Bear Digest

Ranking Every Comeback by Caleb Williams and the 2025 Cardiac Bears

Determining which of the rallies by coach Ben Johnson's NFC North champions were good, better or best.
Gene Chamberlain|
Before DJ Moore's apparent mistake on a pass route against the Rams, he was the hero in two wins over Green Bay.
Before DJ Moore's apparent mistake on a pass route against the Rams, he was the hero in two wins over Green Bay. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

A few days after it all ended, Bears GM Ryan Poles couldn't help but recall the fun of a season resembling a five-month thrill ride.

The series of downs and ups in coach Ben Johnson's first season, en route to a 12-7 record and a division championship, were unprecedented in franchise history.

"I heard the whole 'Cardiac Bears' thing," Poles said. "I'd rather not be the Cardiac Bears, but if that's what that game needs, then that's what you need to do.

"I do think you’ve got to win close games. When you get down to that two minutes, it's important. They repped that a lot and the guys were prepared for it. I don't think you want to be living on the edge all the time. I think what you can take from this season is that we were able to have poise down the stretch of games and be poised to finish and guys made plays when they needed to be made.”

The ironic part is it all started in the season opener on Monday Night Football exactly the opposite way. They had the 11-point lead and blew it in the fourth quarter against the Vikings.

They learned quickly from that situation.

The Seahawks, Rams, Patriots or Broncos will emerge holding the Lombardi Trophy. None of them will be able to say they've experienced a season like the 2025 Bears did.

Here are the 11 Bears comebacks ranked.

11. 49ers 42, Bears 38

Week 17, Dec. 28

This was only a rally from a touchdown back, except they did it four times in the game and finally did get the lead. They trailed 14-7, 21-14, 28-21 and 35-28, but rallied back each time to tie and then led 42-38. The reason it ranks so low is they ultimately lost 42-38 on Brock Purdy's 38-yard TD pass to Jauan Jennings. There was one more final rally but it came up 2 yards short of the winning TD when Caleb Williams' pass under pressure landed inches short of lunging Jahdae Walker in the front of the end zone. Williams' 330 yards passing went to waste.

10. Lions 19, Bears 16

Week 18, Jan. 4

Completely dead all day and trailing 16-0, the offense came to life with Williams' 25-yard TD pass to Walker, a two-point conversion run by Kyle Monangai, Williams' 1-yard TD pass to Colston Loveland and a two-point conversion pass to Cole Kmet. Suddenly, with 5:28 left the Bears had gone from 16-0 down to tied. They even had the chance at the win after a Kevin Byard interception at their 5 with the Lions near field goal range at the Bears 35. However, the Lions won it on Jake Bates' 42-yard field goal with two seconds left. It was a bit of foreshadowing, as a kick from the same distance ruined a rally when it appeared they might win their final game of the season.

9. Packers 28, Bears 21

Week 14, Dec. 7

The comeback machine got cranked up again when they trailed at Lambeau Field 14-3 at halftime. They picked it up after that, but fell behind 21-11 in the third quarter. Loveland's 1-yard TD after a 41-yard Cairo Santos field goal tied it, but Josh Jacobs culminated a 65-yard drive with a 2-yard Green Bay TD. Again, they fought back but Williams underthrew an open Kmet in the end zone for the TD, and Keisean Nixon, who was beaten on the play, picked it off.  Johnson later said he was probably going for two and the win and not a tie if Williams had completed the TD throw.

8. Rams 20, Bears 17 OT

Divisional playoffs, Jan. 18

Sadly, maybe Williams’ most incredible throw went to waste. The 14-yard TD pass from the 40-yard line by Williams to Kmet only forced overtime, and as the interception Williams threw after they tied it on that big prayer pass to Kmet was all Matthew Stafford needed to direct a drive to a game-ending 42-yard field goal. The comeback team had squandered a chance to complete the most important of all comebacks in the divisional playoffs.

7. Bears 19, Vikings 17

Week 11, Nov. 16

It looked like they were intent on repeating the opener in a game they dominated for three quarters, except this time in Minneapolis. A 16-3 lead early in the fourth quarter completely vanished on a 16-yard Jordan Mason TD run and a 15-yard TD pass by McCarthy to Jordan Addison. But Devin Duvernay's 56-yard kick return behind perfect blocking got the Bears to the edge of field goal range and three Swift runs for 9 yards set up Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal for the comeback win.

6. Bears 25, Raiders 24

Week 4, Sept. 28

The rally that started the madness. Trailing 24-19 in the fourth quarter, Williams staged an 11-play, 69-yard march ending in D'Andre Swift's go-ahead TD run. But after a 38-yard Raiders kick return, Geno Smith moved Las Vegas into range for Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field goal try and the victory. Instead, Josh Blackwell stormed in and blocked it for a Bears victory and a 2-2 record.   What was done in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas, though. The comebacks had only just begun.

5. Bears 24, Giants 20

Week 10, Nov. 9

Williams did this one largely with his legs, after the defense finally rose up and solved Jaxson Dart by knocking the ball away from him and knocking him out of the game. C.J. Gardner-Johnson caused the fumble, then Williams scrambled 29 yards to set up a 2-yard TD throw to Rome Odunze. After a shanked punt and 27-yard pass to Luther Burden, Williams scrambled in from 17 yards for the winning points with 1:47 remaining. The defense then had to finish it with four straight plays for no gain by QB Russell Wilson after Dart had been removed with a concussion.

4. Bears 25, Commanders 24

Week 6, Oct. 13

Sweet revenge for the Hail Mary pass of last season. It looked like a loss when the Bears trailed 24-16 but Williams found Swift on a short throw along the sidelines and, much to the chagrin of broadcaster Troy Aikman, he broke it for a 55-yard TD. Washington appeared poised to run out the clock, leading 24-22 after the Bears missed the two-point try, but Jayden Daniels fumbled on a handoff attempt and Nahshon Wright recovered at the Bears 44 with 3:10 to play. The Bears moved upfield with short passes and runs, the way they probably should have in overtime against the Rams before they got greedy. Swift broke runs of 10 and 15 yards to the Washington 18, and a 38-yard Jake Moody field goal in the wind and on a wet field meant a satisfying victory. The kicker to all this was how the Commanders had been 3-2, but went on an eight-game losing streak with the loss to finish 5-12, the same record the Bears had last season when they collapsed after the Hail Mary. Cosmic justice had been served.

3. Bears 31, Packers 27

Wild-card playoffs, Jan. 10

Trailing the Packers 14-3 again, and then 21-3, the season seemed over in the first half. But Santos booted 34- and 51-yard field goals and they added a 6-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. They still trailed 27-16 after Matthew Golden's 23-yard TD catch, but Williams hit Olamide Zaccheaus with an 8-yarder with 4:18 remaining, Brandon McManus missed his third kick of the game, and Williams quickly got the Bears the lead with completions to Loveland and Swift, before finding DJ Moore wide open down the left sideline for the go-ahead 25-yard TD. They still had to sweat out Jordan Love's last drive, which ended as Kyler Gordon dropped an interception in the end zone on a pass from the 28.

2. Bears 47, Bengals 42

Week 9, Nov. 2

Loveland's mad dash to the end zone on possibly the key play to the season. They finally seemed to have it locked up after jousting with old man Joe Flacco for three quarters, as Moore took a run in from 17 yards for a 41-27 lead with 4:53 remaining. But Flacco threw a 23-yard TD to Noah Fant and two-point conversion to Tee Higgins, the Bears fouled up the onside kick, and Flacco threw another TD pass. The Bengals owned a 42-41 lead. Williams ran for 14 yards to get the Bears to their 42 with 25 seconds remaining. Loveland snared a pass over the middle, bounced off a tackle, spun, found wide open spaces and finished a miracle 58-yard TD catch that stood for a Bears win, after Wright picked off Flacco's last desperation pass from the Bengals 48.

1. Bears 22, Packers 16 OT

Week 16, Dec. 20

The win that made an NFC North title possible and another comeback. Down 13-3 in the third quarter and going nowhere on offense, the Bears once again came to life. Santos' field goals of 51 and 43 yards had them within 16-9, but they still appeared beat. Miraculously, Romeo Doubs botched the onside kick and Blackwell recovered. Williams directed a 53-yard TD drive ending with a fourth-and-4 TD throw of 6 yards to Walker in the corner with 28 seconds remaining. Montez Sweat sacked backup QB Malik Willis to snuff out Packers thoughts of their own late rally. Again, the Packers appeared ready to win it in overtime, but on fourth-and-1 from the Bears 36 Willis fumbled the snap and even though the Packers recovered, it was the Bears' ball on downs. A 7-yard Swift run, 11-yard Kyle Monangai run and then Williams looked deep left to DJ Moore in the end zone with Keisean Nixon draped on has back for the 46-yard winning TD. The Bears would take the North, and then another playoff win later over the Packers.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.