Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears lose heartbreaker in OT

Because the Chicago Bears started their penultimate drive Sunday at Soldier Area, offensive coordinator Thomas Brown piped into quarterback Caleb Williams’ helmet headset with a well-recognized message.

It’s time, child. Go be Superman.

With the Bears trailing the Minnesota Vikings by 11 factors and fewer than 2 minutes remaining in one other astoundingly sloppy efficiency, it felt like an enormous ask for a 23-year-old rookie to rescue his staff from its present freefall. However Williams, by no means one to shrink back from a problem, eagerly ducked into the telephone sales space.

Through the subsequent 1 minute and 47 seconds over a span of 10 offensive snaps, Williams in some way turned the Bears’ 27-16 deficit into an extra time alternative. He led two scoring drives that sandwiched a recovered onsides kick and added a 2-point conversion throw.

The primary of these scoring drives — eight performs and 40 yards — culminated with an extended-play 1-yard landing go from Williams to Keenan Allen. The second required just one completion, an absolute laser over the center to DJ Moore for 27 yards to arrange Cairo Santos’ game-tying 48-yard subject purpose as time expired.

That second felt magical. It appeared vital.

“You positively suppose one thing particular is about to occur,” Moore mentioned. “After we bought to extra time, you’re simply pondering, ‘Man, we’re about to win the sport.’”

However, alas, as a result of these are the 2024 Bears and each setback seemingly has to return with a deep stab and a twist of the knife, Williams and his teammates gained the extra time coin toss and had the ball with an opportunity to finish the sport however in the end left Soldier Area with a jaw-dropping 30-27 loss. Due to course.

It was the Bears’ fifth consecutive defeat and their third throughout this skid that got here on the ultimate play. This time it was Vikings’ kicker Parker Romo making a 29-yard walk-off extra time subject purpose that shoved the bug-eyed Bears into their quick-turnaround Thanksgiving week with a brand new degree of disbelief.

“I’m by no means going to get used to this sense,” receiver Rome Odunze mentioned. “I’m by no means going to return into this locker room and really feel common after a loss. I’m actually not wrapping my head round this actually.”

Throughout a wild afternoon on the lakefront, the Bears as soon as once more sloppied their technique to one other disheartening loss characterised by beautiful breakdowns throughout all three phases. That is what a last-place soccer staff with clumsy management appears to be like like. But folded into this unpleasant horror present is an obvious superhero arrival.

Williams was good for a lot of Sunday towards an aggressive and complicated Minnesota protection. The Vikings arrived in Chicago with the NFL’s finest run protection and extra interceptions than another staff within the league. Coordinator Brian Flores marched into Soldier Area hoping to offer Williams complications with all of the rookie quarterback needed to see and decipher earlier than and after the snap.

As an alternative? Williams threw for 340 yards, rushed for 33 extra, fired two fourth-quarter landing passes and went turnover-free for the fourth consecutive begin. His passing yardage whole registered because the second-highest posted towards the Vikings this season. His 103.1 passer score was the third-highest versus Minnesota.

“He’s rising proper earlier than our eyes,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus mentioned.

In his second sport working with Brown as his play-caller, Williams felt ready, constantly understanding the place his scorching routes have been and what his alerts and checks wanted to be.

“The largest factor,” Williams mentioned, “was having the ability to be decisive.”

Williams has additionally felt one other power spike this week from Brown’s presence and steering.

“He has a sure aura to him the place he simply permits you to play free,” Williams mentioned. “He is aware of what he needs. You recognize what he needs.”

To be clear, Sunday’s efficiency was removed from flawless. Williams and the Bears will spend the subsequent 24 hours kicking themselves for a squandered alternative early within the second half when confusion reigned earlier than a crucial fourth-and-4 play. Throughout that sequence, with the Bears discombobulated with their communication on whether or not they’d be occurring fourth down or making an attempt a subject purpose, the decision was not solely late coming in however confused Williams, who in the end barked out the incorrect play. The quarterback was speeding to get every thing aligned earlier than the play clock expired after which missed Allen by a hair on an out route close to the sticks.

“We bought to the huddle attempting to scramble,” Williams mentioned. “I ended up mishearing what (Brown) mentioned. From there it went downhill. It was an incomplete go on a play I didn’t essentially wish to run.”

Williams additionally malfunctioned badly on the Bears’ extra time drive, taking a 12-yard sack on second down after holding the ball contained in the pocket for greater than 9 seconds.

“I ought to have simply thrown the ball out of bounds and lived to struggle one other down,” Williams mentioned.

Nonetheless, there have been so many dazzling highlights added to the reel Sunday it was arduous to not retain optimism concerning the quarterback’s progress trajectory. His remaining completion of regulation, that 27-yard missile to Moore, was a big-time play when his staff wanted it most.

Added Moore: “He threw a pleasant layered ball with some oomph on it. I simply needed to catch it.”

Within the first half, Williams additionally scrambled himself out of a mistake when he left linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel unaccounted for on a free rush, however then broke the pocket and lofted a beautiful on-the-move ball to D’Andre Swift down the appropriate sideline for a achieve of 30.

“D’Andre made — no pun supposed — a swift transfer upfield,” Williams mentioned. “I triggered it understanding how a lot house I had (to work with). I simply wished to offer him a shot to sort of make up for my little mess-up proper there at first of the play.”

That dot to Swift got here two performs after Williams threw a high-risk fastball into site visitors to Allen for a achieve of 40 yards.

“There’s no protection,” tight finish Cole Kmet mentioned, “for the right throw.”

And people two game-on-the-line scoring drives within the remaining 2 minutes of the fourth quarter?

“Simply true grit,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus mentioned. “He actually impressed the entire soccer staff. And it was actually good execution.”