The Chicago Bears’ season ended Sunday night at Soldier Field with a divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but not before Caleb Williams delivered a moment of brilliance.
Facing fourth-and-goal as regulation expired, Williams extended the game with a touchdown pass that will live on in NFL lore despite the defeat. Under heavy pressure from the Rams’ pass rush, Williams retreated nearly 30 yards before launching a throw to Cole Kmet near the corner of the end zone to force overtime.
Williams would go on to throw an interception in OT. His final throw of the season before the Rams marched down the field for a game-winning field goal.
Head coach Ben Johnson said he’s quickly getting used to Williams’ ability to make something out of nothing — and at times, to rescue him in the process.
Johnson described the TD pass as “ridiculous” after the game. “There’s some things you just can’t coach, he’s got that about him,” he added. “He’s got a knack. He’s clutch. He’s an erasure. I have a bunch of bad calls each week and he helps make it right for me. He’s going to continue to ascend.”
After the touchdown, Johnson briefly weighed the option of going for two with 18 seconds remaining but ultimately trusted his team’s chances in overtime. “Thought about it,” he said. “(But) our goal-to-goal situations haven’t been very clean.”
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Johnson said emotions were high in the locker room following the loss.
“Disappointing result tonight,” he said “Our guys fought the entire way, just like they have all season long. You have to give the Rams credit. Coach (Chris) Shula did a great job with their defense. Our guys are feeling it right now. They all believed. Proud of the group. It’s a special group. I believe that to my core. It was a special year. This will hopefully be a feeling in the locker room that we won’t forget.”