LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Bears mounted a furious comeback Saturday to make their NFC wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers close, but they still needed one more score to pull ahead.

Failure meant the season would be over. Success meant beating a hated rival, completing the largest playoff comeback in franchise history and securing the first postseason win in 15 years.

The Bears have confidence in such situations, bestowed by six fourth-quarter comebacks during the regular season.

[MORE: How Bears QB Caleb Williams engineered comeback playoff win vs. Packers]

Quarterback Caleb Williams wanted to reinforce that on the possible go-ahead drive, with less than three minutes remaining. It came before his play calls.

Several variations all were centered around this theme:

Exactly where we want to be. Here we go.

Williams has a low heartbeat and a calm demeanor in those moments, with unwavering belief that he and the Bears will come through in the clutch. His job is to make others believe it, too. Positive affirmations, it turns out, can work wonders.

“He’s been great, especially in gotta-have-it moments,” Bears running back D’Andre Swift said Wednesday. “Kind of when you hear his voice in the huddle a little bit more, which is great. You want to hear from a quarterback.

“Specifically, the one thing that comes to my mind is the last drive (versus Green Bay), he kind of said something in the huddle where everything was put into perspective, like we know we got to go ahead and win this game. We’re in a position of going out and doing so.”

The Bears accomplished their mission, executing a six-play touchdown drive that ended with a 25-yard strike from Williams to DJ Moore. The Bears’ defense held the advantage and beat the Packers 31-27 at Soldier Field.

Chicago advanced to the NFC divisional round, where they’ll host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.

Considering this season’s track record, this game will be tight. The Bears, after all, have played 13 one-score games with several decided on the final play.

Williams mostly has succeeded in those moments, but failures at Green Bay and San Francisco have been pronounced. That doesn’t alter his perspective entering crunch time.

“I feel calm in those moments,” Williams said in his weekly press conference. “I feel my conditioning is the best in those moments. I feel, that’s really it. I feel that I’m the best in those moments because of what I’ve prepared to be in those moments and things like that. So, for myself, it’s just next play, next play, next play. And then when you have to go make a play, it’s it’s life or death in those moments.” 

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Head coach Ben Johnson said there aren’t many coaching points in those situations, other than being aligned on schematics and game management.

“Beyond that, it’s not like he needs a pep talk or a rah-rah or anything like that,” Johnson said. “He’s ready to go. I’ve been saying it all along, he rises to the occasion time and time again. It’s really impressive to see a young player like this be so clutch.”

That doesn’t just happen on game day. Swift believes Williams’ confident leadership style and ability to perform under pressure comes from preparation. While most players aren’t in quarterback meetings, the running back identified signs that Williams is putting in the time.

His car is in the parking lot earlier. His car is in the parking lot longer than most. He always has a notebook in his hand. He’s regularly going over the game plan on his own or with others. Great care clearly is given to the process. Johnson also is a wind at Williams’ back, as are his teammates.  

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That allows Williams to play free. It also allows him to provide support and belief at times, and tough love at others.

“Sometimes you have to hold everybody accountable, and I get held accountable every day, and I want to be able to win these games and be in these big moments, and so we have to be accountable to each other, and that’s one of the most important things in these big games, these playoff games and things like that,” Williams said. “It’s the fundamentals, the details that win you games.”

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