Larry Mayer

After watching tape of Saturday night's scintillating 31-27 playoff win over the rival Packers, Bears coach Ben Johnson on Monday discussed five things that stood out to him:

(1) Johnson lauded all three phases for helping the Bears rally from deficits of 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 entering the fourth quarter.

The Packers' 18-point lead the Bears erased made it their fourth biggest comeback in franchise history, including regular season and playoffs.

Johnson's team entirely flipped the script: After allowing touchdowns on Green Bay's first three possessions, the Bears scored TDs on their final three drives after being held out of the end zone through the first three periods.

"Watching the tape, it's just credit to them for being able to [overcome] a 21-3 deficit there at halftime," Johnson said. "Defense bowing up in the second half, only allowing six points, and then offense slowly chipping away and finding a way there, last three possessions to score touchdowns."

On special teams, Cairo Santos made all three field goals he attempted, including a 51-yarder that's the longest in Bears postseason history. In addition, Devin Duvernay had returns of 37 yards on a punt and 29 yards on a kickoff.

"Duvernay had a heck of a game for us," Johnson said. "Cairo came up big for us. Those conditions at Soldier Field this time of year are not advantageous for many kickers and yet Cairo has proven that he's a guy that we cannot just trust, but he'll come through for us when we need him the most, so that was great to see."

Johnson credited the coaching staff for doing "a phenomenal job throughout that game, just staying calm, cool and collected, and making the necessary adjustments that we needed to make to help our guys out the most."

"And the veteran leadership showed up as well, particularly at halftime," Johnson added. "No one was panicking or anything like that. There's a belief with this team that shows up each and every week. It's kind of who we are here at this point."

(2) Johnson was particularly pleased with the adjustments that defensive coordinator Dennis Allen made in the second half.

After permitting TDs on the Packers first three possessions, the Bears forced Green Bay to punt on its first four drives of the second half, including three three-and-outs.

"I think he recognized some things that could potentially help us out," Johnson said. "Our players brought it to life really. He's coached a lot of football in this league. He's very smart. He does a great job of tweaking some things as he goes through the game, tweaking some things as we have gone through the season to help us out as much as he possibly can, and then it's up to the players to come through for us, and it was a good combination of both.

"I do think he adjusted a couple of things, and our guys brought that vision to life."

(3) Johnson appreciated receiving a game ball from Caleb Williams during the Bears' raucous locker room celebration.

The second-year quarterback thanked Johnson for everything he's done for players and the organization in his first season as coach. Williams closed by expressing how grateful he is to Johnson for helping get the best out of him, saying: "For me personally, he's been monumental in my life."

Hearing Williams' heartfelt comments was special for Johnson.

"It's why you get into coaching," he said. "You want to make an impact on the people around you. It meant a lot, it really did."

On Saturday, Johnson became the first coach in Bears history to win a postseason game in his first season.

(4) Johnson had no issue with Williams yelling at teammates on the sideline after a failed fourth-down attempt in the first half.

"We're all feeling a certain type of way, and you've got to be authentic to yourself when it comes to the game," Johnson said. "We all want to do well. We all want to have success. We want our teammates to do well. So that's a part of it.

"And yet there is an accountability factor that goes into it as well. When I turn on the tape and I see a few thingsparticularly in our passing gamethat weren't the way we had talked about over the course of the week, sometimes you do need to get a little bit fired up just to make sure the point gets across and that we play better going forward, so I don't shy away from that part of it."

(5) Johnson fully embraced and leaned into the historic Bears-Packers rivalry while preparing for the wild card showdown.

"It's a big game," he said. "First playoff game at home in a while, and we hadn't won a playoff game in 15 years. But certainly the opponent, in and of itself, it means a lot to the city, this organization, and that's something that we certainly play into a little bit as coaches and players is we know how big it is when Chicago plays Green Bay.

"There's a rivalry that exists between these two teams, something that I fully recognize and I'm a part of."