👋 Good morning!
Be honest: How many clips and videos of Packers fans reacting to Saturday night did you watch yesterday?
I get it.
For Bears fans who’ve dealt with and lived through all the sad stats of the Bears-Packers rivalry over the last 3.5 decades, Saturday night was a cathartic experience.
I do love the “congratulations on winning your Super Bowl” crowd from up north, too.
Is that supposed to be an insult?
Congrats on losing yours, I suppose.
Colston Loveland’s career day gives Caleb Williams, Bears much-needed boost in wild-card win
The Leftovers
Admittedly, the well is a bit dry. The Saturday night trifecta with the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks threw off my schedule for the week.
Originally, I’d planned on writing an abbreviated newsletter for Sunday morning if the Bears won. And then the game happened. Abbreviated wouldn’t have done it justice.
On top of it, the Cubs made a splash and the Blackhawks and Bulls won handily.
The problem? Nobody in Chicago played on Sunday. And Ben Johnson’s “day-after” press conference is today.
Get to the point, Patrick.
Anyway, I scrounged up some things from Saturday night’s Bears win that I glossed over in yesterday’s newsletter, plus some tidbits and nuggets on the Bears’ next opponent.
Against All Odds: ESPN Analytics gave the Bears a 2.2 percent chance to pull off the comeback before Caleb Williams miraculously found Rome Odunze near the left sideline on fourth-and-8 for 27 yards with 5:37 left in the game.
That was down from the 5.7 percent chance it gave the Bears heading into halftime down 18.
But the Bears don’t care about the odds; they care about the results. And the results say the Bears finished 2-1 against the Packers this season.
In those three games, the Bears did not run a single offensive play with a lead (h/t Josh Dubow). That is not a typo or mistake. The Bears ran zero offensive plays with a lead. The Packers ran 108.
In the first half of each of those three games, the Packers outscored the Bears, 41-6. In the second half (including overtime), the Bears outscored the Bears, 68-30.
That’s just what the Bears do.
Including Saturday night, the Bears have outscored opponents 175-130 in the fourth quarter and overtime this season. In fact, they’ve only been outscored in the fourth quarter four times this year. And when counting only wins, they’re outscoring opponents 122-64 in the final frame.
Cole Kmet said Saturday: “It’s just part of who we are. We’re a resilient, physical group and I think that showed itself from April up until now. And we really believe that. That’s the message and I think we’ve really been embodying that this year.”
Guts. Glory. Rams: With the Philadelphia Eagles’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers yesterday afternoon, the Bears will officially host the Los Angeles Rams this upcoming Sunday.
Good ol’ Matthew Stafford. Doing what he’s done this season (46 TD, 8 INT, 4,707 yards) at 37 is truly incredible. He’s also very familiar with the Bears.
Stafford is 12-10 in 22 games against the Bears throughout his career with 5,985 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. He’s 1-1 with the Rams. In 12 games at Soldier Field, he’s 5-7.
It’s probably worth noting that in the Rams’ loss at Soldier Field last season, Stafford did not have receiver Puka Nacua (1,715 receiving yards in 2025) due to a knee injury.
Sean McVay is 3-2 against the Bears as head coach of the Rams. He’s 0-2 at Soldier Field, including that memorable Sunday Night Football thriller in 2018. Shoutout Bradley Sowell.
McVay has coached the Rams in 14 playoff games to a 9-5 record. Here’s a little fun trivia for you: Sunday will be his 15th playoff game against his 15th different opponent. That’s right, he’s never met the same team twice in the postseason.
After Sunday, the only teams remaining in the NFC to have not faced off against a McVay-led team will be the Washington Commanders, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.
I’ve got another fun fact for you: Today is the 40th anniversary of the Bears’ dominant 24-0 win against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XX.
I can see it now — D’Marco Jackson scooping up a loose ball after a Montez Sweat strip-sack, sprinting toward the end zone with a convoy of blockers as the snow begins to fall at Soldier Field on Sunday.
Wouldn’t that be something…
CHGO Sports Daily is brought to you by…
One Scoop Ahead
AG1 is a daily health drink that supports gut health, helps fill common nutrient gaps, and supports steady energy. One scoop each morning makes it easy to build a habit that actually lasts. Try AG1 today.
Roster Moves: The Blackhawks returned defenseman Kevin Korchinski and goalies Stanislav Berezhnoy and Drew Commesso to the Rockford IceHogs on Sunday.
The trio was recalled to the NHL over the weekend as the Blackhawks battled a nasty flu bug. Berezhnoy was recalled Saturday after Commesso was backed up by EBUG Dave Nozolillo on Friday night.
In two games, Korchinski tallied an assist and played 27:57. Commesso, who received both starts of the Blackhawks’ back-to-back, picked up his first career shutout on Saturday night in Nashville.
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO White Sox
4:30 on YouTube
🐻 CHGO Bears After Dark
7:00 on YouTube
🏒 Blackhawks vs. Oilers
7:30 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
Postgame on YouTube
Something on your mind? Rate this issue and leave a comment, question or topic to discuss!
Talk to you tomorrow!
– P.N.
