Even in opening with a doubleheader of rematches, the NFL playoffs managed to open with a bit of the unexpected.
The Saturday afternoon slot of the wild-card round often produces a dud, but that was hardly the case this year. The Los Angeles Rams, who were a heavy favorite and a popular pick to be the NFC's Super Bowl representative, found themselves with a legitimate challenge from the Carolina Panthers, needing to regroup in the final minutes to push ahead for a 34-31 win. But the biggest thrills would come from the Chicago Bears, who rallied from a 21-3 deficit to stun the rival Green Bay Packers with a 31-27 win. That outcome would not only give Chicago its first postseason win in 15 years but also go down as the largest playoff comeback in Bears franchise history.
Here are the biggest winners and losers from Saturday's NFL playoff wild-card action:
After the first half, the second-year signal-caller seemed destined for an offseason of unfounded questions on whether he could deliver in crunch time. So much for that narrative. Williams engineered a turnaround that will go down as an all-timer for the franchise, further entrenching the notion that these are hardly the same old Bears. With a run game that usually paces the attack coming up empty and Chicago's game plan thrown off by its substantial early deficit, Williams was often left to create on his own. He certainly rose to the occasion, with his stunning fourth-down heave demonstrating his singular status among passers, even if his consistency still isn't all there. Capturing the lead with a 25-yard scoring strike was a fitting exclamation point for Williams, who threw for 195 yards and two scores in the fourth quarter alone. Regardless of how the season ends for Chicago, this is the kind of night that affirms the campaign as a resounding success, and one that makes anything feel possible under the current setup.
