Brittain Brown knew he would find a way into the end zone Sunday in Cincinnati.

Elevated from the Bears practice squad Saturday afternoon, Brown took the field in a regular-season NFL game for the first time since Jan. 1, 2023 — the end of his rookie season in Las Vegas.

With the Bears trailing the Bengals 27-24 near the end of the third quarter, Brown went from just appearing in the game to making a major impact. Thrust into action on second-and-7 while rookie Kyle Monangai was getting his ankle taped, Brown took his first NFL carry for six yards after breaking two tackles at the line of scrimmage.

As Monangai continued working with trainers, the Bears went back to Brown on the ensuing third-and-1. Determined to keep the offense on the field, Brown took a handoff from quarterback Caleb Williams, quickly recognized the line caving in the A-gap where he was supposed to run and, suddenly, went airborne over the pile for a three-yard gain.

"I said, 'I gotta go. I gotta get this first down,'" Brown said. "I like doing crazy stuff like that and just running — running and having fun. That's why it felt so fun being out there. I was like I'm not going to play scared."

Brown earned the first down and, thus, an opportunity to take one more snap as Monangai stood on the sideline waiting to return to the game. With the Bears facing first-and-10 from the Cincinnati 22, Brown stood in the backfield at the 30, fielded a quick toss from Williams, darted left, slipped past a would-be tackler and raced to the end zone to put the Bears back up 31-27.

"That's the most joyful you could be as a football player," Brown told ChicagoBears.com.

"I was just ready. I had a celebration ready and everything. I said, 'I'm getting in that end zone.' So as soon as I got in there, I was super happy, of course, for the O-line blocking and wide receivers as well. And then for myself, just living in the moment at that point. So just a lot of joy and a sigh of relief."

Sure, Brown never anticipated that his first NFL touchdown would come via his third carry four years into his career, but his coaches and teammates knew that he would be able to step up when called upon.

"He stepped in, jumped in, and I mean, he makes a big time run," running backs coach Eric Bieniemy said. "He scores his first official touchdown, which was huge, and it was fun to watch. But I'm not shocked or surprised because that's who that kid is. He does not take anything for granted. And he works his butt off every single day."

From being a 5-year-old boy playing flag football with his older brother, Blace, to a two-way high school player in Georgia routinely rushing for over 200 yards a game while taking defensive snaps at safety to a college running back who took his computer science and education studies as seriously as his on-field work to now, a contributor in one of the league's wildest games of the season, Brown's journey to the NFL is a complex one.

In 2022, Brown was drafted by the Raiders in the seventh round after playing three seasons at Duke and two more as a graduate student at UCLA. After playing in six games on special teams as a rookie in Las Vegas, he missed his sophomore season with an injury and in 2024, bounced on and off the Seahawks practice squad.

This past offseason, Brown didn't receive much interest as a free agent. So at the beginning of the summer, he packed up his place in Las Vegas and moved back in with his parents, Keith and Davita, who currently reside in Nashville. Brown's close knit family, which includes Blace and their two younger sisters, Kammann and Chatham, served as a "backbone" for him in a time of uncertainty.

"I was like, 'you know what? I'm gonna go back to my roots. I'm gonna hunker down and try to get in the right mindset and then get back,'" Brown said.

As the summer progressed, Brown's agent would call him, trying to push him to work out for UFL teams. But Brown had little interest for two reasons. One, he had already been preparing to enter the workforce — he was studying cybersecurity while interviewing for sales jobs, one of which he almost accepted, but backed out from in order to have more time to train. Two, Brown still had hope an NFL team would call.

"I didn't think I'd be playing this year at all," Brown said. "It was a hard summer in Nashville, just training a lot every day, going out there early in the day trying to beat the heat and get all my physical stuff done, and then get on the mental side of things.

"Some days I didn't feel like doing it. I put a wallpaper on my phone that says, 'If you're tired, do it tired,' because some days you're just not going to want to do it."

As training camp started and Brown remained in Nashville, he decided he'd give it a couple more weeks to see how the preseason unfolded, understanding teams make a lot of moves during that time on the calendar. Sure enough, his agent fielded a couple calls, one being from the Bears, who invited Brown to Halas Hall for a workout. He signed Aug. 11 and six days later, scored a touchdown in his preseason debut against the Bills.

"He was a kid that didn't know what was next," Bienemy recalled. "And so he comes out here, he has a workout, does an outstanding job in the workout, and then puts on the performance throughout the last two preseason games that he had. And he earned that. When you have people like that, you want to make sure that they're part of the foundation that you establish because you want to make sure guys understand that it's all about work.

"It's all about not taking the little things for granted, and it's also about making the very most of the opportunities that are presented to you. Those type of guys are going to be ones that help you lead in the right direction when it's all set and done with."

Prior to Brown's workout in Lake Forest, Bieniemy knew a little bit about the running back because of his UCLA background – Bieniemy served as the Bruins' assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2024. He also recalled Brown's name from the draft process in 2022 when he was the Chiefs' offensive coordinator, as well from Brown's former Duke teammate Noah Gray, who Kansas City drafted in 2021.

Now having spent nearly three months with Brown, Bieniemy is equally impressed with his intelligence and work ethic, saying "he has the temperament and the mindset that I want in that room."

For Brown, building that trust with Bieniemy — a longtime and well-respected Super Bowl-winning assistant coach who is known for his old-school, hard-nosed mentality — has been a result of his behavior in practice and meetings.

As a practice squad player, Brown is in a unique position that can sometimes be overlooked and isn't always properly understood. His most crucial days of practice are Wednesday and Thursday, when he spends the majority team of periods on the scout team competing against the starting defense.

"Those 16 guys on the practice squad are going to be the laborers, the ones carrying the heavy load for the practices in season," Brown said. "Especially Wednesday, a full padded day, you're gonna have your four sets of plays, and that's gonna be eight plays per period.

"As a running back, you might end up getting, like, 32 rushes in the entire day. That's a pretty good workload. I mean, guys are not trying to blow you up, but you're trying to prepare them, right? So as offensive scout team player, the defense is going to hit you. You might get a little frustrated, whatever, but you're sharpening the tool. You're making them better. They're making you better."

At the same time, Brown must stay on top of his own responsibilities within playbook and be prepared for if the Bears need to activate him ahead of a game. Last week, when D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson missed all three practices, Brown spent time on the scout team preparing the defense, then jumped in with the first-team offense for a few reps.

It's a delicate balance that can be difficult to master for practice squad players, but as a rookie, Brown was constantly brought up and down and often wouldn't know if he'd be active until early on a game day.

"That used to torture me," Brown said. "So as soon as I stopped thinking about all the other stuff around me and what I can control, I just said, 'all right, every week I'm gonna play. I'm not gonna get disappointed when I don't, because I know if they need me, I'm gonna be ready.' That saves you mentally."

Bieniemy officially told Brown he'd be elevated and expected to play in Cincinnati on Saturday morning. It was a situation Brown was anticipating dating back to Thursday after he took reps with the ones in back-to-back practices. He spent the week preparing like normal, though, keeping that same mindset from his rookie year.

So when the ball kicked off at Paycor Stadium Sunday, Brown felt ready. If called upon, he could deliver. And when the moment arrived, he did just that.

Brown's performance against the Bengals was personally rewarding, but watching him maximize his minimal opportunities was equally as gratifying for Bieniemy.

"I'll say this, it's a great feeling, but I also know this, deep down inside, that's not the end of Brittain Brown," Bieniemy said. "This is just the beginning. He hasn't even really touched the surface of what he really can do. It's basically all about timing and just being given the proper opportunity to show exactly what he can do. I have the ultimate trust and faith in him. I'm very proud of him."

Brown is just as proud of himself. He already has plans for his touchdown ball. As a kid, Brown recalls his father, who played cornerback at Army, having an old game ball collecting dust in his trophy case. Brown wants his football to have the same treatment.

While scoring his first NFL touchdown was a special moment for him, doing so in a game as back-and-forth and exciting as Sunday's win and helping the Bears to their fifth victory of the season meant even more to Brown.

"I feel like this should be a classic," Brown said. "And I got to be a part of a classic. I got to score a touchdown, a pretty good touchdown in a classic game. So that's everybody's dream. I used to watch these old gridiron tapes that my dad would put on. It'd be like Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor and all that. This is going to be one of those games that people watch, that they're playing on ESPN 30 years from now. I think that's pretty special."