At the most opportune time, and in the most dramatic fashion, rookie tight end Colston Loveland broke out Sunday in Cincinnati — literally and figuratively.
Loveland's six receptions, 118 yards and first two NFL touchdowns — making him just the fifth rookie tight end in the Super Bowl era with at least 100 receiving yards and multiple TDs in the same game — showcased why the Bears selected him No. 10 overall in April's draft.
Even with that eye-popping stat line, his literal break out was more impressive.
With the Bears trailing 42-41 and facing third-and-10 with 25 seconds left in regulation, quarterback Caleb Williams fired a dart over the middle to Loveland, who caught the pass at the Cincinnati 33 with his back to the end zone.
Two Bengals defenders closed in to make a potentially game-sealing tackle, but the rookie proceeded to do everything he needed to do in order to break free.
Spun out of the hit.
Saw open space.
Put his head down.
Raced to the end zone.
Scored the game-winning 58-yard touchdown.
Bears win, 47-42.
"Caleb delivered it right on the money, right in my chest, and then I happened to kind of spin around," Loveland said. "I was like, 'man, I'm still up, so may as well go try to score this thing.'"
While the Bears were expecting the play to be successful, no one anticipated it being the game-winning play. Not even the person who dialed it up.
"Caleb did a great job seeing it, delivered a good ball," coach Ben Johnson said. "Figured it was gonna be explosive, [but] wasn't expecting it to be a touchdown, though. And I think that was Colston's speed, just taking off and going for it."
Receiver Rome Odunze, who ran alongside Loveland to the end zone, admittedly thought Loveland made the wrong move after hauling in the pass.
"I was telling him to get down," Odunze said. "I was telling him to get down because I thought it was a get down situation, so we could kick the field goal to win, but I don't think I was correct on that. I think he had to go get his tuddy and ice the game."
The play, equally unexpected and thrilling, elicited a plethora of reactions from Loveland's teammates, both on the field and on the sideline.
"In that moment, it's like Steph Curry with Steve Kerr, where it's like, 'oh, no, no, no, no. Yes, yes, yes. … I think it was '28' (Bengals cornerback Josh Newton) starting to track him down, and I was like, 'let's go, Colston, pick up the legs and get in the end zone.'"
"Just poise, composure and then Colston being a dog," said receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. "Bounced off two people and cribbed it."
"It was just relief," right tackle Darnell Wright said. "A lot of relief. It was good. I was happy."
"I was like, 'Please score,'" receiver DJ Moore said. "If you don't, everybody's still back here, and I don't know if we've got enough time because I don't know how much time was on the clock. But I was just like, 'Score and don't get caught.'"
"I'm glad I wasn't mic'd up," running back Kyle Monangai said. "I was probably sounding like a little girl there running down the field. I was screaming. A lot of emotion."
Loveland's game-winning score marked the second time he reached the end zone against the Bengals, having caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Williams in the third quarter, which put the Bears up 24-20.
Both of the rookie's scores came after Cole Kmet was ruled out with a concussion in the second quarter. Loveland stepped up and excelled in place of his teammate, but he wasn't the first rookie to do so Sunday.
It was running back Kyle Monangai who initially embodied a "next-man-up" mentality.
Earning his first NFL start in place of an injured D'Andre Swift, Monangai posted a historic outing, totaling 198 yards from scrimmage, including 176 yards rushing — the second most by a Bears rookie running back in franchise history — on 26 carries, an average of 6.8 yards per attempt.
While Monangai's performance was both equally impressive and impactful, it was far from shocking to those inside Halas Hall.
"That's kind of who he's been since he's been here — very reliable, he's gonna do what you're coaching," Johnson said. "I think he's hard to bring down and I think that showed up. What he was in Rutgers was the bell cow for that team and he proved today that he can carry that load if called upon."
Despite starting for the first time Sunday, Monangai's workload had been ramping up the past few games, most notably Oct. 19 against the Saints when he rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
With the ball in his hands 29 times against the Bengals, it's difficult to pinpoint which play had the biggest impact on the Bears' win. It was his consistency through four quarters that mattered most.
"He just runs so hard and was a big spark for the offense just throughout the game," Zaccheaus shared, "being able to fight for tough yards and move the sticks for us. He did a hell of a job today and we've just got to keep building on it."
One of Monangai's standout moments was carrying the ball eight times in a single drive, which resulted in Zaccheaus' 15-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter. On the Bears' first drive of the second half, Monangai touched the ball on eight of the 12 plays, including two catches of 11 yards each, which led to Loveland's first touchdown.
His longest run of the day went for 39 yards to put the Bears at the Cincinnati 17 with just under six minutes to play. It was the first of a two-play drive, which concluded with DJ Moore's 17-yard touchdown run to put the Bears up 41-27.
Monangai did in fact have a favorite play from the day in mind, but it had nothing to do with any of the Bears' eight scores. With 2:19 left in the second quarter and deep into a Bears possession, Monangai took a handoff up the middle, and a few yards up the field, ran into Wright, who proceeded to correct his mistake by helping the rookie push forward for 18 yards.
"Darnell was kind of in my way," Monangai said. "We laughed about it after the fact, but, yeah, I think that was probably my favorite one because they were pushing me, pushing the pile. We talk about that, just getting extra yards after contact."
Following the game, Wright joked about being in Monangai's way on the play, likening it to trying to walk past someone and doing an awkward dance when they step the same way as you. The Bears' right tackle also gave the rookie his flowers for his performance.
"He was hoopin'," Wright said. "That was a really good game for him. It's nice. Every time I look down, he's [growling noise] like a little pitbull. He's a little pitbull. But he did really good. I'm proud of him."
Loveland and Monangai – the Bears' first and last picks from the 2025 NFL Draft – accounted for 294 yards and 51% of the offense to help them to their fifth win of the season. In doing so, they became just the second pair of rookie teammates in NFL history to rush for 150-plus yards and register at least 100 yards receiving in the same game.
For the first time in their careers, Johnson handed both players game balls in the Bears' postgame locker room celebration.
Both rookies were tasked with stepping up in place of veterans, and they, without a doubt, took advantage of every rep they received. Loveland and Monangai proved to their teammates and coaches that they can be trusted in big moments. But from their perspective, that process is continuous.
"I think it's something that I just earn every day," Monangai said. "I don't think there was a moment I felt like, 'okay, he trusts me now.' I think it's just something I want to continue to keep building. Correct repetitions over time, that's how you build trust with the coach and knowing that they can trust you to do your job in high stress environments or low stress environments, just consistency."
