff game, erasing any final doubts about the No. 1 pick’s big-stage poise. Vegas books immediately shortened the Bears’ Super Bowl odds from 22-1 to 12-1, the sharpest single-game move of the wild-card weekend.
Green Bay, meanwhile, slides to pick No. 24 in April’s draft and now faces questions at offensive coordinator, secondary coach, and potentially head coach if LaFleur is shown the door. The loss also snaps a five-year streak of playoff appearances in seasons where Aaron Rodgers did not start under center—an organizational bragging point that quietly cushioned the front office’s reputation.
What’s next
Chicago travels to either Detroit or San Francisco next weekend with a quarterback who is 5-0 in fourth-quarter comeback opportunities and a defense that has allowed one second-half touchdown in its last three games. The Packers enter an offseason of existential audits: roster age, coaching continuity, cap casualties, and the ever-looming possibility of another NFC North rebuild while their neighbors celebrate a changing of the guard.
Keep it locked on onlytrustedinfo.com for lightning-fast breakdowns of every playoff twist—where the analysis hits before the echo of the whistle fades.
