CHICAGO (104.3 The Score) — Bears head coach Ben Johnson cracked a wry smile through a grizzled beard late Thursday night.
At the end of the Bears’ 30-24 win over the Patriots — the culmination of a short week of preparation and a second win in five days — Johnson looked like a coach who was understandably exhausted and didn’t have time for a shave. But at his football-crazed core, he seemed to relish the daunting test his team had faced and passed.
The Bears earned a 31-23 road win over the Falcons on Sunday in Atlanta, then returned to Halas Hall that evening and turned their focus to the Patriots. They then produced a gutsy victory Thursday that proved to Johnson his team is made of the right stuff.
"I know we got the right guys in this locker room that can handle anything thrown their way," Johnson said.
Johnson got the better of his counterpart, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, the reigning AP Coach of the Year. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, outdueling the MVP runner-up from a year ago in Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. And Chicago held off a team from New England that played in the Super Bowl last February.
To earn the victory, it took not only a strong performance from the Bears but a resilient one.
In a key moment, Bears kicker Cairo Santos booted a career-long 58-yard field goal with 1:39 remaining in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory. Santos had missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt earlier in the fourth quarter, and a another miss in this moment would’ve set the Patriots up with good field position to embark on a potential game-winning touchdown drive. Johnson considered punting the ball from the Patriots’ 40-yard line, but he believed in Santos.
"You ask him and he's like, 'Absolutely, I need redemption because I missed one earlier,'" Johnson said. "And he came through for us in a big way.”
It was also fitting that the onside kick in the final minute – a dropkick by Patriots punter Mitch Wishnowsky – was corralled by Bears receiver Rome Odunze, whose inconsistencies in catching passes have been a problem again this season. In the first quarter, Odunze dropped a potential touchdown catch, a play in which he was also called for offensive pass interference. Still, he finished the game with four key receptions.
Bears tight end Colston Loveland had a pair of drops, but he hauled in seven receptions for 69 yards and a score as Williams told him that he’d keep throwing his way.
The most frustrating moment for the Bears came with three seconds left in the first half. They allowed a disastrous 48-yard touchdown catch-and-run to Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who slipped through a series of defenders – including a weak tackling attempt from cornerback Jaylon Johnson – to find paydirt in stunning fashion as time ran out on the half. That cut the Bears’ 20-7 lead to 20-14. Williams and the Bears then answered to start the second half with a nine-play, 82-yard touchdown drive, capped by the scoring pass to Loveland.
For Williams and the Bears, it was a test of character that they passed with flying colors.
"We're a smashmouth football team, innovative team and then when things happen and things don't go our way and the water is rocky, we stay steady," Williams said. "We're going to keep going, we're going to keep fighting.
"That's who we are. Things happen, and you don't shy away from it. That's who we are."
On Thursday Night Football, the Bears were in the national spotlight for the first of three consecutive primetime games. Another litmus test will come when Chicago visits Seattle on Nov. 2 on Monday Night Football. Many will wonder if the Bears’ defense is championship-caliber or whether this team can play clean enough football game to win the Super Bowl.
Of course, the Bears aren't focused on a championship push here in the present. Johnson has his players focused on continued improvement. In a short week, the demands are even greater.
What's clear is the Bears have the resolve to win any time they take the field. Their character was clear in this one.
"These nights are awesome," Williams said. "You play versus another good team in a primetime game in a short week, these games are awesome because you get to see who we are as a team. That's who we are."
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
