Time after time, the Chicago Bears have proven they're down but never truly out. The team's, and specifically quarterback Caleb Williams', unrelenting resilience and ability to thrive under pressure repeatedly propelled them to victory when least expected.
Alas, Williams and the Bears ran out of magic in the Divisional Round, falling to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. However, the NFC North champions didn't go out without a fight. Chicago fittingly took things to the wire, thanks to yet another dazzling display of football in the clutch from its franchise centerpiece.
Williams made what should be considered the throw of the year in the Bears' 20-17 loss to the Rams, especially given the circumstances. Frankly, that may be selling the remarkable highlight reel short, and NBC's Cris Collinsworth ostensibly agrees.
Cris Collinsworth gives credit where due after Caleb Williams' insane TD pass
Collinsworth, a renowned color commentator who has called more than 500 games and was a former NFL wide receiver for eight years, didn't mince words. Even he acknowledged how special Williams' touchdown pass to Bears tight end Cole Kmet was.
"I have never seen anything like that," Collinsworth said. "In all my days, I have never seen anything like that."
It's hard to disagree with Collinsworth. Williams pulled a rabbit out of his hat and turned nothing into something against all odds, to put it mildly. The Soldier Field crowd erupted as Chicago tied the contest late because of the heroic effort.
Multiple Rams defenders were a step away from sacking Williams. Instead, he connected with Kmet for what the box score calls a 14-yard score, though the advanced metrics paint a much clearer picture.
Per Next Gen Stats, Williams' heave to Kmet came from 26.5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. No signal-caller had completed an attempt, let alone tossed a touchdown, from 22 yards out in nearly a decade. Moreover, the ball traveled 51.2 yards in the air despite the play starting from inside the red zone, plus a completion probability of 17.8 percent.
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Statistically speaking, Williams may have made one of the craziest passes of all time. It happened on fourth down with the Bears trailing in the final moments of the fourth quarter with the squad's season on the line. While he and Chicago fell short of their ultimate goal, we can't let this get lost in the shuffle when looking back at the 2025 campaign.