Quarterback Caleb Williams, who has been so clutch in critical moments over the course of the season, threw an overtime interception as the Chicago Bears fell 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams. In the post-game presser, he made it clear that the interception was a product of miscommunication.

“I got to go back and watch it… but in the moment, I saw the front-side safety down, front-sided concept,” he said. “End up getting hemmed up a little bit and so moved on and had D.J. [Moore] going over top over all of it. Just a miscommunication between him and I. Tried to flatten him off under the safety and he kept it vertical from what I saw in the moment.”

It was gutting. He did something ridiculous just minutes before the INT. Facing fourth-and-goal with 27 seconds left and down 17–10, he took the snap at the 14, spun out of trouble, and kept drifting—almost to the 40, before uncorking a perfect, off-balance fade to Cole Kmet.

That pushed the game to OT. Then, on second-and-8, Williams took a shot down the right sideline for D.J. Moore. Rams safety Kam Curl read it and ended it. On replay, it looked like a ball that might’ve been there if Moore kept his stride. But it all came down to miscommunication.

After that, Matthew Stafford led the winning drive, and the Bears’ season was over. For a moment, though, it felt like another Williams miracle was coming, another chapter in a growing collection of late-game escapes.

Coming in, Chicago already had seven fourth-quarter comebacks across the regular season and playoffs. Just a week earlier, against the Green Bay Packers, Williams dragged the Bears back from an 18-point halftime hole and piled up 361 yards doing it.

That’s why there’s no reason for him to carry this one around. In just his second year, he put together a season most quarterbacks don’t touch: 5,008 total yards, 34 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, a 69.3 adjusted completion rate, and 35 big-time throws. That’s phenomenal production. He will only get better from here, and head coach Ben Johnson knows it.

Ben Johnson gave Williams his flowers

Ben Johnson apparently reacted the same way to Caleb Williams’ fourth-down touchdown as all of us. It was unbelievable. And he had some big words to say about the sophomore quarterback.

“There are some things that you just can’t coach,” Johnson said. He’s got that about him. He’s got a knack. He’s clutch. He does so many good things. He’s an eraser. I have plenty of bad calls each and every week, and he helps make it right for me. I know he’s feeling it because we didn’t win, and had some turnovers.”

Johnson added that moments like this don’t get forgotten. And in his mind, this one is only going to harden Caleb Williams. That’s the scary part. If this is what Williams looks like now, it’s uncomfortable to think about what he might become after taking something like this personally. Even in a loss, he managed to surprise people.

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According to Next Gen Stats, Williams’ pass traveled 51.2 yards in the air, the longest completed red-zone throw by air distance since at least 2016. He released it from 26.5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, deeper than any quarterback has completed a pass from in that span. The completion probability? Just 17.8 percent.

“It was the most special throw that I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen him do that so many times this year,” safety Kevin Byard said.

That’s really the story of Williams’ season. The growth has been obvious. With Johnson taking over play-calling duties, Williams became more efficient and less reliant on backyard football. The offensive line helped as well, going from allowing 68 sacks a year ago to just 24 this season changed everything. Williams also finished with seven more touchdowns than last year.

It didn’t end the way the Chicago Bears wanted. But the trajectory is there. Williams and the Bears with him look like a team that’s going to remember this feeling and come back sharper because of it next year.