Caleb Williams has earned the nickname “The Iceman” due to a 2025 campaign filled with remarkable late-game turnarounds. Six times during the regular season, he led the Chicago Bears to fourth-quarter comebacks, giving the franchise an energy they hadn’t seen in decades. Last night, against the hated Green Bay Packers, he saved his most inexplicable bounce back, bringing the Bears back from the dead in a thrilling 31-27 victory.
Chicago drafted Williams overall number one in 2024 to be a franchise-altering talent. There is no greater example of how he has transformed the Bears than his record against the Packers. Before Williams came to Chicago, the team had lost 15 of its last 16 games to Green Bay. Losing two games every season to the Packers was given, and management seemed ill-equipped to do anything about it.
Williams has now played Green Bay five times and won three. For years, Bears quarterbacks stumbled and fumbled against their hated rival. Williams, on the other hand, is flipping games in ways that have never been seen before by Chicago fans.
The NFL is making great use of the Bears’ scintillating comeback three weeks ago against the Packers. Chicago needed an onside kick and a fourth-and-four endzone completion by Williams to Jahdae Walker to bring overtime. In the extra session, Williams completed one of the season’s most remarkable plays by finding D.J. Moore for the 46-yard winning score. This highlight has been shown a million times over by the league in its lead-up to late-season and playoff games.
One can only imagine how the NFL will respond to last night’s contest. Chicago should never have won the game; they did everything humanly possible for three and a half quarters to lose it. History tells Bears fans that against Green Bay, once the Packers get a lead, it’s over. Williams, on the other hand, doesn’t buy into any of that. Two times in three weeks, he has driven a stake through the Packers’ hearts.
Chicago, for decades, has been a losing and dull team. Bungling coaches and management crafted teams that used 19th-century offenses well into the 20th and then the 21st centuries. Usually, by late October, the seasons were over, and fans were left to ponder how high a draft pick the team would have.
The franchise has not had an upper-echelon quarterback since the days of Sid Luckman. He ruled the league in the 1940s, a decade during which the Bears won four championships. Since then, when the Bears won, dominating defenses and outstanding running games led the way. Thrilling quarterbacks did not.
Chicago had a short glimpse of a dynamic signal caller in Jim McMahon, who could ignite an offense. He couldn’t stay on the field, though. Even during the Bears’ remarkable 1985 campaign, probably the most talked-about single-season team ever, he missed a chunk of time.
Williams and head coach Ben Johnson are bringing Chicago into the 21st century, finally. The Bears have a quarterback who can make all the plays and an innovative coach, wow. Chicago is the league’s greatest comeback team, and it’s not even close. Look up the season’s most thrilling games and the Bears will be in a sizable chunk of them. Excitement, fun, Chicago, say it isn’t so!
The Bears have won nine NFL championships, a mark only topped by Green Bay’s 13. They have a playoff legacy, but their biggest wins have been massive blowouts led by dominating defenses. The 1985 team pitched two shutouts and annihilated the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. In 1940, Chicago won the title with the greatest margin in pro football history, 73-0, over the Washington Redskins.
Quarterbacks, for the most part, haven’t been good enough to lead comebacks. In instances like Luckman, they weren’t needed because of how commanding the team was. The NFL became America’s most popular sport in the late 1960s/ early 1970s, and it has only tightened its grip ever since. During that time, the Bears have mostly lost.
Chicago enthusiasts, therefore, haven’t known what it’s like to win games because of their quarterback instead of despite. Quarterbacks like Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes have carried the league. Want to win championships, a team better get the signal caller right. Finally, after years in the wilderness, it looks like the Bears are joining the party.
Going into Saturday night, the Bears hadn’t won a playoff game since 2011. To break the drought, they needed to beat their hated rival, who had owned them for years. Chicago couldn’t have started worse. The offense blew a redzone opportunity on its first drive, then Jordan Love looked unstoppable. The Packers did whatever they wanted on offense in the first half.
Green Bay went into the half with an 18-point lead and the knowledge that they owned the Bears for years. Good luck finding anyone who thought Chicago was going to win. Add in a horrible play call by Johnson in the third quarter, leading to a redzone turnover, and the odds only got larger.
Did the Iceman care? Indeed, Williams didn’t. Being down double digits going into the fourth quarter has become his forte, right where he wants his opponent. Crazy things happen, and he becomes unstoppable; quality teams start bungling and fumbling. Packers kicker Brandon McManus has been one of the game’s better scorers, known for his dependability. When the Bears tide started to turn, though, he got sucked up in it, missing a 44-yard kick late.
On Chicago’s last three drives, Williams led his team to three touchdowns. Anything else, and the Bears are almost certainly preparing for the offseason today. Green Bay looked like it woke up just in time on the Matthew Golden catch and exemplary run to the endzone midway in the fourth quarter. The Packers defense surely would step up, right?
Green Bay looked set to win when they got the Bears into a fourth and eight on the next drive. The Packers got the pressure they wanted, forcing Williams to scramble to his left. The Iceman made probably the pass of the year, finding Rome Odunze for a 30-yard gain, keeping the game and the season alive. That play symbolizes why Williams is the franchise’s most clutch quarterback after only one playoff game, because Chicago has never had anyone who could do that.
Williams couldn’t be stopped, following, leading his team to another touchdown and then the game-winning score. To add a little extra misery to Green Bay, he once again found Moore for the go-ahead play just like he did three weeks ago. The Packers now go into the offseason knowing they had one of the game’s biggest playoff chokes against their hated rival. It would not be a surprise if head coach Matt LaFleur is fired within the next week. The Bears, on the other hand, move on, and fans can look forward to seeing what the Iceman has in store next!
Williams only has one playoff start, but he has already done things that will cement him forever in Chicago lore. He led his team to 25 points in the fourth quarter against a Green Bay franchise that had dominated them for years. The magnitude of this will live on and is a game-changer for the Bears.
The offense, not the defense, won the game for Chicago. The Bears won with young, dynamic offensive talent such as Colston Loveland. He had eight receptions, 137 yards, and a huge two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. He is the first rookie tight end to have eight or more receptions and over 100 receiving yards in a playoff game.
Chicago is loaded with players such as Loveland on offense. Its rookie class of Luther Burden III, Ozzy Trapilo, Kyle Monangai, and Loveland has changed the franchise dynamic. Add in other talents like Odunze, and it’s easy to get excited about where this team could go.
Williams, though, is the lifeblood. His composure and resiliency are not found in many and give the Bears a late-game edge that hasn’t been matched. He made mistakes yesterday, throwing two interceptions when Chicago was driving. He struggled early, as has usually been the norm. He doesn’t stay in the miscues, though; he expects to win and will find a way. The Bears haven’t been led by a signal caller like this before.
Chicago enthusiasts have been ingrained to expect losing for years. Under Williams, now, no game is out of reach. It’s almost like the contest is just getting started when the team is down by a bunch late. What a transformation that is! Fans now anticipate miracles because they happen weekly. This is why Williams is the franchise’s greatest clutch quarterback, and he is only getting started.
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