CHICAGO — Caleb Williams saved just enough late-game magic to spark one last frantic rally before the Chicago Bears‘ season ended in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday night.
Williams threw a jaw-dropping touchdown pass on fourth down with 18 seconds remaining to force overtime, but an interception in the extra period proved costly as Chicago’s 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams ended its miraculous run through a season marked by routine come-from-behind victories.
Though the 24-year-old quarterback expressed frustration with the abrupt end to the season, he left Sunday night with a positive outlook for the future.
“In these moments, you feel like you let your team down,” Williams said. “It’s a good lesson for us; first time being in this situation for me and for us as a team. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Williams became the first quarterback in franchise history to lead seven fourth-quarter comebacks in a season. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter in a postseason.
Williams nearly pulling off an eighth fourth-quarter comeback win, which would have tied the most in NFL history, is why he heads into the offseason with optimism.
“We’re going to be here for a little bit,” Williams said. “I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the growth. I’m excited about being able to go back and watch this. I’m excited to being able to get back, and next year being able to learn more than I did this year, keep growing, and us as a team and an organization to be able to keep growing.”
The Bears experienced a significant turnaround in Ben Johnson’s first season as coach. They went from five wins in 2024 to 11 in 2025 en route to the NFC North title. The Bears won their first playoff game in 15 seasons when they beat the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round Jan. 10.
“We had a hell of a year,” Bears safety Kevin Byard said. “Nobody beginning of the season picked us to be where we were at. To be in the position to still almost win the game at the end, it just didn’t work out for us this year, but just super proud of the group. We have no reason to hang our heads. We don’t believe in moral victories, but at the same time, this is a special group and the culture has been set, and [we] expect to have success in the future.”
Several players who remained in the Bears’ locker room at Soldier Field long after the loss did not sense a feeling of dejection among their teammates.
“When you have a season like this, when you have so much fun throughout the season, when you win so many games, you can’t let all that go to waste … after one season-ending loss,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “We’ve had a hell of a ride, and each man individually has had a hell of a ride. We can really be thankful and have a lot of gratitude for what this season has done and how we’ve grown as men and grown as a team.”
The Bears trailed the Rams by seven points late in the game when Williams backpedaled to avoid multiple defenders, then threw a high-arcing 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-4 to force overtime.
According to Next Gen Stats, Kmet’s touchdown catch had a completion probability of 17.8%. Williams has three touchdowns on throws with a completion probability under 20% since he entered the league in 2024, tied with Justin Herbert and Jayden Daniels for most over that span.
“Ridiculous,” Ben Johnson said of the throw. “That’s ridiculous. You talk about that fourth-and-8 from last week and how outstanding that was, and I think this one was probably even another level ahead of that. There’s some things that you just can’t coach. He’s got that bottom, he’s got a knack, he’s clutch. He does so many good things. He’s an eraser. I have plenty of bad calls each and every week, and he helps make it right for me.”
But as clutch as Williams was late, his second-half struggles were apparent in the loss. Williams was 10-of-23 passing after halftime with two interceptions, including the one in overtime that Williams said was a miscommunication with wide receiver DJ Moore. The Rams won it with a field goal on the ensuing possession.
“I know he’s feeling it because we didn’t win and had some turnovers mixed in there, and he’s feeling it,” Ben Johnson said of Williams. “But he’s one of those guys I’m talking about that will remember this feeling, and he’s going to be stronger for it.”
Williams said he plans to address his accuracy and footwork during the offseason.
As the Bears end their 2025 campaign, the goal of getting back to this round of the postseason and beyond provides an early dose of motivation but is met with reality, especially from veteran players.
“You can’t take for granted the opportunities you get in this league to get to this chance and to have an opportunity to go to the NFC Championship Game, and then who knows from there,” Kmet said. “To think that it’s just going to happen again, that’s very wishful thinking, very wishful. And we play in a tough division. I know we won the division, but we also went 2-4 in the division this year. And those teams are going to come back hungry. It’s just that much harder. And so that’s why it hurts when you have the opportunity now and you just come up a little short. It stinks because there’s a lot of work that has to be done to get to this point.”
