2 rookies lead Bears' offensive explosion: Studs and Duds from crazy win over Bengals
In the craziest Bears' game since last season's Fail Mary, this time it was the Bears making a remarkable, unfathomable offensive play in the final seconds of an unthinkable win.
After blowing a 14-point lead with 2:46 remaining and facing a 3rd-and-10, Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams pulled off two iconic plays to catapult his team to a pulsating 47-42 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon at a stunned Paycor Stadium. After scrambling 14 yards to pick up a key first down and keep hope alive, Williams drilled a bullet pass to tight end Colston Loveland. After making the catch, the rookie withstood half-hearted shoulder tackle attempts by Bengals' safeties Geno Stone and Jordan Battle and sprinted into the end zone for a 58-yard game-winning touchdown pass with :17 remaining.
The wild game - one of the craziest in Bears' franchise history - featured eight lead changes, 31 points in the fourth quarter, four touchdowns in the final 4:53 and a combined 1,071 yards of offense.
It began horribly for the Bears, who surrendered a 98-yard return on the opening kickoff. And it almost ended even worse, before Williams and Loveland saved the day. And perhaps the season.
A look at the Studs 'n Duds from a unforgettable Week 9 rollercoaster ride:
STUD: Colston Loveland
The much-maligned rookie tight end had his long-awaited breakout game, featuring six catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including the improbable game-winner that will live forever in Bears' history.
DUD: Dennis Allen
Yes, his defense produced three sacks and two interceptions. But it also allowed aa 40-year-old quarterback (Joe Flacco) who was questionable all week with a sprained shoulder to throw for a career-high 470 yards and four touchdowns. And down the stretch the Bears coughed up 15 points in :49 to almost lose this one.
STUD: Kyle Mongai
Like Loveland excelling in the absence of Cole Kmet, the rookie running back filled in quite nicely for injured D'Andre Swift. Making his first NFL start, he rushed for 176 yards and added three catches for another 22. His punishing running style helped wear down a Bengals' NFL-worst defense that was utterly hapless in the fourth quarter.
DUD: Daniel Hardy
Seldom-used backup defensive lineman almost was the story of the game for all the wrong reasons. After the Bengals scored to pull within 41-35 with 1:43 remaining, Hardy lost sight of an onside kick and wound up letting the ball graze his heel only eight yards downfield for an inexplicable fumble. He needs to personally thank Caleb and Colston for taking his name out of the headlines.
Jameson Williams keeps perspective after solid showing in Lions loss
DETROIT -- In the week leading up to Sunday’s game at Ford Field, Jameson Williams’ role in the Detroit Lions offense continued to garner significant discussion.
At the start of Week 9, the speedy receiver ranked 120th in the league in receptions (17) and had taken a slight dip across the board in his receiving metrics. When speaking to reporters on Thursday, Lions offensive coordinator John Morton vowed to increase Williams’ involvement in the offense.
To his credit, that happened. In the Lions’ Week 9 showdown against the division rival Minnesota Vikings, Williams caught four of his six targets for 66 yards and one touchdown — a 37-yarder with 1:55 left in regulation. However, it wasn’t enough to lift Detroit over Minnesota, as the Lions fell 27-24.
Interestingly enough, aside from the receptions, Williams posted the same stat line during the Lions’ Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, finishing with 66 receiving yards and a touchdown.
“It’s kind of hard to, you know, think about that. We lost,” Williams said. “So I ain’t really think about nothing else right now because we lost.
“We’re going to do what we are known best, you know, bounce back. We got days off. We’ll come back to work on Wednesday and Thursday and get ready for our next opponent. There’s nothing much extra to it — just do what we do.”
Throughout the game, the Lions’ interior offensive line was overpowered by the Vikings’ defensive front, leading to issues in both pass protection and run blocking.
Despite getting touchdowns from their dynamic duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, the Lions’ rushing attack was limited to 20 carries for 65 yards — an average of just 3.3 yards per carry.
With the run game being a major component of the Lions’ offense, the lack of rhythm up front caused the unit to sputter after the opening drive. This ultimately affected their ability to sustain drives and move the ball efficiently.
That said, Williams didn’t want to attribute the team’s struggles solely to the run game.
“It affected us a little bit. I wouldn’t say a lot,” Williams said. “You know, we left a lot of opportunities out there in a couple of drives, but we lost by three points, man. We had opportunities. We just got to come through on them and do our job. We still could’ve won that game. It’s still on the table for us. All the mistakes we had, you know, it’s hard, you know.”
To Williams’ point, a number of missed opportunities came down to Detroit’s struggles on third down.
The Lions were just 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) on third-down conversions — the third time this season they’ve finished under 30% and the fourth time under 40%. Two of those games came against NFC North opponents: Green Bay in Week 1 (33.3%) and Minnesota on Sunday.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said he’s tasked his coaching staff with ironing out some of the offensive kinks. While Williams had a solid outing against the Vikings, it appears there’s still work ahead for Morton and the offense.
