Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams threw a career-high four interceptions, yet he and the Bears still found a way to beat Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday night, as Cairo Santos drilled a 38-yard field goal as time expired.
The winning kick came after Williams found a wide-open Colston Loveland for a 38-yard gain, setting up Santos. Loveland was pushed out of bounds at the Tampa Bay 16 with 40 seconds left, Williams took two knees, and Santos delivered his second field goal of the night in front of 60,470 fans.
Chicago (7-2) coughed up five turnovers overall but came out ahead despite a late Tampa Bay rally. The Bears had led 24-16 when Luther Burden fumbled with 3:38 remaining, and Buccaneers defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu returned it to the Bears 17.
Tampa Bay capitalized quickly. Bucky Irving ripped off an 11-yard carry before scoring from the 6-yard line for his second touchdown of the game, and Mayfield scrambled in for the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 24 with 2:51 left.
Mayfield finished 18 for 32 for 243 yards with two interceptions, while Irving ran for 97 yards on 20 carries. It was a sharp turnaround for Mayfield, who failed to complete a single pass in Tampa Bay’s previous game, a 16-0 win over Atlanta in which the Buccaneers (3-6) rushed for a franchise-record 324 yards, including 170 from Irving.
Williams went 22 for 37 for 279 yards and two touchdowns in Chicago’s fourth straight win despite his turnover-filled night. Burden caught seven passes for 97 yards before leaving the game with a concussion. Jeffery Simmons recorded a sack in his first home game since being traded to the Bears from Tennessee.
Both teams entered the weekend ranked among the NFL’s top rushing offenses, but neither found much room to operate. The Buccaneers managed 126 rushing yards and the Bears just 72.
Chicago still led 17-13 when Williams threw his fourth interception of the night, a deflected pass that fell into the hands of Tampa Bay linebacker Alex Anzalone with 4:32 left in the third quarter, giving the Buccaneers the ball at the Bears 37.
But on the very next play, Mayfield’s pass intended for tight end Cade Otton was stepped in front of by Jaylon Johnson, who returned it 67 yards for a pick-six — his second career defensive touchdown and his first interception of the season.
Chicago had jumped ahead early, scoring on its first two possessions. Williams hit a wide-open Rome Odunze for a 9-yard touchdown on the opening drive, then Burden broke through a pair of tackles to turn a third-and-8 catch into a 56-yard touchdown, making it 14-0 with 6:00 left in the first quarter.
The next two Bears possessions ended in interceptions by Williams, and Tampa Bay used the momentum to score on either side of halftime. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 21-yard field goal on the final play of the first half, and a 58-yard catch by Tez Johnson set up Irving’s 2-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
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