Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Best of the Bears: Reactions to thrilling win over Packers in wild-card round
13 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What were the key moments in the Bears' thrilling win over the Packers?
Olin, good morning. How are you? Good morning, guys. Doing good this morning. Still enjoying the win. I feel like this team got a little payback for me from the 2010 NFC Championship game, so I feel good about that. Crazy game, crazy to rewatch. I heard you guys talking about it this morning. Really, really tough team, man. Tough team, tough mentally, great football character.
They compete the whole game, especially the quarterback. And it seems like the whole team rallies behind him and believes because they know they have a guy who can put the ball in the air and attack every part of the field and put the ball in the end zone and score something like, you know, say 25 points in one quarter to win a football game.
I think you were also on the field, Olin, probably the last time the Bears had a victory of this magnitude. And that was the NFC Championship game back during the 2006 season would have been January 2007. And when you start to put this into historical context, you start to go way back in Bears history. I guess the question is, how did they do it?
In your mind, yeah, you had Caleb Williams with 25 points in the fourth quarter and all these things, but the defensive turnaround, that was unexpected in the second half. The offensive explosion, they scored more points in the fourth quarter than they had in the previous seven. How do you explain what we all just saw?
Yeah, and put it into perspective, I get a great perspective in my house, right? I have kids from 22 all the way down to 10, right? And I have a 16-year-old girl who's never seen the Bears win a football game like they just won. So historical perspective, I get to watch. No one expects them to beat the Chicago Bears. You're talking about...
2006, they could care less in my house about 2006, right? My kids could care less even about the game against the Seattle Seahawks, right, in the 2010 playoffs. The last time Chicago Bears won a playoff game, and guys, we don't have to say that anymore, but...
Just really a game that when you watch, you watch Dennis Allen and a lot of credit to him, you know, changing his scheme and you got guys like DeMarco Jackson on the field because TJ Edwards is out and I hope he gets healthy quickly. But all of a sudden they're bringing what they call double pro, right? Two corner, double cornerback blitz.
First play of the second half, David and Mully, and I'm thinking to myself, well, Dennis Allen said, screw it, man. I'm going to bring the house on these guys, right? And all of a sudden you're watching Tyler Gordon blitz and Jalen Johnson defend the pass. And you're thinking, man, this is what it was supposed to look like, right? This is what we thought we were going to see.
And, you know, Billings is out and, you know, are, you know, banged up. And I'm thinking, gosh, how are they going to stop the run? without Andrew Billings, but a few nicely timed blitzes. D-line, they're playing their gaps. Linebackers makes plays. I don't know about you guys, but I have to check, who the hell is number 16, right? Breeze Maven. Breeze Maven. I'm like, who is this guy?
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Chapter 2: How did the Bears' defense adjust in the second half?
This team has shown perseverance all year long, and they make the plays at the end of the game. I really think Green Bay was just trying to run the clock out, right, and not trying to make ā
plays anymore and just hoping that the game would end and they could leave with a win but they don't they should know the Chicago Bears football team I think Michael Parsons tweeted out at halftime like guys I know we're up by x amount of points but yeah this team they're gonna fight you to the end so they had a guy up in the suite probably eating really good food and
Sipping on whatever he's sipping on, trying to warn them what this Chicago Bears, you know, what their culture is, what their team character is, that they're going to keep playing to the end.
And engineer Ben Johnson talk about, you know, they talked about, you know, Super Bowl between Atlanta and New England and all these things that they've talked about this year that, look, we're going to continue to fight in Grady Jarrett and then a fumble by an offensive lineman by the Packers. Guys, I mean, the things you watch. When you turned that film on, you guys did the same thing.
It was insane, right? It was an insane football game, but to win that football game, unbelievable, man, Chicago Bears. Congratulations to them, and thankful that we got to enjoy that victory there on the lakefront.
This segment with Olin Krutz is sponsored by Busey Bank, building business, growing wealth since 1868. And Olin, I was trying to remember, I mean, we've talked to you before about that Arizona game. Was that the biggest comeback that you were involved in? Was that the most unlikely comeback that you experienced during your career? And I just remember going in.
That was the most remarkable locker room I ever visited. I got to go in and talk to some people. It was almost like everyone was ā it was almost like you could hear people laughing through the door. Everyone was so ā it was like, you know, quick, let's get out of here before they call the cops. You know, it was such a ā Unbelievable robbery of a game.
And that was when Dennis Green did the whole, they are who we thought they were, that meltdown. And I thought to myself as I was thinking this through, just wow. What would that be like in a playoff game where you kind of had been eliminated and then you ā there must be this aura of invincibility almost that could be scary to deal with.
Now, they had a playoff game versus the Green Bay Packers that you just recovered an onside kick to beat a few weeks ago. And we talked about the difference when David brought that up to us, right? He brought that up after the last Packers game. What was the difference between the Arizona game? Kind of reminded us of that. And the difference was, again, the quarterback and the play caller, right?
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Chapter 3: What historical context surrounds the Bears' playoff victory?
Here we are. And we do have a chance to win this football game to keep them out of the end zone. That's exactly what happened, man. And what a win. And what a win for the Chicago Bears.
I think that's what this feels like is that Caleb Williams has taken over that role as being the one who owns this rivalry now. He's three and two in two seasons. And last Saturday night, it doesn't get any bigger than that. And I just wonder, now the Bears have come back seven times in the final two minutes and won games. And it is laughable, Olin. It is, man.
When do you, in the midst of this, like... It feels like all things can be on the table. And when you say the Bears winning the NFC and the Bears going to the Super Bowl, you're a guy who's rooted in reality and you have good perspective. Are you considering those possibilities?
Definitely, right? You're two games away, right? And anything can happen in the NFL. And the momentum you have after winning a game, you have one more at home. You never know what happens in Seattle with the 49ers. You never know where these games end up. I mean, I'm rooting in reality because in 2010, we had no business in an NFC Championship game, but we were there, right?
And obviously, Jay gets hurt and Todd Collins comes in and then Caleb Haney finishes the game, right? But we're talking about, you just mentioned, who the Chicago Bears have, what kind of confidence they have.
that game must have given them to beat the green bay packers at home and you just got to keep performing you got a young coach you heard caleb talk about his coach right and and when you talk to him talk about him getting emotional in his development and what ben johnson has meant to him i think guys that's because he went through what some other coaching can be like last year right and a lot of young quarterbacks
careers can go in the wrong direction if you don't have a guy who will put you on the right path, put you in good situations, call football players, plays, understand what you need to do to compete in the NFL. And I think that's what you heard in Caleb's speech after the game.
So anytime a team can win football games like they win, get momentum like they get, any of you guys have seen it before, team goes on a run, gets takeaways, competing. They got a young tight end in Colston Loveland making plays all over the place, right? They got a good offensive line. Their run game can get going against anybody. The Rams got to come playing the code out here.
You never know how that affects people to go that long. They're a very good football team. They're the team that a lot of people thought would be in the NFC Championship game. A lot of people think it's going to be the Rams and the Seahawks, but we've seen over years a team just get hot and go on a run. So it is definitely a
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Chapter 4: How did the quarterback's performance impact the game?
And they got and then they got to play caller and Ben Johnson. But they got the quarterback. who can attack every part of football field and jump off two legs and throw a football and throw the ball 60 yards in the air and make throws that a lot of, you know, I think one of his teammates said, I think Rome said, it was like, yeah, it's the greatest throw until he throws the next one, right?
It's the greatest throw you've ever seen until he throws another one, right? And it's just kind of like, we've seen this guy now, you know, first time we got to see him in his rookie year, he would make throws and you're like, what an arm. But, you know, I go back to the first third down in the game. I think it was third and three, you know, in the first quarter.
And the thing about Caleb when you go back and watch the film is he played pretty damn good most of the game. They really did. The run game didn't get going. There wasn't a lot of plays being made. But he was executing, especially on third downs early in the game.
And that first third and three, he went through his whole progression, guys, and got back to Luther Burden and threw the ball to him from the pocket, which is telling you his game is coming along and he is working on the things that he needs to work on.
And I remember Ryan Poe said early in Caleb's career that let your teammates make plays, get the ball in your playmakers' hands, and then when it's time to do the special, go out there and do the special.
But, of course, guys, I mean, so much had to happen with the way the defense and bringing Kyler Gordon and the cornerbacks off the edge and Montez Sweat causing intentional groundings and they had to stop the run. And Green Bay LaFleur, I mean, he's a really good play caller. I mean, I hear, like, rumors about, oh, man, they might fire that guy. I tell you what, as a Chicago Bears fan, I hope so.
I hope so. This guy can attack the field. He does a nice job calling football plays. And, you know, can you imagine Jordan Love's development if they got a guy in there like John Harbaugh and who would be the office coordinator? And you saw what happened with Lamar Jackson. So the Chicago Bears right now, man, very interesting football team. What are they? What aren't they?
How come they only win late? What gets them going? Hey, guys, I'll be honest with you. I turn the film on a lot like you guys know. The hell if I know how they're doing all this.
All right, but two football questions briefly addressed, Olin. Number one, fourth and five from their own 32 with five minutes to go in the second quarter. What was going through your head when that happened?
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Chapter 5: What were the major turning points that led to the Bears' comeback?
He started bringing cornerbacks. The first play of the second half was Jalen Johnson and A'shaun Wright. Corner double pro and a 2D tap was dropping. And that's what he did a lot of in the second half. Bringing Kyler Gordon, bringing Jalen Johnson, bringing A'shaun Wright, bringing Brisker, Bring in number 16, Reeves Maven. I think that's the name. If I screwed up, I apologize.
DeMarco Jackson's on the football field. Austin Booker, they were running at him early. He started playing with better leverage, using his hands. I give the guy credit. He fights the whole damn game, right? Grady Jarrett looked like he was a linchpin in the middle of the thing, man. Leading guys, fighting on every play, doing everything he can. to win that football game.
Just like they took a lot of pride in what they were going to do. And Dennis Allen probably told them, I'd love to know. There was a lot of talk going on with Caleb and Ben and all the things they did. I'd love to know what Dennis Allen said to that defense at halftime that he was going to do, that he was going to come out of the locker room and what they were going to do.
But as far as scheme and what they did, that's exactly what they did, man. They started coming after them. They started... blitzing him a little more. I'm sure the numbers have said that. I'm sure the percentages went way up in the second half. And Dennis Allen just said, look, man, I'm going to throw the kitchen sink at them.
And it's funny because going into the game, what we talked about was he's got to play a little more zone. He's got to sit back. How is he going to cover these guys? And it was almost the opposite in the second half. It was almost like, nah, I'm done doing that. I'm going to come after Jordan Love. And then Jordan Love looked like he was trying to play it
a little more safe and not make the big plays and not make the big mistake to get the Bears back in the football game. And to be honest, I think that that is what got the Chicago Bears back in the football game.
Olin, we'll let you go. Just curious, is the Rams the preferred opponent as opposed to the Eagles losing their game? The Rams obviously had a comeback. It was a back-and-forth game, but they won 34-31 against the Panthers, and supposedly Matthew Stafford got in the huddle and said, let's go steal their hearts. And I heard Devonta Adams say that he got a chill in his spine when he heard that.
I think we all know that the Rams were not the preferred opponent for the Chicago Bears. I think we all know we wanted the Eagles here. Nobody wanted Matt Stafford, Devontae Adams, Puka Nakua, and Sean McVay here at Soldier Field. But, look, that's who you got, man. And that young defense, that defensive line gets after quarterbacks, right, and Shula and all these guys.
You know, their coaching staff is basically Theta Chi. We look at them on the sideline. It looks like a fraternity. They all got their perfect hair. They're all young guys, but they're all very good football coaches. Matthew Stafford, I don't know. I've got to go through it again, but right off the top of my head, the best quarterback the Bears have seen this year.
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Chapter 6: What role did injuries play in the game strategy?
Quite the matchup, right? We got Ben Johnson, Kayla Williams, a young quarterback. They got Stafford. We all seen the Chicago Bears defense versus receivers this year and stopping the pass. And they got Puka Nakua and they got Devontae Adams. They got really good tight ends. Their offense line, I mean, it's just not the matchup.
I was at my 10-year-old daughter's basketball game yesterday watching it on a little phone, kind of cheering for the Eagles, right, hoping that we could get them that rematch again. But in the NFL, man, if you want to win the Super Bowl like David talked about, eventually you've got to slay the Giants. And here comes the Rams.
The Chicago Bears have earned the right to play this damn football team. So I'm sure they're excited. I'm sure they want to go play them. I can't wait to watch them compete against the Rams.
Great stuff, Olin. Thanks a ton. Appreciate it. Thanks, Olin. Appreciate it, guys. Williams, swing, and it's caught for the touchdown by D.J. Moore. Forget about the clock. Just take the lead when you can. 25 yards, six plays, 66 yards in 68 seconds.
You adjusted, Bears. Admit it. Admit you adjusted. Partially because you unfortunately had to because of some major injuries, but also because it was the right thing to do. We saw different looks at the half after the halftime intermission than we did in the first out of the defense. We saw different plays out of the offense. And that one, by the way, was a tremendous one.
Darnell Wright was on the left side and Cole Komet was playing right tackle. Absolutely outstanding. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 670 The Score. And we're also asking the fun question today of how does that get back feel? Like when you see Packers fans who never listen to this station reply to our tweets except on a day like today.
Like this guy who replied to us on Twitter and says, cute coming from an organization that has been irrelevant for decades. How How does it feel then to get beat by an organization that has been irrelevant for decades? How does it feel to be down 21-3 at the half, and then now you thought you were winning that game? How does that feel today?
Yeah, how does it feel to be heading into irrelevance in general?
How does it feel to know that your coach is on the hot seat today?
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