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3 things we learned from the Chicago Bears, including establishing a ‘gritty’ identity in 2025 • Remarkable season ends for Chicago Bears: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the playoff loss in overtime
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Chicago Bears Insider

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Good evening, Chicago.

The kick went up from the cold, wet ground, 42 yards from the goalpost.

In those final, tense moments, the Bears needed one more miracle. In a season chock full of unlikely comebacks and wild, last-minute victories, the Bears needed one more prayer answered.

“We wholeheartedly believed we were going to block that kick,” special teamer Daniel Hardy said.

The conditions were less than ideal, with snow swirling throughout Soldier Field for much of the night. The Bears would take their miracle any way they could get it. But the powers that be already had granted the Bears one miracle Sunday night. Quarterback Caleb Williams backpedaled about 20 yards on fourth down before lofting a last-ditch effort that tight end Cole Kmet somehow caught in the end zone for a game-tying touchdown to force overtime.

Rams kicker Harrison Mevis makes the game-winning field goal against the Bears in overtime Jan. 18, 2026, in an NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribuneon )

In overtime, the Bears finally ran out of miracles. Rams kicker Harrison Mevis booted the kick through the uprights, giving his team a 20-17 victory that sent it into next week’s NFC championship game.

In the brief, stunning seconds that followed, what struck Hardy most was the silence. A hush fell over the 60,253 fans at Soldier Field who had just watched coach Ben Johnson’s comeback kids, the monsters of the miracle, come to their cruel finale.

“Nothing from the crowd,” Hardy said. “I don’t even think I heard anything from the opposite sideline. It was just quiet.”

It really, truly was over.

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