CHICAGO — Caleb Williams‘ first-half stats Saturday night were, well, not good.

The Bears quarterback had a 47 percent completion rate, 4.5 yards per pass attempt, one interception and a 35.9 passer rating.

Now let’s flip the game book from the NFC wild-card round game against the Green Bay Packers to the final stats.

Williams finished with a 50 percent completion rate, 7.5 yards per pass attempt, two touchdown passes (plus another pick) and a passer rating that almost doubled to 71.6. His 361 passing yards were the most in Bears playoff history.

A switch must’ve flipped in that second half. Something spectacular must’ve happened.

It most certainly did.

Chicago’s defense held strong while Williams went off, allowing the Bears to erase a three-score halftime deficit and emerge with a 31-27 victory over the NFC North rival Packers at Soldier Field.

[READ: Bears 31, Packers 27: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL playoff win]

“As always, Caleb came through for us,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. “He made some big-time throws in some critical situations. Guys made some big catches. Guys up front protecting.

“I mean, you get in the spot where you’re down a little bit and you know you got to throw it a little bit more, and you need the big guys to bow up and give us a clean pocket, and it took the entire offense to get that job done.”

Johnson is right to point out that it took a village to complete the largest playoff comeback in Bears history.

But Williams is at the center of it all. When he struggles, the Bears struggle. When he’s exceptional, they’re tough to beat.

The second-year pro reached that level at this game’s end, engineering three consecutive touchdown drives in the game’s final 12-and-a-half minutes. He did all that on a bum ankle and after being a net negative in the first half.

[READ: NFL playoff schedule: Bears to host Eagles or Rams in divisional round]

“I do love seeing Caleb getting that rhythm and that confidence up,” Johnson said. “The more opportunities he has, normally the more explosive we become on offense as well. So, it was just one of those things I think he just started feeling it there in the fourth quarter and made some big plays for us.”

Williams made some plays that will live on in Bears lore. We’ll mention two.

The first: The Jumpman throw to Rome Odunze.

D’Andre Swift scored a 6-yard touchdown to make it a one-score game with 10:08 left. The Packers negated it on the following drive, eating precious time while reestablishing a two-score lead.

The Bears worked downfield, but the drive stalled, and they faced a fourth-and-8 near midfield. Williams rolled to his right as pressure bore down, and he jumped to his right to avoid it, then rolled to his left. He threw the ball downfield in midair to Odunze for a 27-yard gain that you must see to believe.

“Special. He was, like, floating on that one throw to Rome,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. “When he hit that, we all thought, ‘we’re winning this game.’”

The Bears had more work to do. Williams hit Olamide Zaccheaus on an 8-yard touchdown pass five plays later and zipped a 2-point conversion throw to Colston Loveland.

The Packers missed a field-goal attempt on the ensuing drive, setting up Williams for a curtain call. He connected with Swift and Loveland to approach scoring position. That’s when he launched another immortal throw.

The second: DJ beats the Pack: Part II

It wasn’t as unreal as the walkoff 46-yarder to beat Green Bay in overtime on Dec. 20, but Moore won his matchup quickly, and Williams put just enough arc on the throw to make it a sure completion and touchdown.

“DJ  in the end,” Williams said. “High-pressure moment, makes a great catch.”

Williams thrives in high-pressure moments, as we’ve seen throughout his seven game-winning drives this season between the regular season and playoffs. Saturday night’s effort, against a rival in his first NFL playoff game, was his crowning achievement to this point.

“He’s a dynamic, special player,” Kmet said. “It was awesome for him to show that on the national stage.”

Williams mindset in those moments is simple, fueled by a confidence in his team, his head coach and his own ability.

“The only option we had was to go out there and be legendary, go out there and execute, and go out there and do our part on the offensive side, defensive side and special teams,” Williams said. “Have each other’s back. Go win the effing game.”

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