The Chicago Bears defense gave up 21 first-half points but buckled down in the second half while the offense rallied for a 31-27 victory over the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild-card-round game Saturday at Soldier Field. It took some help — two missed field-goal attempts and a missed extra-point try from Packers kicker Brandon McManus — but the Bears got it done. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, wearing an all-red suit and hat, flashed a broad smile and said: “I’m fired the hell up. I feel good. We shouldn’t (have to) win like that, but definitely glad we can pull it out.” Playoff recap: Chicago Bears pull off another 4th-quarter rally to beat Green Bay Packers 31-27 The Bears defense sped up Packers quarterback Jordan Love by getting more pressure on him after halftime, and coordinator Dennis Allen forced the issue by sending more blitzes and exotic presnap looks to make the Packers react instead of the other way around. “It was a hell of a chess match,” said free safety Kevin Byard III, who was named a first-team All-Pro for the third time in his career earlier in the day. “And in the second half, they adjusted really well. And we executed our defense a lot better. I think they only scored seven points (six) in the second half, so it was phenomenal.” A key factor was always going to be third down, which had been a Packers strength during the regular season — they ranked second in the NFL at 48.78%. And true to form, they went 4-for-6 (67%) on third down before halftime. In what has become a familiar refrain for the Bears defense in recent weeks, the opposition attacked them through the air. The Packers scored on touchdown passes to Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs to take a 21-3 halftime lead. And similar to game plans by the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions the last two weeks, Packers coach Matt LaFleur schemed up some coverage beaters that had Bears defensive backs running a step or two behind. “They had some good ones,” Johnson said. “I know the one that Jayden Reed scored, that was a tough one to (linebacker) Tremaine (Edmunds) to that back side, playing that receiver like that.” There was no halftime pep speech, Johnson said. “It wasn’t too much talking really to do,” he said. “They were mainly whipping our ass.” Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards is carted off the field during the second quarter against the Packers on Jan. 10, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) The Bears also lost starting linebacker T.J. Edwards, who suffered a broken left fibula in the second quarter, ending his season. But the defense buckled down in the second half and held the Packers to 2-for-9 (22%) on third down. “Our guys were certainly doing a good job getting off the field on third down,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “We weren’t doing that a whole lot in the first half. We had some opportunities, and it’s a really good offense on third down and they certainly were in the first half. That was kind of the story there for most of the game.” LaFleur said he didn’t change his play-calling in the second half. “What they did was they brought more pressure,” LaFleur said. “And so we started to go to more of our drop-back protections because they’re firing corner blitzes and safety blitzes. And unfortunately there were multiple occasions where they should have been picked up and weren’t.” The defense held the Packers to 190 yards in the second half after coughing up 231 in the first. The Packers punted on their first four series of the second half and went three-and-out on three of them. “Fight,” Jaylon Johnson said. “We had to respond. That was the message all on the sideline. … We had our backs against the wall pretty much the whole game, and it was just about fight. We just had to keep going.” Said Edmunds: “Nobody put their head down. Obviously we faced a little bit of adversity, but that’s playoff football. You’ve got to play till there’s no more time left on the clock. … We just encouraged each other. The energy was electric out there. Our fans (were) crazy, so we just had to keep pushing.” Added Byard: “DA (Allen) got really aggressive, (sending) corner blitzes out there, sending (Jaquan) Brisker. I also think just in coverage, we just covered a little better, got some PBUs (pass break-ups), Jaylon was making some really good plays out there. Shonny (Nahshon Wright) almost had an interception, a one-hand interception. Going into halftime, obviously not where we wanted to be. But there was no panic. We just knew it was going to take one play at a time, and that’s basically what we did.” Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, right, breaks up a pass intended for Packers wide receiver Christian Watson in the fourth quarter Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Still, the Bears did have a hiccup in the fourth quarter when Packers receiver Matthew Golden made several defenders miss tackles on a 23-yard touchdown catch to put the Packers up 27-16 with 6:36 to play. “I’ve got to make that tackle” Jaylon Johnson said. “We’ve all got to make that tackle to get him down, but good play by him.” Related Articles Vintage Chicago Tribune: Bears playoff appearances — including the ‘Sneakers Game,’ ‘Fog Bowl’ and ‘Double Doink’ Wild-card playoff game photos: Chicago Bears 31, Green Bay Packers 27 Chicago Bears’ Kevin Byard III and Joe Thuney named 1st-team All-Pros, while Darnell Wright gets 2nd-team nod Green Bay Packers CB Trevon Diggs wants to make the most of unexpected playoff opportunity vs. Chicago Bears Column: QB Caleb Williams is ready to meet the moment as Chicago Bears return to the NFL playoff stage This week, coaches at Halas Hall placed an emphasis on starting faster on both sides of the ball after some recent slow starts. But it didn’t happen. “We always preach starting fast,” Jaylon Johnson said. “It’s not something we intentionally come out and not do, but it just seems like it happens to work like that. But we’ve definitely got to get that out of our system and start fast and play a full game like that.” Despite a final 11-play, 44-yard drive, Love’s last pass fell incomplete. The Bears pulled off their seventh fourth-quarter comeback of the season, and it took contributions from all units. “It’s as simple as that,” Jaylon Johnson said. “We’re never out.” ...read more read less