The Chicago Bears (5-3) got back into the win column with a 47-42 victory in week nine thanks to some late-game heroics on the road versus the Cincinnati Bengals (3-6).
It was an up-and-down game that the Bears were losing almost immediately, but they ended up winning in the final minute, and these four stats tell the full story:
316
Sunday was a breakout game for both of the Bears' healthy skill position rookies, as Colston Loveland and Kyle Monangai combined for 316 all-purpose yards.
Loveland, the team's first pick this past April, took on an elevated role after Cole Kmet was forced to leave the game due to a concussion. The Michigan product hauled in six of his seven targets for a team-high 118 yards and two touchdowns, the latter of which was a go-ahead 58-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. Loveland finished the game with two more yards than he had accrued going into it, perhaps indicating that the young pass catcher is starting to find his rhythm in this offense.
Not to be outdone, Kyle Monangai, the team's final pick this past April, took over lead back duties with D'Andre Swift absent from the game. The Rutgers product did not disappoint, racking up 176 yards on 26 carries in his first start. The rookie's rushing total was the most in a game by a Bears running back since Matt Forte's 202-yard performance in week four of the 2011 season. Monangai also tacked on 22 receiving yards on three receptions, cementing himself as a valuable member of the backfield, even when Swift returns to full health.
4
While the Bears' stable of young playmakers shone for 60 minutes on Sunday, it was the four touchdowns from ring leader Caleb Williams that lifted the team past the Bengals.
Williams got the scoring started for the Bears in unconventional fashion, catching a Philly special-esque trick play from D.J Moore on the offense's first drive to tie the game at seven. It was not Williams' lone reception on the game, as he also hauled in a 19-yarder from Tyson Bagent on a play with a two-quarterback set. Williams also tacked on 53 rushing yards on five attempts.
Outside of his first two career receptions, Williams made his presence felt in the traditional passing game by connecting with Loveland for two scores, including the aforementioned game-winner, and tossing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Olamide Zaccheus near the start of the second quarter. Williams was not perfect on the day, but it was his fourth game of the season with multiple touchdowns and no turnovers, and his first in three weeks.
470
Winning a shootout means that the other team had to put up some big offensive numbers, and in this case, it was Joe Flacco's 470 passing yards that carried the Bengals.
Flacco's career-high passing total led his team up and down the field, putting them in position to win after trailing by 14 points with under two minutes to play. The majority of his production stemmed from the Bengals' dynamic receiving duo in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who combined for 232 yards and two touchdowns on 13 receptions.
Surely, Flacco's passing numbers were inflated partly because of the situation the Bengals found themselves in late -- they similarly finished with 46 rushing yards on 15 attempts because of their need to score quickly. Nonetheless, Flacco joins Jarred Goff as the only quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards or more against the occasionally porous Bears defense.
6
While the defense struggled through the air, they thrived in creating negative plays, finishing the game with six combined turnovers and stops for a loss.
Starting with the turnovers, the Bears returned to their productive ways, forcing two interceptions and a fumble, all of which came from Flacco. The first pick, which was caught by Tremaine Edmunds in the red zone, was nearly returned for a game-clinching touchdown, although the linebacker was ultimately ruled down via review. Granted, Flacco's other interception came on a Hail Mary attempt that landed in Nahshon Wright's hands well short of the goal line, but second-year edge rusher Austin Booker was able to force a strip sack on the veteran quarterback that was picked up by Gervon Dexter Sr.
Read more: Colston Loveland's game-winning TD vs. Bengals got better with his explanation
Booker's sack was far from the defense's only negative play, as they tacked on two more quarterback takedowns from Montez Sweat and the recently signed C.J. Gardner-Johnson, as well as a crucial tackle for loss from Kevin Byard III late in the game. The Bears may not face an offense with a duo as talented as Chase and Higgins for the remainder of the season, but even if the defense continues to struggle to prevent the big plays, they seem to have found an ability to create big plays in their own right.