CHICAGO (WGN) — The Chicago Bears took care of business in Week 3, as Caleb Williams led an offensive blitz that netted Ben Johnson his first victory as head coach of the Bears.
“Ben has set the standard for us, and we have to execute that standard,” Williams said postgame. “The trust and belief in the hard work and just all of it together, being able to have that moment for him and his family, the organization … it’s just a constant growth mindset that we’re on.”
Game Recap
The Bears didn’t extend their first drive touchdown streak, but Tyrique Stevenson and the defense set the tone to set up the game’s first score.
After going three-and-out to open the game, Stevenson stripped Cowboys running back Javonte Williams of the football at the end of a 22-yard run down the left sideline to give his offense a second chance.
Caleb Williams found Colston Loveland early for a 31-yard completion that came out of play action in 13-personnel. Two plays later, Williams found Rome Odunze, who burned Trevon Diggs 1-on-1 for a 35-yard TD pass.
Johnson dialed up a trick play to lead off Chicago’s third offensive drive after Brandon Aubrey drilled a 53-yard field goal to put Dallas on the board, 7-3.
Williams found Luther Burden III on a 65-yard flea flicker that teetered on the edge of disaster until the Bears found paydirt. D’Andre Swift’s lateral back to Williams resembled more of a high-arcing grenade toss than a quick pitch, but Williams corralled the football and unleashed a flat-footed missile downfield for his second TD pass of the game.
“It was something we practiced all week,” Williams said. “Either I underthrew Luther a couple times, [or] missed it. Then, [we were] just building the belief and confidence with the guys … and [I] told Luther, ‘You won’t outrun me in the game. Just run.'”
Williams gave credit to his offensive line on the play. Without the blocking they got up front, Swift would have never been able to make the toss back to Williams, which he described as “a free throw floater kind of thing” postgame.
“A flea flicker’s a really long play. So, for them to be able to hold up and allow D’Andre to toss the ball back to me,” Williams said. “It kind of did a free-throw floater kind of thing and after that, [I] just let it rip and let Luther go make a play.”
A part of how that play unfolds from his perspective is taking a “peek at the defense” before the ball gets back to him, according to Williams.
“So, I peeked a few times while the ball was coming to me and then, like I said, just threw it out there as far I [could] and let Luther go make a play,” Williams said.
According to ESPN Next Gen Stats, Williams’ throw traveled 62.1 yards in the air. It’s the longest completion in the NFL this season, and the longest completion of Williams’ career.
The Cowboys answered with 11 straight points of their own via Aubrey’s second field goal of the game and a 2-yard TD pass from Dak Prescott to George Pickens, where Dallas also converted their two-point attempt.
However, the last 4:15 of the first half belonged to Chicago.
Cairo Santos knocked down a 30-yard chip shot before Williams and the Bears’ offense ran the two-minute drill to near perfection.
After four carries between DJ Moore and Kyle Monangai picked up 19 yards on the ground, Williams found Odunze for 13 yards and Burden for 29 to set up a wide-open first and goal throw to Cole Kmet for six, which made the score 24-14 heading into halftime.
Williams notched 239 yards passing and three TD passes through two quarters.
Williams was 5-6, 170 yards and 3 TDs on open downfield targets through 35 minutes of football, according to ESPN’s Next Gen Stats.
Chicago took control of the game with a 19-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that chewed up nearly ten minutes of clock. The Bears ran the ball on 12 of those 19 plays—including 11 straight to drive into the red zone—before Williams found Moore for a 4-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal with nine seconds left in the third quarter.
“We want all of our guys to be able to get going and feel the juice, the energy, the momentum,” Williams said. “Being able to get our guy, DJ, the ball and score, I know that feels good for him … I was super excited for him. [I] gave him a hug like I was about to give him a noogie.”
With a 31-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, Tremaine Edmunds and Chicago’s defense shut the door on the Cowboys.
Edmunds picked off Prescott twice in the final 15 minutes of the game—once on Dallas’s first fourth-quarter possession, and a second time at the end of a 15-play, 91-yard drive on fourth-and-goal.
Williams finished the day 19/28 for 298 yards passing and 4 TD passes. Burden led all Bears receivers with 101 yards receiving.
Dallas outgained Chicago 396-385 in total net yards, and outpaced the Bears 121-87 in yards on the ground, but Chicago finished +4 in the turnover margin. In addition to Stevenson’s strip fumble and Edmunds’ two interceptions, Kevin Byard added a pick of his own late in the fourth quarter after he caught an errant pass from backup quarterback Joe Milton with less than 60 seconds left in the contest.
Up Next
The Chicago Bears take on the Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday in Las Vegas, with kickoff set for 3:25 p.m. CT.
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