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Good morning! Feed us more playoff football. Inside:

• 🐻 Cardiac Bears do it again
• 🏈 An escape in Charlotte
• ⚾ Bregman signs

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Playoffs: Bears stun Packers, cap absurd NFL Saturday

It would be one of the great wins in Bears history even if it weren’t also one of the worst losses in Packers history. Trailing by 18 points at halftime, Chicago charged back with a 25-point fourth quarter to win its first playoff game in 15 years. And it was only the best game of the day by a little bit, somehow, as the Rams won a just slightly less ridiculous game against the Panthers earlier. Let’s go one at a time.

The Packers did a ton of damage before halftime, jumping to a 21-3 lead as Jordan Love did more or less whatever he wanted. Things then got even grimmer for the Bears. Star linebacker T.J. Edwards left on a cart. Caleb Williams threw his second interception of the game. But then things started happening. A Green Bay offensive lineman (yes) lost a fumble. The Bears stayed in the fight, barely. And then, in the final 10 minutes and 12 seconds, this game saw:

• A seven-play, 66-yard Bears TD drive to cut the lead to 21-16.
• A gutsy answer by Love in the form of a six-play, 54-yard scoring drive to bump the lead back to 27-16. Brandon McManus missed the extra point. Remember that.
• The Packers defense forcing a fourth-and-the-game try for the Bears with 5:37 left, flushing Williams from the pocket and giving up a ridiculous prayer of a conversion on a throw to Rome Odunze. The Bears then scored to make it 27-24 with 4:21 left. Williams’ fourth-down pass has to be in the conversation for throw of the year:

• A missed 44-yard field goal by McManus with 2:56 left, giving the ball and solid field position to Williams, who didn’t waste it. (In addition to his missed PAT earlier in the quarter, McManus missed a 55-yard field goal going into halftime. Sheesh.)
• A 25-yard go-ahead lob from Williams to DJ Moore off a feigned screen pass with 1:48 left as the Chicago crowd devolved into pandemonium.
• A frenetic last play as Love dropped a low snap, scrambled around for an eternity and finally threw incomplete into the end zone to seal Chicago’s 31-27 comeback W**.**

You could watch football for a lifetime and never see a wilder 10 minutes. The Bears’ three fourth-quarter TD drives totaled 23 plays, 208 yards and, amazingly, just 5:56 of clock time. Legacy stuff for Williams. On the other side, the question for the Packers is whether a change at coach is needed.

Elsewhere, we almost saw one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. The 8-9, NFC South champion Panthers were 10-point home underdogs against the Super Bowl-contending Rams. Carolina led in the final minute before Colby Parkinson made a gorgeous go-ahead touchdown catch for L.A. Trailing by three, the Panthers tried to mount a comeback drive but fell short when Jimmy Horn dropped a Bryce Young pass on what would’ve been a game-extending conversion. The Rams finally breathed football’s heaviest sigh of relief. Final: 34-31.

Kudos to the Panthers, who put on a great show instead of just bowing out. Also: Cam Newton came home, finally, after a chilly few years away from the franchise he once led.

Should we worry about the Rams? Maybe, maybe not. Matthew Stafford’s numbers fell off a cliff after he dinged his throwing hand on a pass attempt near the end of the first half. He recovered late, though, and the Panthers needed a series of good breaks — turnovers, third-down conversions and a blocked punt — to mount their onslaught. The smart money says the Rams are still a real title threat. But special teams have been an issue all season, so we shouldn’t treat that problem from yesterday as a one-off.

Overall, what a start to the playoffs. More to come today.

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News to Know

Cubs land Bregman

Not a bad night to be a Chicago sports fan, huh? In the middle of the Bears’ thrilling comeback last night, reports surfaced that the Cubs had reached a five-year, $175 million deal with third baseman Alex Bregman. Ranked as the No. 3 free agent on The Athletic’s Big Board, Bregman was an All-Star in his lone season with the Red Sox last year before declining a $40 million player option. Letting Bregman walk could be a massive mistake by Boston’s front office, as Jen McCaffrey writes.

Matt Ryan to lead Falcons front office

Atlanta hired its longtime franchise quarterback to a newly created position titled “president of football.” Ryan, 40, will wrap up his role as an analyst for CBS this weekend before turning his attention to the Falcons’ job. He is expected to lead the team’s head coach and general manager searches and will have the final say on all of Atlanta’s football decisions. More details in the full story.

More news:

• NFL All-Pro teams were released yesterday, which means we got our first clue in the MVP race. See the full teams.

• Kings guard Dennis Schröder was suspended for “confronting and attempting to strike” Lakers guard Luka Dončić in an arena hallway after a game two weeks ago. More here.

• Wisconsin slowed down No. 2 Michigan’s dominant start in men’s college hoops by handing the Wolverines their first loss. That leaves 16-0 (!) as the lone unbeaten in the Big Ten.

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Watch Guide

NCAAW:  No. 5 Oklahoma at No. 6 Kentucky

4 p.m. ET on SEC Network 

A significant meeting in Lexington, with both highly-ranked teams coming off losses on Thursday (Oklahoma to Ole Miss, Kentucky to Alabama). Someone will be on a slide shortly. Kentucky center Clara Strack, averaging 16 points and 10 boards, is great.

📺 NFL: Chargers at Patriots 

8:15 p.m. ET on NBC

The playoff debut for Drake Maye, who really did become all that this season. But here’s a good argument from Robert Mays that it’s the other QB, Justin Herbert, who has been the most important player in football. This ought to be a good time.

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Pulse Picks

A new generation of fans is blending sports and crafts by knitting jerseys. It’s a (very stylish) movement.

Maldon sea salt flakes. It’s my favorite salt. I know pink Himalayan salt was all the rage for a long time, but the Maldon salt is my favorite for adding to a dish or just cooking with, in general. I’m not saying it’s going to change your life, but your life will never be the same. — Zach Harper

Learning football from video games has become a legit teaching method for some coaches and athletes, as Jason Jones explains. Interesting.

“The Athletic Show” returns with an all-football episode, including a vibes-based NFL playoff preview and a discussion of whether Tom Brady can save the Raiders. Stream it on Fire TV, The Athletic app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Since this is an all-Heated-Rivalry-all-the-time space, I enjoyed reading Spencer Krug’s thoughts on his song “I’ll Believe in Anything” going mega viral after being part of the show’s best scene. NFL Daily’s Gregg Rosenthal walked down the aisle to that song 18 years ago! — Dan Steinberg

🎥 Ever wondered who decides whether a goal in soccer is an own goal? Now you know.

Over the years, Wirecutter’s fitness experts and I have run, walked, swam, cycled, and slept with 52 different fitness trackers day and night. Our three favorites are accurate, comfortable to wear all day and easy to use. — Seth Berkman

Semi-inspired by this column, I prepped a bunch of sweet potatoes at the beginning of last week and was thankful to have them ready to use for quick lunches. Pair with a store-bought sauce you love, and you’re golden. — Torrey Hart

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The famous Dwyane Wade and LeBron James photo.

Most-read on the website yesterday: Inside the 36 hours that decided John Harbaugh’s fate in Baltimore. Good read.

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(Top photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)