Bears quarterback Caleb Williams made one of the more remarkable throws in recent memory to send Sunday’s game against the Rams to overtime, but his final throw of the game is one he’d like to have back.
After the Bears forced the Rams to punt to open extra time, Williams moved the ball to midfield. He tried a deep shot to wide receiver DJ Moore on a second down, but Moore appeared to slow up on the route and Rams safety Kam Curl picked off the pass on the 22-yard line.
Matthew Stafford connected with tight end Colby Parkinson for one first down and rocketed a throw across the field to wide receiver Davante Adams for another one. The catch was reviewed, but Adams got his feet down and the Rams drive continued with another conversion to Puka Nacua. That got them inside the 30 and Harrison Mevis ended the game with a 42-yard field goal.
The 20-17 win sends the Rams to Seattle for the NFC Championship Game next week. They lost to the Seahawks on their last visit, but past history will be thrown out the window with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Williams forced overtime by backpedaling away from Rams pass rushers for 20-plus yards and hitting tight end Cole Kmet for a touchdown that made the score 17-16 with 18 seconds left. The Bears tied the game with the extra point and their defensive stop set the stage for more Williams heroics.
They got his third interception of the night instead and they’ll now head into the offseason lamenting how close they were to their own trip to Seattle. Williams ended the night 23-of-42 for 257 yards and gave more glimpses of being a quarterback who can lead the Bears back to the Super Bowl, but it will have to wait at least another year.
The first pick came on a fourth down on the first Bears possession of the game. It was one of three fourth down tries in field goal range for the Bears in the first half and they scored a touchdown on one, but Johnson’s decision to go each time is likely to be second guessed given how precious points turned out to be on Sunday night.
Stafford did not have any turnovers, but he was sacked four times while going 20-of-42 for 258 yards against a Bears defense that handled things better than they did against the Packers for most of last week’s win. Running back Kyren Williams had 21 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns and they’ll need big games from both of those players if they’re going to outlast the Seahawks defense next week.
