CHICAGO — Thirteen days after game-tying interception in loss Green Bay Packers, Caleb Williams deserved a hefty dose of redemption.
Chicago Bears came from behind on a wild fourth-quarter rally in which they erased a 10-point deficit, recovered a kick and scored a touchdown – all in two minutes – to force overtime. They beat the Packers 22–16 for their 11th win of the season when Williams threw a 46-yard pass that DJome Moeure is caught in the end zone to secure the win by a margin.
“I knew it was good,” Williams said of his overtime touchdown. “You have this belief, you have this confidence, you get this swagger as an offense. You train well, you do these types of games in practice. It was almost identical to practice, and when the play is called and that moment comes, it’s time to strike, it’s time to win the game.”
The play that sparked Williams' game-winning throw was set Thursday after the 24-year-old quarterback and coach Ben Johnson met one-on-one.
“I watched the film in his office and we just went through the little details throughout the play, and the next day we went out and discussed it and worked it out in practice,” Williams said. “It ended up being exactly what we thought it would be.”
During the first Bears-Packers meeting of the season at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, Green Bay quarterback Kaysin Nixon stopped Williams' fourth shot to secure the 28-21 win.
In the final minutes of Saturday's game, Nixon was back in the middle of the action, rushing Moore as the receiver raced into the end zone and threw a pass to end the game.
“Once I saw the defense play one-on-one,” Moore said, “I knew Caleb was going to give me a chance with the ball like he did in practice, and we figured that out.”
Bears defenders watching from the sideline guessed where Williams would throw the ball after seeing the quarterback connect with Moore on a play two days earlier. Without receivers Rome Odunze (leg) and Luther Burden III (ankle), Moore was targeted seven times and had five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.
“DJ hit a lot of targets and a lot of deep shots. [in practice],” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “To be fair, he caught it on one of our safeties and it was on the left side. Seems to be the same going towards Halas. [Hall]. I swear, when the ball was in the air, I knew he would catch it. It was crazy.”
Johnson added: “I thought Caleb threw a dime in practice and DJ fell with it and we're hoping that may or may not be the case, but we timed it right. DJ ran a great route and Caleb threw him a great ball. I think it's also a testament to our preparation throughout the week. I think the coaches do a great job of coming up with good ideas to put our guys in good spots, and when you go out and execute it on the practice field, that's what it is. become a game day reality for us.”
Williams leads the NFL with six wins after falling behind in the fourth quarter, and his six wins this season extend his record among all Bears starting cornerbacks since the AFL-NFL merger. He is the only Bears quarterback to score a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime in franchise history.
“It was a great moment,” Williams said. “I have a lot of great moments ahead of me. I think this is a landmark moment for us as a team to build on that confidence. A landmark moment for us to be in the position we are in, with 11 wins and everything at our fingertips, exactly where we want to be, I would say.”
Saturday's win marked the Bears' first overtime victory since they beat the Ravens in 2017. The Bears now have six wins after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, the most in a season since the 1970 merger.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team that didn’t bat an eye this late in the game,” Johnson said. “You don't feel any desperation on the sideline at any point. You can feel it a little bit in the stadium. I felt the fans come alive again once we got a little momentum going in the fourth quarter, but our guys, they don't miss a beat. They just keep going forward and know if we keep pulling away, good things are coming.”
