Caleb Williams came through in his postseason debut, throwing a go-ahead, 25-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore with 1:43 remaining, and the Chicago Bears rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat rivals Green Bay Packers 31-27 in an NFL wild-card playoff game on Saturday night.

The NFC North champion Bears (12-6) extended their resurgent first season under coach Ben Johnson with their seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory. They split two down-to-the-wire games with Green Bay in the regular season, and this one turned out to be a thriller when it looked like it would be a breeze for the Packers (9-8-1).

Chicago trailed 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters, only to outscore Green Bay 25-6 in the fourth on the way to its first playoff win in 15 years.

Williams found a wide-open Moore along the left sideline to give Chicago the lead for good with 1:43 remaining.

Jordan Love then led Green Bay into Chicago territory. But on third down at the 28, Jaquan Brisker broke up a pass in the end zone as time expired, setting off a wild celebration – and a curt handshake between Johnson and Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

The Bears will host a divisional-round game next weekend.

Chicago pulled within 21-16 on D’Andre Swift’s 5-yard run early in the fourth quarter. The Packers responded, with rookie Matthew Golden breaking three tackles and leapfrogging a fourth defender on a 23-yard catch-and-run for his first career touchdown, making it 27-16. Brandon McManus missed the extra point wide left.

The Bears then went 76 yards, with Williams throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheaus and hitting rookie Colston Loveland for the 2-point conversion to make it 27-24 with 4:18 remaining.

The Packers then drove to the Chicago 21, only to come away with nothing when McManus missed wide right on a 44-yard field goal attempt.

The Bears responded with the go-ahead touchdown drive and hung on for their first playoff win since the 2010 team beat Seattle in the divisional round at Soldier Field.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson with 38 seconds left to lift the Los Angeles Rams to a dramatic 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers in the opening game of the playoffs earlier in the day.

Stafford finished 24 of 42 for 304 yards with three touchdown passes and an interception, while Puka Nacua had 10 receptions for 111 yards and two total touchdowns as the Rams (13-5), who were 10 1/2-point favourites, advanced to the divisional playoffs.

Bryce Young threw for 264 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score for Carolina (8-10), which finished the season losing four of its final five games.

Jalen Coker had career highs with nine receptions for 134 yards with a touchdown and Chuba Hubbard ran for 46 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort. (AP)