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The only thing that matters for the Chicago Bears for the rest of the season is developing rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but he and the rest of the team would surely like to scrape together a few more wins.
And a victory eluded them once again Sunday.
Chicago’s losing streak extended to five with a 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. The 9-2 Vikings won with a John Parker Romo field goal and are trending in the opposite direction with four victories in a row as they attempt to remain within striking distance of the dominant Detroit Lions in the NFC North.
But it wasn’t all bad from the Bears’ perspective. Williams looked excellent for most of the game and finished 32-of-47 for 340 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also led his team back from an 11-point deficit in the final 30 seconds with a touchdown pass to Keenan Allen and deep throw to DJ Moore to set up a field goal after Chicago recovered an onside kick.
It was an incredible individual effort that deserved to be rewarded with more than yet another loss, but that is life for a Bears quarterback.
Social media at least had plenty of praise for the rookie:
Despite the losing streak, there is reason for optimism in Chicago.
That Williams’ performance came on the heels of another impressive showing last time out against the Green Bay Packers is notable because those are the two games since the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Chicago outgained Green Bay, didn’t turn it over and saw Williams move the ball into game-winning field goal territory just for Cairo Santos’ kick to be blocked in that game.
Yet that offensive momentum continued in the early going Sunday, as Williams picked apart Minnesota’s secondary throughout the first half. He showed more chemistry with Keenan Allen than he has all year and also unleashed a beautiful pass to D’Andre Swift while running to his right that helped set up a Roschon Johnson touchdown.
Yet the Bears are still the Bears, and the optimism faded as it so often does.
Santos had another kick blocked in the first half, and the defense had no answers for Jordan Addison (eight catches for 162 yards and one touchdown) or T.J. Hockenson (seven catches for 114 yards).
Elsewhere, drops from Swift, Cole Kmet and others undercut the work Williams was doing, and DeAndre Carter let a punt hit his leg in the red zone for a turnover that set up an Aaron Jones touchdown.
That sequence came after the Bears had to rush a failed fourth-down attempt because Matt Eberflus sent the field goal unit out and then changed his mind after the angry Soldier Field crowd greeted him with the boos that should be overwhelmingly familiar for the head coach.
It all led to a rookie quarterback getting no help as he fought against the organizational incompetence that has largely defined the Bears for the last three decades.
And fight he did with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and the incredible sequence at the end of regulation. It was a sign of things that may be to come in the Windy City, especially if the front office makes a necessary coaching change during the upcoming offseason.
Yet the Bears dropped a game in excruciating fashion for the third time during this losing streak as the winning field goal went through the uprights. It was more of the same for a team that lost on the final play against the Packers and Washington Commanders as well, but at least the quarterback of the future is in place.
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