Chicago Bears sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams went through every possible emotion last night in the final 20 minutes last night against the Los Angeles Rams.
There was despair when the Rams stormed ahead late on a Kyren Williams touchdown. There was hope when the team marched down the field to look for the tie. There was fear when a fourth-down near the endzone came up short.
There was shock when the Rams ran the ball three times up the gut to give the Bears a final chance to tie it up. There was absolute elation when he threw one of the greatest passes in franchise history to take the game to overtime.
And there was a numbness of defeat after an interception that led to a game-winning field goal by Los Angeles, sending them to the NFC Championship next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
After sleeping (if he could), Williams faced the media on Monday, still reeling from a game that he, and the rest of Chicago, will remember for the rest of their lives.
More news: Bears Fans Furious After DJ Moore Fails on Game-Losing Play vs Rams
More news: Bears’ Caleb Williams Breaks Silence After Heroic Throw, Heartbreaking Loss
When discussing the experience and aftermath, the Bears QB needed to talk about one part of the game that didn’t let him or the team down: the Chicago fans.
“You lose that game, and the fans stand up and cheer and roar,” Williams said. “In a tough moment, it goes a long way.”
The sound that escaped Soldier Field when Williams completed the TD pass to Cole Kmet to extend the game might have been picked up on the Richter scale for how loud the fans were.
Even though the crowd went as dead as a library when the final kick went through the uprights, the fans flooded social media and the streets of Chicago with upbeat optimism. For the first time in decades, Bears fans feel this wasn’t a fluke; that with Williams and head coach Ben Johnson at the helm, this isn’t the end of their magical run.
It’s only the start of something greater.
