Bear Digest

Bears’ wild Week 9 finish left fans speechless — and here’s the proof

The Chicago Bears' Week 9 win was more shocking than you think.
Bryan Perez|
Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears' Week 9 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals was an absolute stunner that no one -- and I mean no one -- saw coming.

Literally, no one.

After jumping out to a two-touchdown fourth-quarter lead, the Bears had a near-100% probability to win.

Then, when Joe Flacco and the Bengals somehow managed to score two TDs and a two-point conversion with less than a minute remaining in the game to take the fourth-quarter lead, it was Cincinnati that had a near-100% chance to win.

But the Bears have Caleb Williams. And he does Caleb Williams things:

Check out ESPN's win probability chart to see just how ridiculous this game was:

Yes, that was indeed a roller coaster ride.

Fortunately, it was Bengals fans who were left to feel sick.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco (16) throws a pass against the Chicago Bears
Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Granted, there are some serious problems the Bears have to fix entering Week 9. It's inexcusable to allow ancient Joe Flacco to throw for 470 yards and four touchdowns. Sure, Chicago was without Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, but there were plenty of starters on the field in the Bears' secondary.

It was an embarrassing defensive performance that allowed both Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase to eclipse 100 receiving yards. Higgins had two touchdown catches.

But let's stay positive, shall we? The Chicago Bears' run defense was fantastic. Dennis Allen's group held Bengals running back Chase Allen to just 37 yards on 11 carries. The Bengals as a team ran for just 46 yards on 15 carries.

The Bears' pass rushers made some plays, too. Austin Booker returned from injured reserve and logged a strip-sack, and Montez Sweat registered his third sack of the season as well.

When the dust settles on Week 9, the focus will be on the offensive fireworks that coach Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams created, and how this team did what most Bears fans would've assumed was impossible for this franchise to accomplish: Being on the winning side of a wild finish.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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