Caleb Williams authored one more late-game escape act Sunday night, but the finish did not match the magic that carried the Chicago Bears all season.
With the Bears facing elimination in the divisional round, Williams delivered a stunning fourth-down touchdown with 18 seconds left to push the game into overtime. The moment briefly lifted Soldier Field before an interception in the extra period sealed a 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and brought Chicago’s season to a halt.
The ending overshadowed a year defined by improbable finishes. Williams became the first Bears quarterback to engineer seven fourth-quarter comebacks in a single season.
He also set an NFL postseason benchmark by throwing three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. Those numbers explain why the 24-year-old, despite the sting of the loss, spoke with resolve afterward.
“In these moments, you feel like you let your team down,” Williams said. “It’s a good lesson for us.”
Chicago’s rise under first-year coach Ben Johnson made the setback easier to contextualize. The Bears jumped from five wins in 2024 to 11 in 2025, claimed the NFC North and snapped a 15-year playoff drought by beating Green Bay in the wild-card round Jan. 10.
The rally itself fit the season’s theme. Trailing by seven late, Williams evaded pressure and floated a 14-yard strike to tight end Cole Kmet on fourth-and-4. Next Gen Stats put the completion probability at 17.8 percent, one of three sub-20 percent touchdowns Williams has thrown since entering the league in 2024, tied with Justin Herbert and Jayden Daniels.
How a single miscommunication flipped overtime
The Bears entered overtime with momentum and a chance to extend their run. Williams again looked toward DJ Moore, his most reliable target on the night with five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
The pass, intended to move Chicago into field-goal range, instead found Rams safety Kam Curl, whose diving interception shifted the game instantly.
Afterward, Williams pointed to a breakdown rather than a risky decision. “Just a miscommunication between him and I,” he said, explaining that Moore stayed vertical when he expected the route to flatten underneath coverage.
The Rams capitalized, advancing quickly before Harrison Mevis delivered the winning kick.
That one play contrasted sharply with the heroic moments earlier. In the final seconds of regulation, Williams uncorked a 51-yard touchdown on fourth down that was immediately placed among the most memorable postseason throws.
Ben Johnson described the sequence as unteachable, calling Williams “an eraser” who consistently corrects mistakes, including his coach’s.
Still, the numbers show why the ending lingered. Williams completed 10 of 23 passes after halftime and threw two interceptions in the second half, including the decisive one in overtime. Johnson acknowledged the quarterback’s frustration but framed it as fuel.
“He’s going to be stronger for it,” the coach said.
Williams plans to spend the offseason refining his accuracy and footwork. For a team that exceeded every external expectation, the lesson from one misread now shapes the next step forward.
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