Williams' big day powers Bears to statement win over Cowboys |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
CHICAGO - Now that is more like it. Although it may have taken three games, the Chicago Bears (1-2) finally looked like the team Ben Johnson envisioned on Sunday, and it came against the Dallas Cowboys (1-2). In front of a packed and rowdy Soldier Field crowd on Sunday, it was the Caleb Williams show that took center stage as the second-year man put on quite a show.
Behind his 298-yard, four-touchdown performance, it was the Bears who took care of business, topping the Cowboys 34-14 for their first win of 2025. Williams completed 19 of his 28 passes on the afternoon to eight different receivers as four different players had touchdown receptions. Unlike their previous two games, where the scripted offense took care of business, it was the Bears' defense that set the tone early, as Tyrique Stevenson forced a Javonte Williams fumble on the Cowboys' first possession, giving the ball back to Chicago. That set up the first big play of the afternoon for Williams as he found Coleston Loveland for a massive 31-yard completion to set the Bears up in Cowboys territory. Three plays later, it was Williams going to the air again as he found his go-to target in Rome Odunze for the 35-yard touchdown to put Chicago in front 7-0. One of the significant concerns in this game was how the Bears' secondary would contain both Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens. While Pickens had his moments with 68 yards, Lamb did nothing as he came away with no receptions and no yards before leaving the game with an ankle injury. That forced the Cowboys to go out of their comfort zone and relied heavily on Jack Fergussen and Javonte Williams early to set the Cowboys up for the Brandon Aubrey 53-yard field goal, which pulled the Cowboys to within 7-3. As if one big passing touchdown wasn't enough, why not make it two as the Bears went into their bag of trick plays, resulting in 65 65-yard missile to Luther Burden, 65 65-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-3. This was the Burden coming-out party as the rookie led the Bears with 101 yards receiving on three receptions. Trailing 14-6 after another Aubrey field goal, the Cowboys' offense started to show some signs of life late in the first half, which wasn't what the Bears wanted to see. Fergussen continued to play a massive role in the offense, coming away with 13 receptions for 82 yards as he began to open things up for the Cowboys offense. The result was a 21-yard reception to Pickens to move the ball into the Bears' red zone as the Cowboys' offense was threatening for the first time. Pickens was just getting started on that drive as Williams continued to move the chains on the ground to set up the two-yard score to Pickens to pull the Cowboys within 14-12. Dallas went for two and converted the two-point try, and suddenly this was a 14-14 game. Little did anyone know, those would be the final points for the Cowboys' offense, as the Bears ended the game with 17 unanswered points, starting with a 30-yard Cairo Santos field goal to put the Bears on top for good, 17-14. With just over two minutes to go in the first half and with the ball in their hands, Chicago was looking to deliver another blow to the Cowboys, as it was the running game that got things going. Kyle Monangai didn't have a ton of yards (16 yards on six carries), but it was his tough running that set the tone, leading to a massive 29-yard strike to Burden to put the ball inside the 10. One play later, it was the other tight end, Cole Kmet, coming away with his lone reception of the day, hauling in a 10-yard strike to give Chicago a 24-14 lead at the half. Unlike the first half, where points were aplenty, the second half saw a total of seven points scored, which came on the Bears' first possession of the second half. When you talk about a statement drive, this is the type of drive that comes to mind as the Bears chewed up nearly 10 minutes of clock time, needing 19 plays to go 76 yards. D'Andre Swift played a role in that with 11 of his 33 yards on one carry, but once again, it was the arm of Williams going to work as DJ Moore was starting to get involved. That was followed by 11 consecutive runs, which, although they were short-yardage runs, did what they had to do as the Cowboys' defense was starting to wear down. Eventually, Chicago would get back to the passing game as Williams hooked up with Moore for the fourth down completion, converting on a four-yard touchdown to make this a 31-14 game. From that point on, it was all about the Bears and their defense as they picked off Dak Prescott on three consecutive possessions, including one from Tremaine Edmunds in the end zone to kill a potential scoring opportunity. It was the second interception of the game for Edmunds, while Kevin Byard came down with the final interception with less than a minute to go, sealing the Bears' 34-14 win. Prescott had his moments, throwing for 251 yards, but with one touchdown and two interceptions, the Cowboys didn't stand a chance in the second half. Chicago also had a rare Montez Sweat sighting as he came away with one of the Bears two sacks in the win. This is awesome: The Chicago Bears locker room after defeating the Cowboys.
Ben Johnson's first win as the head coach.
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