The Chicago Bears came into Week 9 of the NFL season with a huge matchup on deck against the Cincinnati Bengals. A win, and the Bears would stay alive in a tight playoff race. A loss, and Chicago would be at risk of missing the playoffs.
After a stunning back-and-forth affair, the Bears won 47-42. A huge reason why the Bears won was thanks to second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. His three passing touchdowns and 280 yards on 20 completions helped Chicago win, but that wasn't all he contributed.
Williams also caught two passes, one of which was a trick-play Philly-Special touchdown. This performance, as Dante Koplowitz-Fleming of NFL.com mentioned, had Williams joining Bears legend Walter Payton in exclusive franchise history.
Caleb Williams joins Walter Payton in exclusive NFL history
"Only two players in the Super Bowl era have had caught multiple passes and thrown multiple touchdowns in the same game:" Koplowitz-Flemming writes, "Caleb Williams in Week 9, 2025, against the Bengals and Walter Payton in Week 3, 1983, against the Saints. Sweet."
While Williams was a huge contributor through the air, he also caught two passes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Not only is that an incredible feat, but just one other player in NFL history has ever accomplished the feat.
Fittingly, the only player to have such a performance is Walter Payton. In the long history of the National Football League, the only players to catch multiple passes and throw multiple touchdowns in the same game were both Bears players.
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Payton's performance against the Saints in that Week 3 matchup back in 1983 was incredible. He ran for 161 yards and one touchdown on 28 attempts, caught two passes for 27 yards, and threw two passes, both completed for a total of 77 yards and two touchdowns.
While William's individual performance wasn't as stunning as Payton's over 40 years ago, his late-game heroics made his performance one for the history books.
The Bears-Bengals Week 9 matchup will be remembered for a long time, and William's performance shouldn't be forgotten, as he joins a Bears legend as the only player to throw two touchdowns and make two receptions in the same game.
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