The cardiac Bears struck again Sunday, rallying in dramatic fashion for another incredible comeback victory over the Giants at Soldier Field.
The Bears scored two touchdowns in the game's final moments to turn a 20-10 deficit into a thrilling 24-20 win. Caleb Williams' 2-yard TD pass to Rome Odunze closed the gap to 20-17 with 3:56 to play. And after the defense forced a three-and-out, Williams' 17-yard TD scramble gave the Bears a 24-20 lead with 1:47 left.
The defense clinched the win with :38 remaining when blitzing linebacker Tremaine Edmunds hit quarterback Russell Wilson as he released the ball, forcing an incompletion on fourth-and-10 from the Giants' 46.
The Bears improved to 6-3 and have now won six of seven games for the first time since 2018, with four of those victories coming via late fourth-quarter comebacks.
"I told the guys in the locker room a minute ago, it really feels like I'm on repeat here," said coach Ben Johnson. "These guys are finding a way to fight until the end and win these games."
"The confidence in us and the confidence in the coaches in those moments is there and I think that shows in those moments," Williams added. "We knew that it was going to be a full 60-minute game and that's what it took."
Williams completed 20 of 36 passes for 220 yards with one TD and an 83.1 passer rating. He also rushed for 63 yards and one TD on eight carries, time and again escaping from pressure in the pocket like a magician.
"He looks like a Houdini back there in the backfield," Johnson said. "That's a really good pass rushing front. They've given a lot of teams fits. [He had] over 50 yards rushing for the second week in a row. In the fourth quarter there we really needed that as a shot in the arm to end up winning that ballgame, so credit to him."
With the Bears trailing 20-10, Williams scrambled for 29 yards to the Giants' 2. On the next play, he hit Odunze for a touchdown to close the gap to 20-17.
Williams later capped the winning drive with a 17-yard TD run around left end.
"It was a naked keeper," he said. "Once I booted around, I saw that Cole [Kmet] got taken by I think a corner. And then from there, I didn't see a 'backer, so I felt the grass to just be able to keep it and go, and having Cole in front of me helped. Cole made a great block, and I just took it up the sideline and scored."
Trailing 7-0 early in the game, the Giants scored 17 unanswered points to take a 17-7 lead. New York generated 10 of those points without the Bears possessing the ball on Younghoe Koo's 32-yard field goal with :03 left in the first half and quarterback Jaxson Dart's 24-yard TD run to open the third quarter.
"It's easy to feel the momentum swing in their favor and yet our guys didn't waver," Johnson said. "They stayed consistent with it and fought until the end."
The Bears' defensive star Sunday was nickel back C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Playing in his second game since being signed Oct. 29, he recorded a team-leading nine tackles, 2.0 sacks and a key forced fumble that resulted in a takeaway.
The Giants were in position to increase their 17-7 lead midway through the third quarter. But on second-and-6 from the Chicago 28, Gardner-Johnson forced Dart to fumble on a designed run and Nahshon Wright recovered at the Chicago 16.
The Bears converted the game's only turnover into Cairo Santos' 22-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to 17-10 with :34 remaining in the third quarter.
Dart suffered a concussion on his run, exiting in favor of Wilson after completing 19 of 29 passes for 242 yards and a 91.5 passer rating while rushing for 66 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
Wilson engineered a 10-play, 79-yard drive that culminated in Koo's 19-yard field goal, giving the Giants a two-score lead at 20-10 early in the fourth quarter.
But Gardner-Johnson struck again with about three minutes remaining when he sacked Wilson on third-and-7 from the New York 27, capping a three-and-out and forcing a punt that gave the Bears a chance to rally.
The offense took over at its own 47 with 2:53 to go after Jamie Gillan shanked a 26-yard punt out of bounds. Williams' winning TD run came two plays after he completed a 27-yard pass to rookie receiver Luther Burden III to the Giants' 19.
The Bears had taken a 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game on running back Kyle Monangai's 8-yard touchdown run with 5:40 left in the first quarter. The rookie seventh-round pick powered into the end zone behind blocks by left tackle Theo Benedet and right guard Jonah Jackson.
The 8-play, 47-yard drive was highlighted by a pair of 15-yard completions from Williams to Odunze, including one on third-and-9. Odunze led the Bears with six receptions for 86 yards.
The TD came after the Bears defense had forced the Giants to turn the ball over on downs as defensive end Montez Sweat and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. teamed up to sack Dart on fourth-and-2 from the Chicago 49.
After the teams traded punts, the Giants tied the score 7-7 on Dart's 3-yard TD run early in the second quarter, capping a 6-play, 80-yard drive.
The Giants were in position to take the lead after advancing to the Bears' 19. On fourth-and-1, Dart's high pass in the end zone was snared by tight end Daniel Bellinger. But safety Jaquan Brisker deftly wrestled the ball away to force an incompletion, preserving the tie.
Despite eventually falling behind by 10 points, Bears players left Soldier Field with another scintillating comeback victory.
"They have this belief that we're going to find a way in the fourth quarter, provided it's somewhat close, to come out on top of this thing," Johnson said. "Week-in and week-out they're proving that.
"Now, we'd like to take it to the next step as a football team, where we're up by a score or two in the fourth quarter and we can shut the teams out that way. But once again we found a way to win and that's the most important thing."
