CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson gathered his players for some film study one day in training camp, but he couldn't have known how relevant that video would end up being to his team.
The tape was of Super Bowl LI. Two members of the Bears played in that game, Grady Jarrett for the Atlanta Falcons and Joe Thuney for the New England Patriots. The Falcons built a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter and boasted a win probability as high as 99.7% before the Patriots roared back for the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history to win 34-28 in overtime.
Thuney, who was a rookie with the Patriots, and Jarrett, in his second season with the Falcons, stood in front of the room and shared vastly different perspectives about the lessons learned from that game.
They talked about resiliency and battling to the end, even when the outcome seemed inevitable.
"I think it's just a good lesson to be learned that it's 28-3 in the middle of the third quarter, and yet the game still is being played and there is a lot of time left," Johnson said.
That was the message Johnson delivered to his players inside the locker room Saturday at Soldier Field. The Bears trailed the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at halftime in the NFC wild-card round -- the largest deficit in a home playoff game in franchise history -- before scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter to capture a 31-27 win and advance to the divisional round.
"Just reminding them that this has been done before, and rather than saying, 'Woe is me,' and 'Oh, crap, we're in a hole,'" Johnson said, "it's more, 'This is a great opportunity for us to turn this around into a game we'll never forget.' And that's what they did."
The Bears are defined by their late-game performances that paved the way for their first playoff victory in 15 years. Williams lived up to his "Iceman" nickname by recording his seventh winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime this season when he connected with DJ Moore for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:43 to play.
"It's no fluke," Williams said. "It's no, 'Oh, this happened, we're lucky.' We've done it multiple times this year. It's been proven to be for us to be a great second-half team."
Williams' seven winning drives ties him with Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix for the most in the NFL this season and are the most in a season by a Bears QB since the 1970 merger. And on Saturday, the Bears became the fourth team in NFL history to win a playoff game after trailing by 15-plus entering the fourth quarter. The Super Bowl LI Patriots were one of the other teams. Coincidentally, Packers coach Matt LaFleur was the QB coach of that Falcons team.
Here's a look at how the Bears established their identity as comeback kings seven times throughout the season.
Wild-card round: Bears 31, Green Bay Packers 27
Fourth-quarter deficit: 27-16 with 6:36 left
Bears' win probability at that point: 4.6%
The Bears scored three points on four possessions in the first half and pressured Jordan Love on just 18% of his dropbacks. Love's three touchdown passes led the Packers to a 21-3 halftime lead.
Chicago trailed 21-6 in the fourth quarter before Williams and the offense churned out three consecutive touchdown drives. Williams found Moore for the go-ahead score, a 25-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 left. That put the exclamation point on 25 fourth-quarter points as the Bears posted the largest comeback in postseason history.
Week 16: Bears 22, Packers 16
Fourth-quarter deficit: 16-6 with 5:49 left
Bears' win probability at that point: 3%
By the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the Bears' only points had come off three field goals. Trailing 16-9 after Cairo Santos kicked a 43-yard field goal, Chicago recovered an onside kick and Williams found undrafted free agent receiver Jahdae Walker on fourth down for a 6-yard touchdown to force overtime.
After the Packers turned the ball over on downs in overtime, Williams found Moore one-on-one with cornerback Keisean Nixon and launched a 46-yard touchdown pass for the walk-off win.
Week 11: Bears 19, Minnesota Vikings 17
Fourth-quarter deficit: 17-16 with 56 seconds left
Bears' win probability at that point: 24.9%
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy hit receiver Jordan Addison for a 15-yard touchdown with 56 seconds to play to put Minnesota up 17-16, but returner Devin Duvernay took the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to set up the Bears at the Minnesota 40-yard line.
After three straight runs by D'Andre Swift, Santos kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired.
Week 10: Bears 24, New York Giants 20
Fourth-quarter deficit: 20-10 with 10:10 left
Bears' win probability at that point: 9.2%
Williams picked up 52 of his 63 rushing yards in the fourth quarter against the Giants, including a 29-yard scramble that set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Williams had a 17-yard scramble touchdown on the Bears' next drive that gave Chicago the lead for good.
Week 9: Bears 47, Cincinnati Bengals 42
Fourth-quarter deficit: 42-41 with 52 seconds left
Bears' win probability at that point: 23.2
The Bears had a 41-27 lead with 5:03 to play. That quickly evaporated after the Bengals scored a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 1:43 remaining and scored again after recovering an onside kick to take a 42-41 lead with 52 seconds to play. With no timeouts remaining, Williams rifled a pass over the middle to rookie tight end Colston Loveland, who scored on a 58-yard touchdown reception.
Week 6: Bears 25, Washington Commanders 24
Fourth-quarter deficit: 24-16 with 3:28 left
Bears' win probability at that point: 15.9
Coming off their Week 5 bye, the Bears' run game finally sprang into action behind Swift's 175 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. Chicago trailed 24-22 when cornerback Nahshon Wright notched the defense's third takeaway of the game by recovering a botched handoff between Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and running back Jeremy McNichols at the Chicago 44-yard line with 3:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Williams marched the offense into field goal range on a nine-play, 36-yard drive. Kicker Jake Moody (who filled in for an injured Santos on short notice) booted a 38-yard field goal as time expired. Moody was 4-of-5 on field goal attempts against Washington.
Week 4: Bears 25, Las Vegas Raiders 24
Fourth-quarter deficit: 24-19 with 6:45 left
Bears' win probability at that point: 26
The Bears' defense came away with three interceptions and a critical red zone stop, and it gifted the offense multiple opportunities to capitalize that went in vain until late. After struggling throughout the first three quarters, Williams led the Bears on an 11 play, 69-yard drive that ended in Swift's go-ahead touchdown, a 2-yard score with 1:39 to play.
The Raiders attempted a winning 54-yard field goal with 38 seconds left, but cornerback Josh Blackwell burst off the left edge and dove to block Daniel Carlson's kick. The Bears snapped a skid in which they lost 12 games in a row in which they trailed by 8 or more points.
