NFL Saturday Night Fever: Stafford and Williams Deliver Wild Card Thrillers

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1. Rams 34, Panthers 31: Stafford’s Steely Resolve

In a game that felt like a changing of the guard for much of the second half, Matthew Stafford reminded the league why he’s a champion. After squandering a 14-point lead and falling behind 31-27 with under three minutes to play, Stafford orchestrated a clinical seven-play, 71-yard drive to break Carolina’s hearts.

The Winning Play: With 38 seconds remaining, Stafford threaded a needle to tight end Colby Parkinson for a 19-yard touchdown strike.
The Puka Show: Puka Nacua was the engine of the L.A. offense, hauling in 10 catches for 111 yards and scoring twice (one through the air and a gritty 5-yard rushing touchdown).
Panthers’ Heartbreak: Bryce Young was valiant, throwing for 330 yards and putting Carolina ahead late with a strike to Jalen Coker. However, injuries to LT Ikem Ekwonu and RG Robert Hunt proved too much for the O-line to overcome on the final drive.

The Fallout: The Rams advance to the Divisional Round, while the Panthers head into an offseason of “what ifs” after their first home playoff game in nearly a decade.

2. Bears 31, Packers 27: The Caleb Williams Arrival

At Soldier Field, the atmosphere shifted from funeral to festival in the span of 15 minutes. The Chicago Bears pulled off the largest postseason comeback in franchise history, erasing an 18-point deficit to stun their arch-rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

The Rally: Trailing 21-3 at halftime and looking completely outmatched, Caleb Williams flipped the switch. In his playoff debut, Williams threw for a Bears-postseason-record 361 yards.
The Dagger: Down 27-24 with less than two minutes left, Williams pump-faked and found DJ Moore on a double-move for a 25-yard go-ahead touchdown.
Special Teams Nightmare: The Packers left 7 points on the board, as kicker Brandon McManus missed two field goals and a crucial extra point.
“True belief,” Williams said after the game. “We’ve been doing this all year. This is just who the 2025 Bears are.”
The win marks Chicago’s first playoff victory since 2010 and cements coach Ben Johnson’s squad as the “Cardiac Kids” of the NFC.

Saturday by the Numbers

Game	Result	Top Performer	Key Stat
Rams @ Panthers	34–31	Puka Nacua (125 total yards, 2 TDs)	Rams 4th Down Stop at 0:07
Packers @ Bears	31–27	Caleb Williams (361 Yds, 2 TD)	Bears: 25-6 run in 4th quarter

The Sunday Slate
The drama continues today with three massive matchups:

No. 6 Eagles at No. 3 49ers (1:00 PM ET) – Can Philly’s pass rush disrupt Brock Purdy?
No. 7 Steelers at No. 2 Texans (4:30 PM ET) – C.J. Stroud’s playoff encore begins.
No. 6 Chargers at No. 3 Patriots (8:15 PM ET) – The battle of the tacticians in Foxborough.