Can Bears get off to a fast start vs. Packers? They can’t afford to play catch-up

Posted January 07, 2026 11:54 am

By Jon Greenberg

On Sunday afternoon, for the second time in their last three games, the Chicago Bears scored zero points in the first half.

Not only that, but they were held scoreless through three quarters in their regular-season finale against the Detroit Lions. This wasn’t just a Week 18 exhibition, either, with backups getting a chance to shine.

The Bears needed a win or a Philadelphia loss to clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, and they only got the latter. They made it interesting late against Detroit, as they usually do, but a 19-16 loss ended the regular season on a somewhat downcast note.

Still, they’re facing the Green Bay Packers instead of the San Francisco 49ers at home in a playoff opener on Saturday night. For all the deep-rooted anxiety in Chicago about the Packers, this is the matchup they should want.

It was a shame the regular season ended in a loss because a playoff game, a rarity in these parts, is something to celebrate. Not that it will be an issue by the weekend. Soldier Field will be rocking as it hosts a postseason game for the first time since 2018 and just the third time since the Bears clinched an NFC championship there 19 years ago. This season has been everything that fans dreamed it could be when Ben Johnson was hired a year ago.

Let’s be clear: Chicago’s 11-6 season was properly enjoyed as it happened. The victories were celebrated, the half-dozen losses were dissected and harped on in real time.

This was an unqualified success, and if something bad happens against the Packers, it won’t change the recent past or preclude a bright future for this Johnson-coached team.

But the notion that the Bears are playing with “house money,” as I’ve heard it described, is silly. This is a playoff team in relatively good health. These opportunities are prized and fleeting. If they lose this game, it will be a wasted chance, a lasting regret. But let’s not be negative yet.

This should be a joyful time for Bears fans and players. I think safety Kevin Byard III, who has actual playoff experience, has the right mindset.

“I feel like it’s a new season,” he said Tuesday. “That’s how I’m approaching it. I think guys are just understanding that the intensity is going to ramp up. Just every little thing matters. Every play is going to matter because you just never know what’s going to be the play that’s going to win us the game or not.”

To summarize: It’s a new season, so start fresh, but also realize it’s all over quickly if you screw up. Just imagine how quiet Soldier Field will be if the Bears get blanked in the first half. Remember how the last playoff game at the stadium ended?

It’s why they need to pile on points early. Playing catch-up is dangerous. Just look at Sunday’s game.

Detroit had four first-half possessions, compiling 42 plays and 232 yards and resulting in 13 points. The Bears had only three drives, amounting to 20 plays for 69 yards. The defense couldn’t get off the field, while the offense barely had a chance to get going. They cobwebbed the “Bear Raid” siren, so those must have been alarm bells we heard.

The Bears tied it late, but the Lions came out on top with a final possession. Players and coaches were flustered after the loss.

“We just came out flat,” quarterback Caleb Williams said Tuesday at Halas Hall. “We don’t have time for that anymore. We’ll make sure we don’t. If that starts with me, that starts with me. We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. … That’s the mindset: Go out there, start fast. We’ll make sure of it.”

When asked why they were flat, Williams said he wasn’t sure, but Johnson had some ideas.

“I think in the first 11 plays, we counted six mentals (mistakes) as an offense,” he said. “When you’re facing a good team, you can’t do that. We’ll clean that up. We’ll be a lot sharper here going forward, and we’re going to be OK. But when you have eight possessions and three of them are three-and-outs, it’s just not the recipe for good football.”

Johnson is putting the onus on the players, where it belongs. He can promise improvement, but will it come to fruition? Chicago had a great start in Santa Clara two weeks ago, scoring 21 in the first half. They’ve proven they can do it.

But going back through the Bears’ previous two games against the Packers, there are some warning signs for what’s to come Saturday night. Though the teams split, the Bears put themselves in an early hole each game, scoring three and zero points in the first halves.

In their first meeting in Green Bay on Dec. 7, a 28-21 loss, the offense accomplished nothing in five first-half drives. In its first two, penalties hindered long third-down conversions, giving them a total of minus-10 yards. The Bears then had two drives totaling nine plays for 27 yards, sandwiching a 14-play, 59-yard drive that ended in a red zone field goal.

In their rematch at home three weeks ago, a 22-16 overtime win, the Bears did start pretty sharp.

In their first drive, they marched 70 yards down the field in 10 plays. Williams had a 15-yard completion to Jahdae Walker and a 27-yarder to Olamide Zaccheaus. The Bears got it to the Packers’ 4-yard line when Johnson called for an ill-advised trick play. The snap went over Kyle Monangai’s head on fourth down, and the Bears scored zero points. Thanks to two long Green Bay possessions that ended in field goals, Chicago had only two more possessions in the first half, with neither amounting to much.

In that game Williams and the offense got hot in the fourth quarter — thanks in part to an onside kick recovery — scoring 10 points in the last two minutes. In overtime, Williams found DJ Moore for a pretty touchdown in overtime to salt away a dramatic victory.

Instead of focusing on the slow start, we were rightfully mesmerized by the ending. The Bears have capitalized on six comebacks late in the fourth quarter, and in each of their last three losses, they had a chance late to tie or take the lead.

It’s tempting to call it magic, but like every trick, there is substance behind the illusion. Williams is a clutch, late-game quarterback because of his superior physical abilities and his laser-focused belief in himself. The defense has a penchant for takeaways and the wherewithal to bend but not break.

But it’s not ideal.

“We’re never out,” Johnson said. “Our guys know that, and we certainly don’t want to have to lean into that each and every week. We’d like to start off a little bit faster and make it more of a complete game for 60 minutes. But just the fact that teams understand when they play us now that they have to earn it. They have to really close us out if they want the victory because we can score points in bunches, we can do it in a short amount of time, and I think we’ve proven that.”

The Bears can’t rely on what they’ve done in the past, not in the playoffs when everything is amplified. They desperately need to score some points in the first half by leaning on their running game. Williams has to be accurate, and the receivers have to make plays. The defense has to get off the field. All of this is possible.

It isn’t rocket science. It’s just football. Score early, hold a lead late, go home happy.

In his first week as a playoff head coach, Johnson said his team is ready for five more weeks of football at Halas Hall. A fast start this Saturday would certainly help make that a reality.