Studs and duds from Bears' epic wild-card comeback vs. Packers

The Chicago Bears found a way to get it done again, using a tale of two completely different halves to pull off a 31-27 comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round on Saturday night.

It has been much of the same story all season for Chicago, with a first half to forget and a second half that was beyond memorable, this one bringing the Bears their first playoff win in 15 years. Several standout performances in the second half helped carry Chicago to the victory, but there were also some performances to forget in the first half, including by head coach Ben Johnson.

With all the positive vibes and energy coming out of Soldier Field, there's no reason to highlight all the down performances, so here's our list of studs and duds from the wild-card victory on Saturday night.

Stud: TE Colston Loveland

The rookie has arrived, once again, in a major way, making history in his NFL playoff debut as he went 137 receiving yards on eight receptions, and a crucial 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Colston Loveland was targeted 15 times in the game and was the most reliable source of production for the offense in both halves. Over the past month, Loveland has really proved his value as the team's first-round pick this year, and he'll be a vital part of the offense moving forward.

Stud: WR DJ Moore

With the game on the line, there was no doubt that Caleb Williams was going to look for (and find), DJ Moore for the game-winning touchdown. Finishing the night with six receptions for 64 yards and the memorable touchdown, Moore was just what the Bears needed and even proved himself even more by toughing it out after being banged up early in the game.

Stud: DC Dennis Allen (second half)

For as great as there were individual performances, no one had a bigger performance on Saturday night than defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Chicago's defense forced several three-and-outs in the second half, especially early in the third quarter which gave the Bears their momentum to get things rolling. Even after losing linebacker T.J. Edwards during the game, Allen was able to lead his defense to holding Green Bay to just six points in the second half after they scored three touchdowns in the first.

Stud: K Cairo Santos

Cairo Santos gets his place on this list simply for doing his job and being far more effective than his counter part, Brandon McManus, who missed two field goals and an extra point, leaving seven points on the field. Santos went perfect, 3-for-3 in his field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on extra points, which helped keep any chance of a comeback alive rather than getting shut out as a whole.

Stud: KR/PR Devin Duvernay

While the defense played a huge role in the comeback, the special teams also delivered, especially Devin Duvernay, who had a 37-yard punt return to get the team into Green Bay territory in the second half. Duvernay had a total of 144 return yards, and field position played a big part in this game, shortening the field for the offense to do as much as they did in the second half.

Dud: First half playcalling

Ben Johnson gave his team and the fanbase plenty to be worried about in the first half, going for it multiple times on fourth down, showing trickery when it was unnecessary, and having an overall lack of success. In the days leading up to the game, Johnson expressed real frustration with the slow start of the offense, calling for that side of the ball to step up, and they didn't do so in the first half of the game. There was no run game, inconsistent play calling and plenty of missed throws.

Dud: First half defense

Just as it was for the offense, the defense was very poor in the first half. On their first three drives of the game, the Bears defense allowed Green Bay's offense to go down and score three straight touchdowns to open the game, appearing lost in every play. The Packers were also able to get down the field with several big plays in the first half, doing everything they wanted each step of the way. Thankfully, the Bears got right in the second half, but there is no denying that the defense has to significantly improve going into the divisional round next weekend.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Packers: Studs and duds from epic wild-card comeback