The Chicago Bears were firmly down and out before an onside kick gave them the runway to overtime on Saturday night.
That stroke of luck is all Caleb Williams needed to finish off one of the best comeback wins in the NFL this season.
The Bears’ second-year quarterback led touchdown drives of 53 and 64 yards after the 2-minute warning in the fourth quarter on Saturday night for a 22-16 overtime win. The win puts Chicago in pole position in the NFC North.
Williams finished the game 19-of-34 for 250 yards and two touchdowns, along with three rushes for 30 yards. His late-game heroics earned him Tom Brady’s “LFG Player of the Game” honor.
“I’ve said it multiple times. We’re going to fight,” Williams told Brady after the win. “We’re going to fight until the clock says zero. And from there, we’ll give it our best shot.”
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Bears QB Caleb Williams 🏆 Week 16 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
The conditions weren’t great, and the winds of more than 20 mph made Williams’ game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver DJ Moore even more impressive.
The weather was a factor for the entire game. While neither kicker missed a field-goal attempt on Saturday night, Cairo Santos was a key player for the Bears. Santos was 3-for-3 on field goals with makes from 43, 46 and 51 yards. One of those kicks started outside of the right goalpost and ended right down the middle, and another started straight at the left upright before ending behind the right one.
Santos’ biggest moment, though, was a successful onside kick. The kick went right at Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who could not bring in the spinning ball. That was with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter, with the score 16-9, and Williams led the Bears right down the field for a touchdown that sent the game to overtime.
Romeo Doubs’ muffed onside kick enabled the Bears to take control of the NFC North. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
“I saw Cairo and the special teams; they practiced it every single day right after practice,” Williams said. “And so my expectation was for us to go get it. We did. And from there it was just too much time to clock.”
After the Bears offense forced overtime with the game-tying touchdown to wide receiver Jahdae Walker, the defense did its job by forcing a turnover on fourth-and-1 near midfield on the next Packers’ drive. From there, Williams only needed four plays. After an incomplete pass, running back D’Andre Swift ran seven yards and rookie RB Kyle Monangai ran for 11 more. Then, Williams hit Moore for an incredible 46-yard touchdown that sent Bears fans home happy in overtime.
“It’s something we practice all week. It’s something we hit in practice,” Williams said of the touchdown pass to Moore. “… You practice these things and you practice with a certain competitiveness to you and a certain tenaciousness at practice, and you come out and you let that ball go, you know it’s good.”
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