The spell ended on the 2025 Chicago Bears.
Ben Johnson’s squad nearly pulled off another miraculous comeback, as Caleb Williams picked up a fourth down with 18 seconds left, sending the game into overtime. However, Williams’ third interception cost the Bears, who watched the LA Rams punt for a 20-17 OT win at Soldier Field.
Seven times this season, the Bears pulled a rabbit out of a hat and turned an expected loss into a win. Those close wins emboldened Johnson’s crew and they had a chance to steal another victory, but a slew of missed opportunities will sting Chicago heading into the offseason.
“It’s frustration. It’s fire,” Williams said of how he feels inside after the season-ending loss. “Those are the two words I would go with. I’m excited, though, too. Obviously, not happy with the outcome. Obviously frustrated with the outcome. But it’s over and I can’t go back and change it. Gonna go back and look, figure out how I can be better in the near future and help this organization get to where we want to be.”
The Bears fell down early and allowed LA to march down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive. As they have all season, Chicago battled back, rocking MVP candidate Matthew Stafford on 20-of-42 passing for 258 yards with four sacks and zero touchdown passes. The Bears’ defense suffocated the LA receivers, with no single Ram giving up more than 56 receiving yards.
Trailing 17-10 with 1:50 left, Williams led a 7-play, 50-yard TD drive that culminated in a fourth-down lift off his back foot that went 51.2 yards and landed in the hands of Cole Kmet to send the deficit to the extra frame.
After the Bears’ defense forced a 3-and-out to open OT, Williams had a shot to keep the streak alive, but a “miscommunication” with receiver DJ Moore led to his third INT of the night. Chicago’s defense couldn’t get another stop.
“That’s part of the shame. Our defense played their tails off,” Johnson said of a team that played its best game of the year. “They did. I thought they did a great job. It’s the number one offense in football, both yards and points, and I thought (Defensive Coordinator) Dennis (Allen) and the defensive coaching staff, they had a great plan. They got weapons all over the perimeter, but also that run game is very efficient, and they can miss a lot of our problems, but still. the plan, executing it. I thought they played with great feeling
The Bears will miss the missed opportunities on Sunday. Chicago drove up and down the field against LA, racking up 417 yards. However, they went 3-of-6 on fourth down and Williams threw three interceptions – two in plus-zone – as the Bears came up three points shy.
After Williams’ miracle, Johnson said he considered going for two points and winning, but given that the Bears had been denied on four plays from the 5-yard line on the previous drive, he opted to send the game to OT.
“Thought about it,” Johnson said. “What probably played a little bit was that our situation in the goal hadn’t been very clean. Our plan inside the five hadn’t gone quite as we had hoped. It just felt better to take advantage of our opportunities there in overtime.”
The disappointing loss stings, but in Johnson’s first season, with Williams showing flair in big moments and a defense that rallied after getting players back late in the season, the future looks bright in the Windy City. There are no guarantees the Bears can repeat their magical run, but with Williams and Johnson, the future looks brighter than it has in decades in Chicago.
Even with all the highlight plays, Williams knows there are ways he can improve in his third year.
“Got to go watch film and talk to Coach, and from there just work on accuracy, work on my feet in the offseason,” he said. “It’s taking over the receivers and working with them and things like that all summer so we’re on the same page, that we start off in training camp, OTAs and then go into next season.”