Bears deliver final punch in wild shootout win over Bengals

CINCINNATI — Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams He has often said that he feels most at peace when games are at stake. The former No. 1 player has even said that his heart rate goes down when the pressure to perform is at its highest.

This is the opposite of Bears safety kevin byrd Realized in Chicago’s Surprising Moments win 47-42 Above cincinnati bengals On Sunday.

“It’s like it took years off my life,” Byrd said. “It’s very special. It’s the greatest game, the greatest game in the world, just emotions up and down. The fans who stayed definitely got their money’s worth.”

After the Bengals scored two touchdowns in a 49-second span to erase Chicago’s 14-point lead, the Bears secured their fifth win of the season when Williams threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Chris Williams. colston loveland With 17 seconds remaining.

“We knew this shooting was going to happen,” Williams said. “One of those games.”

The Bears’ defense saw the pendulum swing twice in two plays at the end of the fourth quarter. Byrd selects Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco A 90-yard return was ruined with 3:07 remaining and a pass interference call on a Chicago cornerback. Nick McCloudTwo plays later, Flacco was selected again as the Bears’ linebacker. tremaine edmonds He appeared to be running back a 96-yard touchdown, but was later stopped due to contact at Chicago’s 4-yard line.

The Bears saw their lead disappear when Flacco made contact with the tight end. noah fantastic Rushed for a 23-yard touchdown and converted a 2-point attempt. Cincinnati then recovered an onside kick and took a one-point lead after six games.

“It was bad on our part,” security maintains Jaquan Brisker Said. “We were up by two touchdowns. We’ve got to take advantage on the last end. Obviously, the aggression was behind us. It’s an ugly win, but we’ll take it.”

Trailing 42–41 after back-to-back Cincinnati scores, the Bears’ offense began their final drive with 50 seconds on the clock. After back-to-back incomplete throws, Williams ran for 14 yards and then hit Loveland up the middle for the winning score.

“That was probably the craziest play I ever saw Other than blocked field goals” Brisker said.

additional security CJ Gardner-Johnson Loveland’s: “He was getting his knees up. He was gone. It was like NASCAR.”

In the home locker room, the Bengals players and coaches tried to cope with their second shocking loss in as many weeks. Last weekend, the Bengals gave up a 15-point lead to the undefeated New York Jets and allowed a touchdown in the final minute of a 39–38 home loss.

What happened Sunday was equally difficult for Cincinnati (3-6) to digest.

“It’s sick,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “Losing like that sucks. It’s bad. That’s what happened. So we have to own it.”

The Bengals are seeing exceptional offensive performance due to poor defensive play. They are the first team in 59 years to score 38 or more points in consecutive games and lose both.

cincinnati running back chase brown Noted that the defense had performed well early in the season while the offense struggled following quarterback Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury. But Brown lamented the team’s inability to attack and defend at the same time and its inability to win.

“We put the ball in the end zone and end up going up by one point,” Brown said. “End the f—ing game. Just end it. Like, that’s all. That’s what we need to do, just end the f—ing game. Make them [give] Give us the ball back, let us go to ’22 Victory’ and finish the game. Makes me feel that way.”

It spoiled perhaps the best performance of Flacco’s 18-year NFL career.

Despite dealing with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder, he threw for a career-high 470 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Flacco, 40, led Cincinnati with two late scoring drives in the final minutes. they got wide receiver andrei iosivus for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds remaining, putting the Bengals ahead by one score.

But it could not last.

“I think when you’ve played a lot of games, the way you lose doesn’t make it any worse,” Flacco said. “I think you learn that these games last until the last minute and you have to be ready for anything.”

In the end, it was the Bears who were able to turn a calamitous collapse into a road victory.

Byrd said, “We will never apologize for winning in this league. It’s very hard to do that.”