Ben Johnson doesn't want Bears to lean on this for playoff game vs. Packers

Per Courtney Cronin of ESPN, second-year Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams tallied six comeback wins after trailing in the fourth quarter of games from Week 1 through Week 16 of the 2025 regular season. 

As much as first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson appreciates Williams' so-called clutch gene, Johnson also knows that 11-6 Chicago can't depend on a late rally during the club's wild-card playoff showdown versus the rival Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) this coming Saturday night. 

Bears want "to start off a little bit faster" vs. Packers

"We're never out [of a game]," Johnson said on Tuesday, per Larry Mayer of the Bears' website. "Our guys know that. 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 teams understand when they play us now that they have to earn it. They have to really close us out of it if they want the victory because we can score points in bunches. We can do it in a short amount of time, and we've proven that."

Back in Week 16 of the campaign, the Bears stunned the Packers when they recovered an onside kick and then scored a game-tying touchdown with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. Williams later tossed a walk-off 46-yard touchdown pass in the extra period.  

Caleb Williams agrees with Ben Johnson's bold claim

Johnson added that he knows Williams "was built for these moments." Williams later shared that he agrees with his coach's assessment. 

"I think I am built for these moments mentality-wise, how I've worked," Williams explained, per Nick Shook of the NFL's website. "I've been in a bunch of big games before and a bunch of big rival games. In those moments and in these moments, I think I can provide a spark for the team. I think I can do whatever my team needs me to do. Whether that's stay in the pocket, whether that's run, whether that's scramble, whether that's hand the ball off 30 times and be energetic about it. Whatever it takes is where I'm at and where I'm going to be at for these next couple weeks, hopefully."

Pro Football Reference stats show that Williams ended the regular season ranked seventh in the NFL with 3,942 passing yards and sixth with 27 passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bears as 1.5-point home underdogs for their upcoming matchup versus the Packers as of Wednesday morning.