Fans were jubilant this weekend after the Chicago Bears sent the Green Bay Packers packing in a stunning victory in an NFC Wild Card playoff game.
After trailing through three quarters, the Bears won the game 31-27 at Soldier Field Saturday night.
This comes just ahead of the 40th anniversary of the Bears’ Super Bowl XX victory this month. It also comes just after the 39th anniversary of the Bears’ elimination from the playoffs by Washington the following season, which left fans hoping for a return to the Super Bowl more than disappointed.
In a classic Channel 2 News moment that has gone viral in digital video clips so many who weren’t even born yet at the time are familiar with it, reporter John “Bulldog” Drummond had to restrain rowdy and furious fans outside Soldier Field that wintry night in January 1987. Drummond famously remarked that when Bears wide receiver Lew Barnes fumbled late in the game, “I thought I was on the fo’c’sle of a tramp steamer the way the oaths and curses went up!” In Drummond’s live shot after the game, fans were not behaving any better.
But 39 years later after the Bears’ stunning victory Saturday night, the energy was just the opposite as Sabrina Franza met fans as they poured out of Soldier Field. There were a lot of smiles, and a lot of fans cheering as they walked out for the stadium — with the party continuing for several hours.
“Just amazing, I was actually crying at the end,” said a boy named Caleb Barus. “Unreal! Not reality!”
“It was a tremendous win for the Chicago Bears. It’s been so long,” said Doug Chang. “I’m so proud of my team.”
Chang invoked the nickname given to the Bears lately with their tendency toward last-minute nailbiter victories this season.
“Cardiac Bears, man! You can’t give up. You always got to believe in your team, and in the end, they pulled through,” Chang said.
With 1:43 remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday night, Caleb Williams threw a go-ahead, 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to bring the score to 31-27, where it would stay.
Jordan Love then led Green Bay into Bears territory. But on third down at the 28, Jaquan Brisker broke up a pass in the end zone as time expired, setting off a wild celebration — and a curt handshake between Bears coach Ben Johnson and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.
It was the seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory this season for the Cardiac Bears. They split two down-to-the-wire games with Green Bay in the regular season, and this one turned out to be a thriller when it looked like it would be a breeze for the Packers.
The Bears trailed 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters, only to outscore Green Bay 25-6 in the fourth on the way to their first playoff win in 15 years.
Fans will keep the momentum going, and so will the Bears as they head for the NFC Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. They will host either the Los Angeles Rams or the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field next weekend.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had some fun after the Bears’ victory. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued a post on X stating that he didn’t need to make a bet with Pritzker about the Bears-Packers playoff game, because the Packers’ “13 championships speak for themselves.”
After the Bears’ victory, Pritzker simply replied with a picture of shredded cheddar cheese.
Fr. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church also attended the game, and posted photos with Oscar-winning director Spike Lee and Chicago-native rapper Common Pfleger wrote online that Lee would also attend services at St. Sabina Sunday morning.