For all the things Caleb Williams still needs to learn, and he’d be the first to say there are empty boxes on his checklist, he has solved one of the Bears’ most maddening problems. They have a franchise quarterback capable of heroics few in the NFL can match.
Williams was magical with the game on the line again Sunday in a divisional-round playoff game against the Rams. He threw an unforgettable touchdown pass to force overtime but also had a costly interception that allowed the Rams to win 20-17 on Harrison Mevis’ 42-yard field goal.
The Bears’ dream season is over. They’ll spend the offseason intent on building themselves into a championship contender. The Rams moved on to the NFC Championship Game at the Seahawks to play for a trip to the Super Bowl.
“It’s a frustration and a fire,” Williams said as he processed the loss. “Not happy about the outcome. Frustrated. But that’s over with, and I can’t go back and change it.
‘‘I’m going to go back and watch and figure out how I can be better in the near future and help this organization get where we want to be.”
He struggled for a lot of the game but surged late. Sound familiar? And for a brief stretch near the end, it looked like another fairy-tale finish.
The Rams took a 17-10 lead with 8:50 left on Kyren Williams’ five-yard run. After the teams traded uneventful possessions, Williams got his opportunity for another daring escape.
A shanked punt gave the Bears the ball at midfield with 1:50 left, but their chances dwindled as they hit fourth-and-four at the Rams’ 14-yard line with 27 seconds left.
The next play looked like a disaster from the start.
Williams was under pressure immediately and scrambled backward to keep it alive. He ran with his back to the play for at least 10 yards and turned around as he backpedaled to the 40-yard line. With three Rams closing in on him, he heaved the ball to the end zone off his back foot.
It sailed to tight end Cole Kmet, who was wide open in the back left corner as defensive backs Cobie Durant and Quentin Lake trailed.
“That’s ridiculous,” coach Ben Johnson said of the tying touchdown pass. “We talked about the fourth-and-eight [against the Packers], and this one was even another level ahead of that. There’s some things you just can’t coach. He’s got that.”
Moments like that make all the growing pains worth it. Williams has made some of the most difficult clutch plays in the NFL this season. Next, he needs to master more of the basics, and he mentioned accuracy and footwork as priorities for this offseason.
Williams had a shot to win it after the Bears forced the Rams to punt on the first possession of overtime, making it a sudden-death game. He went 4-for-4 for 32 yards and drove the Bears close to field-goal range at the Rams’ 48-yard line. Then he went deep to DJ Moore, but his throw was short, and Rams safety Kamren Curl dove to pick it off.
Williams had a rocky line of 23-for-42 for 257 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions for a 59.3 passer rating.
The interceptions stung — he had never thrown three in a game — and the disappointment was deflating. But the reality for Williams and the Bears was that this was clearly the start of something bigger. Winning the NFC North and making it to the divisional round of the playoffs signified progress toward contending next season.
“[Williams has] gotten so much better over the course of the season,” Johnson said. “He’s going to continue to ascend.”
He said Williams’ increased comfort level in the offense is evident and “he brings it to life on game day.” It’s not perfect, but this was only Year 1.
The most important thing the Bears did this season was to solidify their coach-quarterback pairing. After years of getting that horribly wrong, they have it exactly right with a hard-nosed offensive wizard in Johnson and an ultra-talented, multifaceted weapon in Williams.
Johnson has flourished where his wayward predecessors Matt Eberflus, Matt Nagy and John Fox couldn’t, and everything about the way he has handled his debut season points toward sustained success. Williams has shown far more high-end talent than Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky had at their best.
Together, their starting point was a division championship and the franchise’s first playoff win in 15 years. This is headed somewhere, and their connection is the foundation for all the Bears’ aspirations.
“It’s grown tremendously,” Williams said. “That was very important for me because I want to be here for a while, and he wants to be here for a while. Being able to attack our relationship and the bond and trust between each other was really important for us to be in this position as a team and to be in this position many times in the future.”
The Bears have had flashes that fizzled quickly, most recently in 2018, but everything about this feels different. Making it this far this season was a step. There are many more ahead.
