Caleb Williams' game-winning call should give Bears fans hope again

After roughly six long years, the Chicago Bears finally managed to defeat the Green Bay Packers.

The Bears pulled out a 24-22 victory over the Packers in Week 18, snapping a 10-game losing streak that began in early October. It marked Chicago’s first win against Green Bay since the 2018 season, and the first win at Lambeau Field since the 2015 season.

Despite meaning little in the grand scheme of things, the regular season finale offered a sweet ending to an otherwise bitter season. The Bears were expected to compete for a playoff berth with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Instead, the team regressed and underwent significant midseason coaching changes after several late-game blunders.

As Chicago heads into another offseason of sweeping organizational changes and coaching turnover, their singular focus will be on the development of their young, struggling quarterback.

Caleb Williams shows tiny sign of improvement on final throw

Despite a difficult rookie season, Williams flashed moments of brilliance and growth throughout the year. On the final drive of his rookie season, Williams drove the Bears offense into scoring position for a game-winning 51-yard field goal as time expired. 

On his last throw of the drive, Williams found wide receiver D.J. Moore on a short pass that went for an 18-yard gain with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock. After the game, Williams revealed that the play was set up by pre-snap communication with his No. 1 wideout, per Patrick Norton of CHGO.

“Obviously why they called a timeout, [we] had D.J. one-on-one with no over-the-top help,” Williams said. “So that’s probably not the position that you want to be in at the end of the game. I tell D.J. in the huddle, ‘If they press you like that again, you’ll run a vertical, a go ball. If they get outside leverage, we’ll run a glance or a five-step and snap it off.’”

The Packers didn’t press Moore and lined up with outside leverage, which allowed Williams to find him on a quick slant route to the middle of the field. It turned out to be Williams’ last throw of the season. After the play, Williams rushed the offense to the line of scrimmage and quickly spiked the ball, leaving just enough time to allow a game-winning field goal by kicker Cairos Santos.

The drive, which began with 54 seconds, was considerably better than the drives Chicago put together earlier in the season. Nearly every week, the Bears managed to find a way to lose games with poor discipline, poor clock management or a lack of execution.

Still, Chicago has a long way to go. The Bears drive began with a sack, which has become a staple of Williams’ late-game drives. Chicago’s offense was also aided by a special teams touchdown, and the absence of Packers quarterback Jordan Love didn’t hurt either.