CINCINNATI, Ohio (WGN) — A great performance on offense looked to set up the Chicago Bears for a win on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, until Joe Flacco led an improbable comeback, but Caleb Williams and the offense had the last laugh.
It was a defense-optional affair at Paycor Stadium, with both sides trading touchdowns deep into the second half. Kyle Monangai had the best game of his young career, and Caleb Williams threw for 280 yards with four total touchdowns. Austin Booker, Montez Sweat and Tremaine Edmunds stepped up late for the Bears on defense, only for the last two minutes of the game to be completely unhinged.
Game Recap
The Bears got off to about as bad of a start as one could imagine on special teams.
Cincinnati Bengals kick returner Charlie Jones returned the game’s opening kickoff 99 yards to the house to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead 11 seconds into the ballgame. It was the first time Chicago gave up a kickoff return touchdown since 2022, when Cordarelle Patterson took one to the house for the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11.
The good news is, though, Caleb Williams and the offense showed up on Sunday.
Williams found DJ Moore twice for gains of 16 and 19 yards on the Bears’ first offensive drive of the game, before Ben Johnson got into his bag of tricks and called a play where Moore found Williams on a 2-yard touchdown pass.
After Bengals kicker Evan McPherson knocked down a 41-yard field goal, Chicago scored a touchdown on their second consecutive drive to start the game.
The Bears went 74 yards on 11 plays and chewed up 5:47 on a drive that ended with an Olamide Zaccheaus 15-yard fly sweep up the right side of the field for a touchdown.
Both sides traded punts and field goals over the next four combined possessions before Joe Flacco launched a 50/50 ball up the left sideline to Tee Higgins. Cincinnati’s star wide receiver miraculously ripped the ball out of the air and took it 44 yards to the end zone, which gave the Bengals back the lead, 20-17.
Chicago lined up for a 47-yard field goal just before the half, but Cincinnati was able to get penetration on the left-hand side of the Bears’ offensive line to block Cairo Santos’s field goal attempt partially, and preserve their 3-point lead going into halftime.
The third quarter was all touchdowns—two for Chicago and one for the Bengals. Williams found Colston Loveland for a 5-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal, then Flacco hit Higgins for his second touchdown catch of the day on a 2-yard pass, and Brittain Brown went 22 yards down the field for a score on the ground to make it a 31-27 game in favor of the Bears heading into the final 15 minutes of the contest.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Austin Booker bull rushed straight through Cincinnati left tackle Orlando Brown for a strip-sack fumble of Flacco, but Chicago’s offense could only muster a field goal to extend their lead to 34-27 on the following possession.
But the Bears’ defense continued to step up on the Bengals’ next two possessions, highlighted by a pass rush that suddenly came alive late, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Montez Sweat sacked Flacco for Chicago’s third sack of the day on the second play of the drive. Minutes later, the pass rush nearly got home again on third-and-3, but instead forced an errant throw from Flacco that was flagged for intentional grounding. Instead of a 44-yard field goal attempt, McPherson attempted a 54-yarder that fell short.
Edmunds picked off Flacco in the red zone and appeared to return it 96 yards for a touchdown, but an official review ruled he was contacted down by Chase Brown as he caught Flacco’s pass.
The Bengals forced a Bears punt after the interception, which set up a crazy two minutes from Flacco and Cincinnati’s offense.
Next, Flacco found Noah Fant for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:43 left in the fourth. Then the Bengals recovered an onside kick. Less than a minute later, Flacco found Andre Iosivas for a 9-yard touchdown pass to take the lead, 42-41.
Improbably enough, Williams found Loveland again deep down the middle seconds later. Loveland caught the ball, bounced off a tackle, and took it 58 yards to the house to reclaim the lead, 47-42, with 17 seconds left on the clock, which ended up being the final score once the clock hit double zeroes.
Up Next
The Chicago Bears are home next Sunday against the New York Giants. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT.