Caleb Williams was straight up terrific on Thursday night, slinging it for 308 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ wild 30-24 win over the New England Patriots at Soldier Field. He went 22-of-33, showing off elite quarterback skills against a legit Patriots defense that boasts Christian Gonzalez, one of the best corners in the whole league. This guy Williams is proving he and coach Ben Johnson can totally win games in different ways, and honestly, the Bears look dangerous. No regression worries here, that’s for sure.
Johnson’s Aggressive Play Calls Nearly Cost the Bears
It was crystal clear that Coach Johnson wasn’t about to let Drake Maye get the ball back in a one-score game. On Chicago’s final scoring drive, Johnson tried everything to bleed the clock and put more points on the board. He even called downfield passes on third-and-long, which put the ball in serious harm’s way. Take Williams’ incredible, but yeah, dangerous, throw on third-and-9 to Rome Odunze with just five minutes left in the game. That’s gutsy, right? But that aggressiveness almost backfired big time. On third-and-5 with 1:46 left, the Bears could’ve just handed off the ball, forced a timeout, and then kicked a field goal. Easy. Instead, Chicago wanted that first down, so Johnson dialed up a dropback out of shotgun. What happened? Williams took a sack, knocking them right out of field goal range.
Kicker Cairos Santos Steps Up Big
But Johnson doubled down on his aggressive bets. He tried a field goal that was five yards past kicker Cairos Santos’ career long. And it paid off, man, Santos nailed it! Both those decisions,throwing on third down and then kicking from way out of range,were pure guts. If they’d gone wrong, oh man, the questions would’ve been flying. But Johnson put his faith in his guys, and they showed up for him. Santos’ clutch kick pushed the lead to nine points with only 90 seconds left, essentially ending the game right there.
Maye’s Flashy Moments
On the other side, Drake Maye might still be struggling to connect with A.J. Brown, but the young Patriots QB did make some incredible splash plays with his tight ends on Thursday. That touchdown to rookie tight end Eli Raridon was a simple, pure display of Maye’s seemingly boundless talent. On first-and-15 in the third quarter, the Bears sent six rushers and got to Maye quick. But he was even quicker, getting the ball downfield to Raridon, who was streaking down the seam and created an impressive amount of separation against veteran linebacker Devin Bush. That play was good on its own, but what’s even better is that Maye went back to Raridon for another score when, earlier in the gam
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Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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