The Chicago Bears had two opportunities in the final two minutes of the first half to tie their Week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts at halftime. But poor blocks and decisions on the first attempt and bad luck on the second led to the Bears heading to the locker room trailing 7-0.
Those plays, along with a last-minute fumble by Caleb Williams, may have made the difference in Chicago’s 21-9 loss on Sunday.
The Bears got the ball back with 51 seconds left in the half after forcing Indianapolis to punt. After advancing to the Colts’ 45-yard line, Chicago opted for a Hail Mary pass instead of attempting a 63-yard field goal.
With one second left, Williams threw the ball 56 yards into the end zone, but the ball bounced in the air off a scrum of receivers and defensive backs. DJ Moore caught the ball, but was at the 1-yard line and was tackled by Julian Blackmon as time expired.
Shortly before that, the Bears missed another chance. On fourth down from the 1-yard line with 1:41 remaining, D’Andre Swift was tackled while attempting to run left and lost 12 yards. He found no room at the 8-yard line and then slid back another five yards as he tried to elude tacklers.
Williams threw the first touchdown pass of his NFL career with a one-yard throw to Rome Odunze in the fourth quarter, cutting the Colts’ lead to 14-9. (The play was also Odunze’s first career touchdown, which quickly led to speculation about which rookie would keep the ball.)
There was apparently confusion about whether to kick the extra point or attempt a 2-point conversion. Santos was on the field with the kicking unit after the goal, forcing head coach Matt Eberflus to call a timeout. The Bears then sent the offense out to try to get a possession, but Williams was forced out of the pocket and missed a throw to Khalil Herbert.
Chicago got the ball back after forcing the Colts to punt, but on the first play of the drive from the Bears’ 18-yard line, Williams fumbled after being sacked by Laiatu Latu and Grover Stewart recovered the ball.
The No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft threw for 362 yards, by far the highest total of his young professional career. He scored two touchdowns and two interceptions on 33 of 52 passes. Williams caught six balls with Odunze for 118 yards and a touchdown, giving Bears fans a preview of the potential greatness this tandem will create. Cole Kmet also caught 10 balls for 97 yards and a touchdown.
After a 13-yard run by Richardson, Taylor scored from one yard out for a 21-9 lead. Richardson finished the game with 167 yards passing and two interceptions, completing 10 of 20 passes. Taylor scored two touchdowns while rushing for 110 yards on 23 carries. Pittman led Indianapolis with four receptions for 36 yards.
The Bears scored a touchdown with 2:01 left in the game, cutting Indianapolis’ lead to 21–16. Williams capped a 12-play, 70-yard run with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kmet. Chicago elected to kick the ball back to the Colts rather than attempt an onside kick.
Anthony Gould helped the Bears by kneeling the kickoff for a touchback instead of running out of the end zone and taking some time off the clock, but that was nullified when Taylor ran 13 yards, picking up a first down and allowing the Colts to run down the clock.
The loss drops Chicago to 1–2 for the season. Indianapolis gets its first win of the 2024 season and improves to 1–2.
