Last season, as a 5-12 team that lost 10 games in a row might, the Chicago Bears lost seven one-score games. This season, they are 5-1 in one-score games, including each win of the three-game winning streak heading into Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While coaching can make a lot of difference in close games, and Ben Johnson and his coaching staff certainly have made a difference for the Bears this season, it ultimately comes down to players getting it done in those clutch moments and all three phases of the game had had their moments in that sun.
The Bears' winning drive in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings, between a 56-yard kickoff return by Devin Duvernay and Cairo Santos' game-winning 48-yard field goal, consisted of three runs for nine yards, as clock-consuming plays took priority.
That drive didn't require anything from quarterback Caleb Williams, but it will go down as his fifth game-winning drive this season (tied for the most in the league). However, he did put his clutch gene on display in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals and Week 10 against the New York Giants, making key plays in critical moments with his arm and his legs.
Caleb Williams stands among the most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL this season
ESPN Bears' beat writer Courtney Cronin recently put together a piece profiling the five best two-minute drill quarterbacks in the league this season based on QBR in that situation.
"The two-minute drill is often a litmus test for quarterbacks, revealing who performs at their peak when the clock tightens at the end of each half."
"Or, as Williams puts it, when it's time to "really nut up or shut up."
A quarterback who projects confidence during those do-or-die moments late in the second and fourth quarters will naturally have more success in them. Williams certainly has that requisite confidence, as Cronin shared.
"I feel more comfortable in those moments," Williams said. "I think my heart rate drops. I think everything kind of settles in. It's gotta-have-it moments."
Cronin had a couple of notes to show how Williams compares to other quarterbacks in the final two minutes of either half so far this season.
-Williams is the only QB with 4+ touchdowns and zero turnovers in the final two minutes of either half this season.
-Dak Prescott leads the NFL in QBR (98) in the last two minutes of both halves, followed by Williams (91.6), Bo Nix (86.3), Drake Maye (85.7), and Aaron Rodgers (85).
Read more: One stat has been the crystal clear difference for Bears this season
Oftentimes, last season, most notably late in the Thanksgiving day loss to the Detroit Lions, the Bears' coaching staff failed just as much as (if not more than) the players did in critical moments. The tone set by Johnson and his staff has, in particular, allowed Williams' clutch gene to shine. If we needed more proof that he has been one of the best two-minute drill quarterbacks in the league this season, we have it now.