The Bears' playoff win was unforgettable — now they need to forget it

Trailing the Packers by 18 at halftime, Bears coach Ben Johnson told his team it had an opportunity to “turn this around into a game we'll never forget.”

Now they need to forget it.

After having an extra day to revel in a staggering 31-27 victory against their hated rivals on Saturday, the Bears need to turn the page to focus on the Rams, their opponent at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Soldier Field. That was the message shared following Monday’s offensive meeting by third-string quarterback Case Keenum.

He spoke from experience. Eight years ago Wednesday, Keenum was the starting quarterback of a Vikings team that trailed the Saints by one with 10 seconds left to play in a divisional round playoff game. With the ball at his own 39, Keenum took the shotgun snap and launched a pass 27 yards down the right sideline to receiver Stefon Diggs. Saints safety Marcus Williams lowered his head to tackle a leaping Diggs and missed, and the receiver ran untouched up the sideline for a 61-yard, game-winning touchdown as time expired.

They called it the “Minneapolis Miracle.”

The next week, with a chance to win the NFC title game and play the Super Bowl at their home stadium, the Vikings lost by 31 to the Eagles.

Keenum’s message, per Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman, was that as “emotional and significant” as the previous win was, “none of that affects the next week.” It’s a lesson the Bears need to learn quickly.

“You celebrate it, you enjoy all the positivity,” Dalman said Monday. “Then, very quickly — not to diminish it or anything like that — you're like, ‘Alright, now the priority is the Rams.’

“You can't have a lull coming off a game like that or anything.”

That’s one reason why the Bears brought their players in for meetings and light work Monday — to turn the page before their Tuesday off day and three days’ worth of practices.

“Prioritizing the next simple task …” Dalman said. “Focusing on the next step in the process rather than thinking about those really big broad things like an emotional win or another big game.”

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds will remember the details of Saturday night’s game as long as he lives — “These are the types of games that go down in the history books,” he said — but will savor it later.

“Where we're at right now … you have to move forward,” Edmunds said. “We've enjoyed it for a couple days, but we’ve got a game to get ready for this week. A great opponent coming into town. It's important that we have our enjoyment of the game, but at the same time, we’ve got a bigger mission at hand and we’ve got to get ready to flip that page.”

That’s easier said than done.

The Bears’ win Saturday was tied for the fifth-largest comeback in the history of the wild-card round of the playoffs. Four of the five teams that were comeback winners lost the very next week:

• The 2013 Colts rallied from 28 down to beat the Chiefs and lost to the Patriots by 21.

• The 2022 Jaguars came back from down 27 to the Chargers and lost to the Chiefs by seven.

• The 2002 49ers executed a 24-point comeback against the Giants and lost to the Bucs by 25.

• And the 2017 Titans — who, like the Bears, rallied from 18 points down — lost to the Patriots by 21.

Of the top five, only the 1992 Bills, whose 32-point comeback against the Oilers remains the largest in NFL playoff history, won their next game. They eventually lost in the Super Bowl.

One of the most encouraging aspects about Johnson’s first year as a head coach at any level has been the Bears’ ability to focus on the week at hand. The only game all season in which they didn’t seem emotionally prepared for kickoff was the dud of the season finale against the Lions.

Johnson’s task this week is to get his players to move past the Packers. The goal of advancing to the NFC championship game should be an easy motivator, but try telling that to the other comeback playoff teams who were blown out the next week.

The Bears should be better prepared for Sunday’s game after many, including quarterback Caleb Williams, got their first taste of the playoffs. Only four offensive starters had ever appeared in a postseason game before Saturday.

“This time of year, every point matters, every play matters, every blade of grass matters,” Johnson said. “And so, we learned that throughout those 60 minutes there the other night.”

Everything else, they need to learn to let go.

“Obviously, everybody's excited,” Edmunds said. “But the next game will be here before we know it.”

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