Chicago Bears, coach Ben Johnson and some players met with reporters virtually Monday, a couple of days after a stunning overtime win over the Green Bay Packers.

It was a perfect weekend for the Bears. Chicago overcame a 10-point deficit Saturday to force overtime before quarterback Caleb Williams threw a walk-off 46-yard pass to win the game. Then the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday to clinch the Bears’ first playoff berth since 2020.

Despite the accomplishments, there’s still plenty to play for in the final two weeks of the regular season. That’ll start with a marquee Sunday night matchup at the San Francisco 49ers.

Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Monday.

On critical moments in the comeback win

Johnson had a plan when the Bears started a drive trailing by 10 with 5:03 left in the game.

He said Monday that he wanted the offense to score a touchdown by a certain time on the first of two possessions and then kick a field goal on the second. Johnson wanted a touchdown first because data from at least the past decade indicated that it’s easier to score a touchdown and then knock in a field goal instead of the other way around.

But that’s not how it played out. The Bears didn’t score a touchdown by that time threshold – Williams told reporters after the game Saturday that it was the four-minute mark – and Johnson knew the Bears would have to try an onside kick. Williams completed a short pass to DJ Moore on third down. It forced the field goal unit to come out for a “fire drill” field goal attempt before the two-minute warning.

Kicker Cairo Santos made the 43-yard field goal, but the Bears lost the two-minute warning clock stoppage and only had two timeouts left. It took too much time to get the K-ball in and for the umpire to get off the ball. Johnson said Williams should’ve attempted a pass that would’ve either picked up a first down or gone out of bounds to stop the clock.

“That’s on me,” Johnson said. “That’s a hundred percent on me. I have to do a better job coaching that with all the players involved, all the coaches involved. I think we’ll be better for that going forward.”

Williams and the offense had a chance to tie the game after Chicago executed one of the rare onside kick recoveries Saturday. Santos kicked a perfect ball that went through the Packers’ Romeo Doubs’ arms and was recovered by the Bears’ Josh Blackwell.

“You got to start with [special teams coordinator Richard] Hightower,” Johnson said. “He does a phenomenal job each week drilling that play and making sure we’re prepared. All of our guys were dialed in. They knew what they were doing. Cairo had an excellent kick. Made it very difficult on their side. I thought we executed at a really high level and blocked well, was able to recover it.”

On another comeback win

The Bears pulled off another improbable win Saturday night. Chicago trailed by as much as 10 points at two different points of the second half during a game where not much went in the Bears’ favor during the first three-plus quarters.

But the team fought back once again to win another stunning game.

“Nobody pointed the finger, even though it could’ve been times when guys was frustrated, guys just kept fighting, and even at halftime in the locker room, just seeing the energy everybody had, the belief everybody had to go out there and finish the game out strong,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “It was definitely good to see.”

It wasn’t surprising to see, in a way, given how the Bears have won this season. Chicago had five fourth-quarter/overtime comebacks against the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings heading into Saturday. They’ve all come in different ways, too.

Johnson would prefer to lead heading into the fourth quarter. But he also acknowledged how important it is to have a resilient team, especially heading into the playoffs.

“You want to be a clutch team,” Johnson said. “I think you want to be able to handle the pressure and rise to the occasion. I think we’ve got a team built like that. There’s guys on offense, defense and special teams that they rise up and they play their best on the biggest stage and in the biggest moments. I think that’s really important.”

On the next two weeks

Chicago accomplished Johnson’s first of three steps over the weekend. He wanted the Bears to reach 11 wins because an NFL team has never missed the playoffs with 11.

But the Bears feel there’s still plenty to accomplish over the next two weeks.

“Even though we already clinched that, but it’s bigger things that we are trying to do as far as placement and seeding and things like that,” Edmunds said. “We have to take it one day at a time, one game at a time and see how everything plays out.”

That starts with step two: winning the NFC North. Chicago ends the regular season with games against the 49ers and the Lions. Green Bay, which Chicago has a game-and-a-half lead over in the North race, ends the regular season against the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings. The Bears would clinch the North with one more win or one more Packers loss.

“That’s on me. That a hundred percent on me. I have to do a better job coaching that with all the players involved, all the coaches involved. I think we’ll be better for that going forward.”

—  Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears head coach

If the Bears win the North, they can tackle Johnson’s third step: earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Chicago is the No. 2 seed as of Monday afternoon, a game behind the Seattle Seahawks (12-3). The Los Angeles Rams (11-4), 49ers (10-4) and Philadelphia Eagles (10-5) are also lurking.

Johnson didn’t talk much about the playoffs over the past month after laying out the team’s goal of 11 wins. He’ll keep it that way over the next two weeks.

“Not a whole lot needs to be said about it,” Johnson said. “Those goals are still out there, and we continue pressing forward.”