Bears outlast Bengals for wild win on Williams' TD pass to Loveland

CINCINNATI (AP) — Caleb Williams was prepared to lead a game-winning drive to beat the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only did coach Ben Johnson warn against being surprised if the Bengals were able to rally from double digits, the second-year QB knew that posting a come-from-behind win in a shootout was one of a few things this year's Chicago Bears had not accomplished. Williams connected with Colston Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left to give the Bears a 47-42 victory on Sunday in a wild game that featured three touchdowns in the last two minutes and two lead changes in the final minute. "We knew it was going to be a shootout — one of those games," Williams said. "Today we had to put up a bunch of points. That builds confidence knowing that they (the defense) know we have their back." Joe Flacco put the Bengals ahead 42-41 when he threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas with 54 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Williams. Chicago (5-3) took over on its own 28 with 50 seconds left. After a pair of incomplete passes, Williams scrambled around right end for a 14-yard gain. On first down with 25 seconds left, Williams found Loveland down the middle. The rookie tight end caught it at the Bengals 36, bounced off Cincinnati defensive backs Jordan Battle and Geno Stone and ran to the end zone. "I threw a solid ball to him, he bounced off a few tackles and took it the distance," said Williams, who completed 20 of 34 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns. "At that moment it was like Steph Curry with Steve Kerr: 'Oh no, no, no, no, yes, yes!' That's where I was in that moment." Loveland, who had six catches for 118 yards and two TDs, said he was surprised he was still upright after the hits by Battle and Stone, and he knew he needed to score if possible. "It was tough because if I get tackled there might not be enough time to clock it or kick the field goal, so it was kind of just an in-the-moment thing," Loveland said. Williams also had 53 rushing yards and became the first starting QB in nearly 82 years with multiple receptions in a game. He caught a TD pass from D.J. Moore on a trick play for the Bears' first score and hauled in a 20-yard pass from backup QB Tyson Bagent in the fourth quarter. It is the first time since Oct. 19, 2008, against Minnesota, that Chicago has won when both teams have scored at least 40 points. Flacco threw for a career-high 470 yards in a second straight excruciating loss for Cincinnati (3-6), which had not scored 40 points or more in defeat since falling 51-45 at Cleveland on Sept. 16, 2007. Following last Sunday's 39-38 loss to the New York Jets, it was the sixth time dating to last season the Bengals have scored at least 30 points without winning. "Probably the same as what was going through your head. Like, what the (expletive)?" running back Chase Brown said when asked what he was thinking after the game. Tee Higgins had seven catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yarder along the left sideline late in the second quarter that gave the Bengals a 20-17 halftime lead. Ja'Marr Chase added 111 yards on six catches. Bengals storm back The Bears appeared to be in good shape after Moore's 16-yard TD run made it 41-27 with 4:53 left. Flacco was intercepted by Chicago's Tremaine Edmunds on the Bengals' next possession, but the Bears went three-and-out, and the 18-year veteran led a scoring drive that took just 32 seconds. Flacco found Noah Fant for a 22-yard TD with 1:43 left, and Higgins caught a 2-point conversion pass to get the Bengals within 41-35. Joseph Ossai recovered the ensuing onside kick after it went off the leg of Chicago's Daniel Hardy to keep Cincinnati's hopes alive, and the Bengals took just 49 seconds to take the lead on Flacco's strike to Iosivas. "When you make it a one-score game, I mean anything can happen. Onside kicks aren't very likely, but who knows? I think we were down by 14, we were going out there and I said, 'Hey, listen. Crazier things have happened,'" Flacco said. Monangai comes through Rookie Kyle Monangai rushed for 176 yards on 26 carries as the Bears piled up 576 yards of offense against a Bengals squad that came in ranked last in total defense. Monangai, a seventh-round draft pick, got the start with D'Andre Swift sidelined due to a groin injury. Monangai finished with a 6.8-yard average and already had 100 yards on 16 carries at halftime. Chicago rushed for a season-high 283 yards and averaged 7.6 yards on the ground. Brittain Brown, called up from the practice squad for the game, had a 22-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to put the Bears up 31-27. Williams' milestone According to Sportradar, the last starting QB with more than one reception in a game was George Taliaferro of the Baltimore Colts on Dec. 5, 1953, at the Los Angeles Rams. Williams also became the third Chicago QB and first since Matt Barkley in 2017 to have a receiving score. According to the NFL and the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player with at least two receptions and 10 completions in a game was Washington's Harry Gilmer on Nov. 27, 1949, against the New York Giants. Wild start Charlie Jones put Cincinnati ahead 11 seconds into the game by taking the opening kickoff 98 yards. Jones found a seam and went up the left sideline to put the Bengals up 7-0. The wide receiver also ran a kickoff back for a score last year. He is the first player to return two kickoffs for TDs since the league changed the kickoff format in 2024. Injuries Bears: TE Cole Kmet and DB Josh Blackwell suffered concussions and did not return. ... DL Dayo Odeyingbo had an ankle injury in the second half. Bengals: RB Samaje Perine suffered a right ankle injury during a kick return in the first quarter and did not return. Up next Bears: Host the New York Giants next Sunday. Bengals: After a bye, play at Pittsburgh on Nov. 16. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl