“I ran onto the field and just felt relief,” Odunze said. “Like, ‘Wow, we really did it.’ Definitely a win that will go down in history, and we’re not done.”
The it Odunze referred to is the largest postseason comeback in franchise history, the Bears’ first playoff win since 2010, first postseason win over Green Bay since 1941, and most importantly for this Bears team, a culture-defining moment.
“It felt great to have my first playoff win with these guys,” Williams said. “It felt great being able to fight the way we did and come out victorious.”
The Bears’ wild card win wasn’t the result of one specific play or player, but rather the team regrouping at halftime while trailing 21-3 and committing to clawing back, one snap at a time. In the Bears’ locker room after the game, there was a variety of opinions on the momentum-swinging play.
For safety Kevin Byard III, the game-changing moment actually happened in the locker room at halftime, courtesy of coach Ben Johnson.
“Ben was just talking to the group, talking about, ‘Hey, we’ve got 30 minutes. Let’s make this the most memorable game in Chicago Bears history.’
“We all know we’re a resilient team. There’s no quit in this team. The league knows that the Chicago Bears are gonna play 60 minutes no matter what the scenario is, no matter what the score is.”
Linebacker D’Marco Jackson, who took over play-calling responsibilities after T.J. Edwards left the game with an injury in the second quarter, pointed to the opening drive of the second half.
“That quick three-and-out, it set the tone,” Jackson said. “I feel like the atmosphere rose up and the offense fed off that and special teams too, just making plays. It was really just complementary football for everyone.”
Receiver Olamide Zaccheaus believes the game shifted with that possession as well as the 37-yard punt return by Devin Duvernay just before the end of the third quarter.
“Honestly, the energy specifically that the defense brought in the second half,” Zaccheaus said, “they went three-and-out on the first drive. The defense sparked it off for us. Them coming out with that energy, getting a stop early. And then we had the big returns by Duv, too. Those were big plays just to create momentum for us.”
Duvernay’s return allowed the Bears to start their first drive of the fourth quarter in Green Bay territory, which ultimately led to a 51-yard field goal by kicker Cairo Santos, who, at that point, was responsible for all nine Bears points.
“Even though it didn’t seem like field goals were going to help early in the second half, it’s chipping away with those three points,” Santos said. “We always talk about every point matters. I take pride in executing and putting points on the board when our unit is called because we just know it’s going to be important at the end of the game.
“We execute from the first kick to the last like we depend on it.”
Santos’ third and final field goal cut the deficit to 21-9 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. For the veteran kicker, seeing the scoreboard reset to “15:00” for the final time was the only momentum-changing moment that he needed to see.
“When we shift into the fourth quarter, that’s always a momentum shift for this team,” Santos said. “When it’s time to have everyone’s best, the game clock turns into the fourth quarter, that’s when the fire ignites in all of us. Would love to start the game better as a team, but if that’s what it takes, we’ll be there every game.”
Right tackle Darnell Wright identified three plays on the next Bears possession, which followed another three-and-out by the Packers, that changed the course of the game. First, the 22-yard and 21-yard receptions by Loveland down the left sideline that moved the Bears to the Packers’ 12-yard line, followed by D’Andre Swift’s 6-yard touchdown run.
