Caleb Williams best pass of the game perhaps should not have been thrown at all.
A scramble right, laser beam throw through two defenders arms, high into the leaping hands of D.J. Moore in the back of the endzone. It's 21-3 Bears in the third quarter. And it feels like the Bears have the game in the bag.
"I would say 99 percent of quarterbacks, you tell them 'don't even waste your time looking back there and trying to make that throw.'" Head coach Ben Johnson says.
The Bears wind up grinding the lowly Browns into dust at frigid Soldier Field, 31-3.
Eight degrees at kickoff matches the fourth-coldest Bears home game at Soldier Field. Doesn't matter to Williams, who pulls off one of the prettier completions of his young career.
"There's usually bad things that happen (when you attempt a throw like that). According to Johnson.
"(Caleb) has got the ability to make that throw, and D.J. made a heck of a play there right on the back line as well."
Coming off a close-call loss in Green Bay a week earlier, dominating the Browns means a lot to the Bears young quarterback.
"Us going out there, believing in the coaches and executing plays, I think we've done a good job of that so far this year. We've just got to keep finding ways to keep getting better, overall just as a team."
Williams: 17/28 (a healthy 60.7 completion percentage), 242 yards, 2 TD's (to Moore), 0 interceptions, sacked 3 times, strong QB Rating of 112.5.
And he claims they could have piled on more.
"We left a lot out there (against the Browns), even though 31 points ...whatever the case may be, there's a lot left out there, at least on the offensive side of the ball."
In Williams 31st career game he sets an NFL record. Fewest interceptions in a Q-B's first 1,000 passing attempts. Only 12. Breaking the mark of 14 set by Jacoby Brissett.
Even better, his 1,000th pass was a pin-point touchdown toss to D.J. Moore, for a 14-0 first half lead.
Filling the void of injured Rome Odunze, who aggravated a stress fracture in his foot during pre-game warm-ups, Moore goes for 69 yards receiving and two scores.
The Bears improve to 10-4. Their best season since going 12-4 in 2018.
"It's amazing. That's all we talked about getting ten (wins). Now it's about getting number 11. Great opportunity this week to do so." Moore says
Rookie receiver Luther Burden adds six catches for 84 yards.
D'Andre Swift sizzles for 98 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including a 17-yard scamper through traffic.
Thanks to Green Bay's loss to Denver, 34-26, the Bears catapult back into first place in the NFC North. And they get to show down with the Pack again Saturday in primetime.
"Really excited. It's a very big opportunity for us." Swift says.
The NFL set the 7:25 p.m. kickoff time a few weeks ago hoping the game would have playoff implications.
"Flexed into Saturday night. So, we got a lot to show and a lot to prove and we've got to go out and get that." Says Swift.
The Bears have won 6 of 7 games, leaping into second place behind the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC.
"I think our players are excited to be in this spot." Johnson says.
They've got three games to play in the regular season; home vs Green Bay, then at San Francisco and back home with Detroit.
"We're 10 and 4 and we've got a lot to play for here over the next three weeks. And really in this league you can't ask for a lot more than that." According to Johnson.
An opportunistic Bears defense, licking it's chops to face a rookie quarterback, intercept Shadeur Sanders three times and sack him 5 times, holding the Browns to just 192 total yards.
Sanders finishes with 177 yards passing and no touchdowns.
The 10-4 Bears are setting up an early 1-1/2-point underdog hosting the 9-4-1 Packers Saturday night at 720 p.m.
The Bears are 10-15-1 all-time in games played on Saturday.