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Bears Ended a 15-Year Drought in 2025 and These 6 Plays Tell the Whole Story

The Bears ended a 15-year playoff drought in 2025. Here are the 6 most memorable plays from 2025, from Blackwell's blocked kick to the Wild Card touchdown.
Pete Martuneac|
Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore catches a game-winning touchdown pass at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore catches a game-winning touchdown pass at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson may not want to hear about the 2025 season anymore, but Bears fans have two more months to enjoy the highlights from last year before the 2026 season begins. It should come as no surprise that, despite falling short of a Super Bowl title, Bears fans took great pride in a year that saw them end their shameful, 15-year playoff victory drought with a miraculous Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers of all teams.

With that in mind, and with the start of training camp still some weeks away, let's take a trip down memory lane and relive the six most memorable plays from the Bears' 2025 season, in no particular order. In fairness to the entire team, I'll limit myself to just one highlight per player, with an obvious exception for Caleb Williams (as the quarterback, he's directly involved in nearly every offensive play).

1. Caleb Williams' walk-off touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat Green Bay in overtime

This play carried more emotional weight than almost any other play in recent Chicago Bears history. The Bears rallied late to tie this home game against the Packers and send it into overtime. From there, Caleb Williams gave Packers fans just a taste of the kind of psychological torture which Aaron Rodgers had inflicted upon Bears fans time and time again for 15 years.

On first down at midfield, Caleb Williams faked a handoff to Kyle Monangai, stood tall in the pocket, and delivered an absolute dart to DJ Moore, who caught the ball with cornerback Keisean Nixon hanging across his shoulders like a bad suit. The Bears escaped with the win, avoiding a season sweep by the Packers, and set the stage for what would become an instant classic in the Wild Card round.

2. Colston Loveland's go-ahead touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals

The Bears' first draft selection of the Ben Johnson era was a controversial one. They selected tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick, which had many analysts, including yours truly, calling it the wrong pick for the Chicago Bears. How stupid does that sound now? Loveland took the NFL world by storm in the second half of his rookie season, and it started in Week 9.

After choking away a 14-point lead in the final two minutes, the Bears faced a one-point deficit with 54 seconds remaining. Four plays later, Caleb Williams fired a strike to Colston Loveland in the middle of the field between three defenders. Loveland hauled in the catch, bounced off of a would-be tackler, then outraced the defense 35 yards into the endzone.

The Bears' defense finally stopped the Bengals on their final drive, but it was Loveland's incredible go-ahead score that was the lasting memory from that contest. Not only did the rookie win the game, he announced himself as a true threat to become the best tight end in the league.

3. Tyrique Stevenson's strip ofJavonte Williams to kickstart Ben Johnson's offense

After just two weeks, the Bears' 2025 season was already in jeopardy. They sat at 0-2, with both losses coming to division rivals, including a horrific 52-21 drubbing at the hands of the Lions. To start Week 3 against the Cowboys at Soldier Field, Caleb Williams and the offense went three and out, losing yards in the process. The Cowboys' offense took the field, and on their second play, Javonte Williams took the handoff and raced 22 yards deep into Chicago territory.

That's when the Bears' season took a turn. Chasing Williams along the left sideline, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson snuck up along Williams' left side and, before he was pushed out of bounds, ripped the ball out of Williams' hands. It was ruled a fumble recovered by Chicago, and the offense repaid Stevenson's effort with a five-play drive for a touchdown. The rest, as they say, is history.

Almost a year later, Tyrique Stevenson may be losing his job to Malik Muhammad, but in that moment against the Cowboys, he was the savior the Bears needed.

4. Josh Blackwell's blocked field goal to keep the Bears' season alive

Just a week after a thrilling 31-14 win over the Cowboys, the Bears appeared to be reverting back to the worst version of themselves. Against the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, the Bears struggled mightily on offense and, despite a go-ahead touchdown by D'Andre Swift with 1:34 remaining, the Raiders marched down the field to set up a 54-yard field goal attempt.

Josh Blackwell had come close to blocking an earlier field goal attempt. This time, he timed it perfectly, getting a clean jump on the offensive line and stretching out to block the potential game-winner. Blackwell called it an 'out of body experience' for himself, and I think most Bears fans concurred. If Blackwell hadn't blocked that kick, it's very likely that the Bears would have gone into their Week 5 bye at 1-3 with no momentum, no answers, and several questions about whether Ben Johnson was in over his head.

5. Jake Moody's walk-off field goal to wipe away the stain of 2024's 'Fail Mary' loss to Washington

The Bears' horrific 2024 season came to be defined by an unfathomable loss to the Washington Commanders. This 'Fail Mary' broke the Bears and sent them spiraling into a 10-game losing streak. In 2025, they had the chance to avenge this loss in Week 6, but very nearly blew it again.

Nursing a two-point lead with three minutes to go, Jayden Daniels botches a handoff and the Bears recovered the fumble. The Bears, already at midfield, milked the clock with a strong run game, setting the stage for a win-or-go-home field goal attempt. Jake Moody, activated from the practice squad to fill in for the injured Cairo Santos, took the field in wet, misty conditions.

But the veteran kicker didn't let the lights get too bright. He nailed the 38-yard attempt, splitting the uprights and wiping away the stain of Chicago's 2024 loss to Washington. Though it didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, the Bears badly needed that win against the team that had so thoroughly humiliated them a year earlier.

6. Caleb Williams' go-ahead touchdown to DJ Moore in the Wild Card round

It's only fitting we end with arguably the biggest play in recent Bears history. After digging themselves into a 21-3 deficit at halftime, the Bears stormed all the way back in the fourth quarter, taking their first lead of the game on a gorgeous 25-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore with just under two minutes remaining. The defense held on for one final drive, and the Bears won their first playoff game since 2010.

What made this play so great was not just the immediate implications, the vanquishing of their archrival and securing a long-elusive playoff win. It also showcased Chicago's two most important pieces going forward. Not only did Caleb Williams give DJ Moore a perfect pass along the sideline, but Ben Johnson flexed his playcalling brilliance.

On this play, the Bears had three receivers to Caleb Williams' left, a classic tell for a screen pass, and once the ball was snapped, it did appear to be a screen. Luther Burden made a move back as if he was about to receive the ball while Colston Loveland and DJ Moore got out ahead to block. Williams pump faked to Burden and the Packers' secondary bit hard, springing DJ Moore open along the left sideline.

Brilliant playcaller, meet your clutch quarterback. So long as these two continue their ascendancy, the Bears are going to be a fun football team for a very long time.

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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