Both cornerback Josh Blackwell and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower could feel the defining moment of Sunday's game coming.

The Bears' field goal defense unit took the field with 38 seconds to play, clinging to a 25-24 lead at Allegiant Stadium as the Raiders set up for a go-ahead 54-yard field goal.

Hightower told his group, "we just gotta block the kick," and while that's easier said than done, they believed it would happen. In part because of the unit's talent, but also due to a tip from long snapper Scott Daly.

"Throughout the week, Scott Daly had given us a little tip with the snapper," Blackwell told Jeff Joniak after the game. "He would move the ball right before he would snap it, so the first two [kicks] we got really good jumps. I'm like, 'I'm close, I'm gonna get one.'"

Raiders long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer moved the ball just before sending it back to punter AJ Cole. As Daniel Carlson move forward to put his right foot into the ball, Blackwell flew off the edge and went airborne – fully outstretched – as the Las Vegas kicker struck the ball.

"I got a good jump," Blackwell said.

Blackwell's right hand made contact with the ball — a play he described as an "out of body experience" — and blocked the kick to give the Bears their first road win of the season.

"I came clean off the edge," he added. "No one touched me. My jump — it was just too good."

Chaos ensued in Las Vegas as the special teams unit went flying toward the end zone in celebration, coach Ben Johnson celebrated with a series of fist pumps and quarterback Caleb Williams threw his hands up in relief before sharing a hug with receiver DJ Moore.

"[Blackwell] came through for us right when we needed it," Johnson said. "Man, I was so proud of him. He's a guy that not only is a key cog for what we do on special teams, but a key contributor there as a backup in our DB room, and that was huge for him."

While Blackwell and the Bears' special teams unit received the tip from Daly earlier than the week, Hightower doubled down on it to Johnson just moments before the kick.

"I'm listening on the headset, and coach Hightower, who does just such an incredible job with our special teams unit in all those phases, he's kind of narrating that in real time," Johnson said.

"He's like, 'yeah, Blackwell's gonna get this one for us. He's gonna come through.' And sure enough, it came to light, just like he thought."

Hightower's confidence in Blackwell is a testament to their special bond, which began during the 2022 season when Hightower put the undrafted rookie in as a gunner against Green Bay just two games into his NFL career. Hightower wasn't surprised at all when Blackwell made a key special teams tackle, and the coach's trust level in his player has been undeniable since.

Blackwell inked a two-year contract extension with the Bears in March, just two months after he scored a 94-yard punt return touchdown against the Packers in the Bears' Week 18 win at Lambeau Field. While it was a moment Blackwell will never forget, Sunday's game-winning play takes the cake, at least right now.

"Obviously beating Green Bay was great, but I think this one means more," Blackwell said. "This one means more for this team. We needed it going into this bye week."

Blackwell sealed the 800th regular-season win in franchise history Sunday, but a series of big-time plays by the defense against the Raiders allowed the Bears to be in that position in the first place.

For the second straight week, coordinator Dennis Allen's unit recorded four takeaways – two interceptions by safety Kevin Byard III, one interception by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and a forced fumble by linebacker Noah Sewell, which was recovered by Stevenson.

"We talked about it last night, how we were going to need to get some turnovers on the road here to get our first road win and those guys came through," Johnson said. "We don't win that game without those turnovers."

Byard started the party early, intercepting Raiders quarterback Geno Smith on third-and-10 during Las Vegas' first possession. Under pressure from Montez Sweat, Smith fired over the middle toward receiver Jakobi Meyers, but Byard stayed patient as he watched the play unfold before jumping the route to secure the interception.

"It was a play that we practiced all week," Byard told ESPN Chicago's Jason McKie. "We were getting certain looks that we were gonna own, that we felt like if they got that look, I told coach before the game that I was gonna make those plays. So just super excited I was kind of able to set the tone with the defense and the turnovers. It obviously played a big part in the game today."

On the Raiders' ensuing possession, they faced fourth-and-1 from their own 35-yard line. Running back Ashton Jeanty took the handoff, but was immediately met by defensive tackle Andrew Billings before linebacker Noah Sewell delivered a hit to knock the ball loose.

Stevenson tracked down the rolling ball to recover the fumble — his second in two weeks after he forced and recovered a fumble in last Sunday's win over the Cowboys.

With 8:58 left in the first half, Byard came back for more, picking off another Smith pass intended for Meyers — a near identical play to his first interception.

After a game-ending INT last week against Dallas, Byard now leads the NFL with three interceptions and joins teammate Tremaine Edmunds as the only NFL defenders to have multiple picks in a game so far this season. The captain's 32 career interceptions since 2017 are now the most by any player in the league.

"That's the name of the game for a defensive player, especially for myself," Byard said of the team's four takeaways. "I wanna be able to take the ball away. I've done that at a high level my entire career and I wanna continue to do that. We were able to set the offense up with good field position and we were able to capitalize a couple times, but what a great team win to get on the road against a tough opponent."

Rounding out the four takeaways was Stevenson, who generated the Bears' third interception of the day. On the opening play of the third quarter, the third-year cornerback laid out to pick off Smith's pass intended for Meyers.

While the Bears' dramatic win in Las Vegas came down to execution from all three phases in the final minutes, the defense's opportunistic nature through the first three quarters Sunday kept the Bears alive.

For the defense, their mentality has remained simple.

"Monsters of the Midway," Stevenson said. "That's it. That's really it. We pride ourselves on takeaways, we pride ourselves on coming out and playing with heart and relying on our hard work, and that's what happened today."