The cardiac Bears staged another dramatic late fourth-quarter rally in Sunday night’s NFC Divisional Playoff contest against the Rams, forcing overtime with one of the most incredible touchdowns in recent franchise history.
But Los Angeles ultimately rebounded to win the game 20-17 on Harrison Mevis’ 42-yard field goal with 3:19 remaining in overtime, ending the Bears’ season.
Trailing 17-10 and facing fourth-and-4 from the Rams’ 14 in the final minute of regulation, Caleb Williams retreated under heavy pressure and flung a pass 50 yards off his back foot from the 40 to the back left corner of the end zone, where Cole Kmet snared the ball, tying the score 17-17 with :18 remaining.
The Bears defense opened overtime with a three-and-out. The offense marched from its own 16 to the Los Angeles 48. But Williams was intercepted by safety Kam Curl at the Rams’ 22. Matthew Stafford completed three passes for 43 yards to put Mevis in position to boot the game winner.
The Bears won seven games this season—including last weekend’s wild card victory over the Packers—after trailing with 2:00 remaining. It appeared they were on the cusp of an eighth such victory but unfortunately were unable to close it out.
“Disappointing result tonight,” said coach Ben Johnson. “Our guys fought the entire way, just like they have all season long. I thought this was very much like our team has been. You’ve got to give the Rams credit … They ended up making a couple more plays than we did … and they ended up coming out on top.
The Bears defense played well Sunday night, holding the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense to 10 points below their season average. After allowing a touchdown on the Rams’ first possession, they did not permit another TD until Kyren Williams’ 5-yard run gave Los Angeles a 17-10 lead with 8:50 left in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense played their tails off,” Johnson said. “I thought they did a great job. That’s the No. 1 offense in football yards and points and I thought [coordinator] Dennis [Allen] and the defensive coaching staff, they had a great plan.
“They’ve got weapons all over the place on the perimeter, but also that running game is very efficient and it can wear on you. So those pose a lot of problems and yet our guys did a nice job taking the plan, bringing it to life. I thought they played with great emotion, they played hard throughout that game, and they certainly had us in it the whole time.”
The Bears offense generated 417 total yards but was limited to 17 points, its third fewest in a game this season. Williams completed 23 of 42 passes for 257 yards with two TDs, a career-high three interceptions and a 59.3 passer rating.