No dice for the Bears’ former No. 1 overall pick.
After grabbing an 11-point fourth-quarter lead against the Vikings on “Monday Night Football,” the Bears were feeling pretty good before things came apart at the seams in Chicago.
That sizable advantage quickly turned into a 10-point deficit, forcing Caleb Williams to attempt a late comeback.
In a play that loomed large in the eventual 27-24 loss, the former USC star dropped back and had top receiver DJ Moore wide open down the left sideline for a potential touchdown with about 2:30 remaining.
Williams, who was looking for his check-down option, found Moore late and completely air-mailed the throw.
“I just missed right in front of him,” Williams said after the game.
That incompletion ultimately affected the outcome since it cost the Bears critical seconds they could have potentially used to aid their comeback effort.
Chicago scored a few plays later but with 2:02 remaining and just one timeout at its disposal, which mattered after kicker Cairo Santos could not boot the ball out of the end zone.
Minnesota returned the ball to move it past the two-minute warning, which wound up being the death sentence for Chicago since the Bears got the ball back with nine seconds remaining.
Bears fans erupted in boos after J.J. McCarthy earned the wild comeback win his first career start.
First-year head coach Ben Johnson told reporters after the loss that the offense was “just inconsistent,” although he liked how Williams played early in the game.
“Not on the same page in the running game,” Johnson continued on their offensive woes. “Certainly felt like [the completions] dried up a little bit.”
Prior to their final drive, where the Bears moved 65 yards in 1:05 to cut the Vikings’ lead to 27-24, the Bears had minus-one fourth-quarter yards.
They now head to Detroit for a road matchup as Johnson faces his former team in a game that both teams will desperately need to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start.