With just 18 seconds left at Soldier Field, Caleb Williams dropped back and let it fly. The ball found Cole Kmet in the end zone, and the Chicago Bears suddenly found themselves bouncing back. Minutes earlier, against the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago was staring at a choice that would define the night. A routine extra point would level it at 17, while a two-point try could swing it to an 18-17 Chicago lead or end it on the spot. But Ben Johnson played it safe.

The Bears took the extra point, tied it at 17, and pushed the game into overtime. From there, however, the mood shifted fast. Williams forced a throw that turned into a crushing interception. Shortly after, Matthew Stafford led the Rams to a win, putting the Bears’ head coach in the middle of widespread criticism. But Johnson didn’t dodge the blame. He addressed it head-on in the post-game press conference.

“Probably what played a little bit of a factor was our goal-to-go situations hadn’t gone very clean. Our inside-the-five plan hadn’t worked out quite like we had hoped. I just felt better about taking our chances there in overtime,” Johnson said on the decision not to go for a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.

Still, football rarely waits for context. In hindsight, every path feels obvious. Chicago could have hit the two-point try and stolen the game. On the flip side, a miss would have ended it on the spot. Given the late surge and how close overtime came, Johnson’s logic was not reckless at all. However, it still hurts because this is the team that has turned multiple would-be losses into victories. But as fate would have it, they couldn’t do it when they needed it the most, a realization Caleb Williams finds hard to accept.

“It’s a frustration,” the quarterback said. “It’s a fire. Those are the two words that I’d go with. I’m excited, though, also. Obviously, not happy about the outcome. Obviously frustrated about the outcome. But that’s over with, and I can’t go back and change it. Going to go back and watch, figure out how I can be better for the near future and help this organization get to where we want to be.

“Got to go and watch some film and talk to Coach, and then from there it’s just work on accuracy, work on my feet in the offseason,” Williams, who completed 23 of 42 passes for 257 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions said. “It’s get with the receivers and work with them and things like that throughout the offseason so that we’re on the same page, that we’re starting off hot for training camp, OTAs and then going into next season.”

But despite the three interceptions by Williams, it’s the last-minute call, as Johnson realizes, that set the team’s fate in stone.

Ben Johnson reveals locker room’s disappointment after loss

“Our guys are feeling it right now,” Johnson told reporters after the loss.

“They all believed, man. They all believed all year long that we could find a way to win each and every week. So, it’s disappointing [to end the season] like that. I am proud of the group. It’s a special group, and I believe that to my core. When you’re in the room with a group of men for the last time in the locker room, it’s just not going to be the same going forward. I appreciate all of them. It was a special year, and this will hopefully be a feeling, in this locker room, that we won’t forget.”

Still, perspective matters. Year one for Johnson checked every major box. Despite an 0-2 start, the Bears finished 12-6, and delivered a playoff win at Soldier Field. However, the NFL does not wait. The season closed, and reality hit quickly. Johnson already leaned into that truth.

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“Next season is next season,” the head coach said. “It’s a whole different group and a whole different chapter.”

Now, Chicago joins the rest of the league watching from home. Soon enough, the focus shifts back to work, resets, and the long countdown to 2026. For the Bears, the pain is fresh, but the foundation is real.