The Bears got down early, allowing L.A. to march down the field for an opening-drive touchdown. As it has all season, Chicago battled back, rattling MVP candidate Matthew Stafford into 20-of-42 passing for 258 yards with four sacks and zero touchdown passes. The Bears’ defense smothered L.A. receivers, with no single Ram generating more than 56 receiving yards.
Trailing, 17-10, with 1:50 remaining, Williams led a seven-play, 50-yard TD drive that culminated in a fourth-down heave under pressure off his back foot that traveled 51.2 air yards and landed in Cole Kmet’s hands to send the tilt to an extra frame.
After the Bears’ defense forced a three-and-out to open OT, Williams had a shot to keep the season alive, but a “miscommunication” with receiver D.J. Moore led to his third INT of the night. Chicago’s defense couldn’t get another stop.
“That’s part of the shame. Our defense played their tails off,” Johnson said of a unit that played its best game of the year. “They did. I thought they did a great job. That’s the No. 1 offense in football, both yards and points, and I thought (defensive coordinator) Dennis (Allen) and the defensive coaching staff, they had a great plan. They got weapons all over the place on the perimeter, but also that running game is very efficient, and it can wear on you. They pose a lot of problems, and yet our guys did a nice job taking the plan, bringing it to life. I thought they played with great emotion. I thought they played hard throughout that game, and they certainly had us in it the whole time.”
Chicago will rue the missed chances on Sunday. The Bears drove up and down the field against L.A., gobbling up 417 yards. However, they went 3 of 6 on fourth downs, and Williams threw three interceptions — two in plus-territory — as the Bears came up three points shy.
