In the wild card round, he threw an overlapping throw while rolling to the left in the 4th and 8th innings.
Sunday it was a 50-yard heave fadeaway on fourth-and-4 from the 14-yard line.
Only this time, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears were unable to complete the comeback.
The Bears lost 20-17 in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams in the final game of the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday, sending the Rams to the NFC Championship Game but ending Chicago’s Cinderella run.
“No style points,” Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay said after the game. “What matters is whether we can survive and move forward. And we were able to do that in a harsh and hostile environment, and it was as cold as it is today.”
Once the game started, the Bears had made seven fourth-quarter comebacks during the regular season and playoffs, and it looked like they would make it for the eighth time on a big play by Williams late in the fourth quarter.
Leading 17-10, Williams led Chicago into the red zone with less than a minute left in regulation. Then, on fourth down, Williams retreated to around the 40-yard line from Los Angeles’ 14-yard line and threw a perfect touchdown pass to Cole Kmet in the back of the end zone, tying the game and keeping the Bears’ season alive.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson called the pitch “ridiculous, ridiculous,” adding that it was “another step up” from the pitch Williams made a week earlier against the Green Bay Packers.
“There are some things that coaching alone cannot do.”
But in overtime, Williams pulled Chicago back into Rams territory after a defensive stop, but Cam Karl intercepted a deep shot aimed at DJ Moore. Williams said the interception was the result of a miscommunication between him and the receiver.
“What a hell of a play by Cam Karl,” McVay said.
The Bears never saw the ball again, as Matthew Stafford led Los Angeles down the field and Harrison Mavis made the game-winning field goal.
The overtime interception was a fitting end to what was ultimately an up-and-down performance by Williams, an extraordinarily talented second-year player with a penchant for dramatic and frustrating inconsistency.
Williams completed the game 23 of 42 for 257 yards, two touchdowns, an explosive fourth-down throw, and three interceptions. Two of his picks ended up in the Rams’ territory, depriving Chicago of scoring opportunities.
Besides his miracle heave to Kmet, Williams also had issues on fourth down. The Bears finished the game with only 3 of 6 on fourth down attempts, including a failed run, an interception from the 21-yard line on the first drive of the game, and an incompletion and two goals in the fourth end zone.
If Williams had been able to convert on money down early in the game, his late heroics might not have been necessary.
“We didn’t win and we had some turnovers in the mix, so I know he feels that way,” Johnson said of his quarterback. “He’s one of the players who will never forget this feeling I’m talking about.”
“It’s tough. At times like this, you feel like you’ve let the team down,” Williams said.
Chicago’s lack of performance opened the door for a Los Angeles team that lost most of the night. The Bears outperformed the Rams by averaging more yards per play, more rushing yards per carry, and had an advantage in time of possession. But missed fourth downs and turnovers ultimately gave Stafford, an MVP candidate, too many chances.
On Los Angeles’ game-winning drive, Stafford completed passes of 15, 12 and 16 yards. Davante Adams took an incredibly tight throw to the sideline for 12 yards, forcing the Rams into their territory. The 16-yarder played on third and six in the face of blitzing, moving Los Angeles closer to field goal range.
The Rams will now face their NFC West rival, the Seattle Seahawks, for a spot in the Super Bowl. Los Angeles and the Seahawks split the season series, with each team winning at home. The difference in points between both games was just 3 points.
