Instant Classic: Bears win 47-42 thriller over Bengals |
Dustin Riese
· · 18 hours ago
CINCINNATI - What in the world did we just witness at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati?
In what could go down as the best game in the NFL this season and potentially one of the best games of the last decade, the Chicago Bears (5-3) and Cincinnati Bengals (3-6) just gave the fans an instant classic that will be talked about for a long time. From a game of firsts that saw Kyle Monangai make his first career start and top 100 yards for the first time, to both Brittain Brown and Coleston Loveland picking up their first career touchdown with the Bears, the Bengals and Bears combined to put up 89 points in an incredible game. Leading 41-27 late in the fourth, it was the Bears' defense that let the Bengals in as Cincinnati rallied for 15 points in a span of 49 seconds to take a late 42-41 lead. Part of that came after the Bears botched an onside kick, but with a career-high 470 yards passing from Joe Flacco, the Bears defense didn't do themselves any favors. Needing a field goal to win this game, it was the Bears offense coming through in the clutch as Caleb Williams found his rookie tight end Loveland for what looked to be a clutch first down reception only to have him break free for the 56 yard touchdown to put the Bears on top for good 47-42 as the Bears would go on to win by that score. After doing next to nothing through seven games, this was the breakout game Loveland has been waiting for as he led the Bears with 118 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the win. Given how the game started with Charlie Jones returning the opening kick for a 98-yard score, this game had the makings of a shootout from start to finish as neither defense showed up in this one. Immediately after allowing that touchdown, the Bears' offense came out firing, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions. One of those touchdowns came off a DJ Moore pass to Williams, with Williams then finding Olamide Zaccheus for a second touchdown, putting the Bears on top 14-10. Zaccheus was the story of the first half, as he too had his best game in a Chicago uniform, picking up the slack for Rome Odunze, who was held in check for most of the day. Following a pair of field goals from Evan McPherson and Cairo Santos to keep the Bears on top by four, it was Flacco and the Bengals that had the last laugh in the first half as he went up top to Tee Higgins for a 44-yard strike to give Cincinnati a 20-17 lead at the break. For Higgins, he continued to prove he is more than capable of shouldering a No. 1 receiver load as he led all receivers with 121 yards in the game. Already an exciting game after one half of play, this was only the beginning as the Bears came out firing to start the second half. Making his first start in place of the injured D'Andre Swift, Monangai showed what he is capable of doing as he converted three first downs on the Bears' first second-half possession as part of his 176-yard game on the ground. He did most of the dirty work, but it was Loveland who finished things off with his first career touchdown from two yards out to put the Bears back on top 24-20. Not to be outdone, the Bengals offense continued to take the Bears' best punches as it was time for Ja'Mar Chase and Chase Brown to get involved, as both of them continued to move the chains for the Bengals offense. The end result was a second Higgins touchdown in as many possessions, as the Bengals were once again in front 27-24. From that point on, it was starting to look like this was the Bears' game to win as Brittain Brown picked up his first touchdown of the season late in the third to put the Bears back on top, with Santos adding another field goal to extend their lead to 34-27. It was in the fourth quarter when all the action started, and ironically, that action came after the Bears took their largest lead of the day at 41-27 when Moore took the end-around handoff and took it to the house for the 17-yard score. That drive was followed by a Tremaine Edmunds interception on the Bears' next possession, as that play alone appeared to be the knockout blow Chicago needed to put the Bengals away. Unfortunately for Chicago, they were unable to capitalize on that turnover, and following a quick punt to give the ball back to the Bengals, it was Flacco and company coming through as he found Noah Fant for the 23-yard score to make this a one-possession game. Knowing an onside kick was coming, the Bears appeared to defend the play perfectly, but an awkward bounce saw the ball deflect off a Bears' leg, resulting in a Bengals recovery to give them one last opportunity to potentially steal this game. Two quick strikes to Higgins not only moved the ball inside the Bears' red zone, but if the Bengals played their cards right, they had the chance to drain the clock down to cancel out any chances of a Bears comeback. Following another first down reception from Brown to move the ball inside the 10, it was Flacco finding Andy Iosivas in the back of the end zone as the Bengals grabbed their first lead since the first quarter, 42-41. With less than a minute to go and two timeouts to spare, the time was now for the Bears to come through, as they were looking at another loss in the worst possible way. What started with two consecutive incompletions turned into a first down as Williams got loose for 14 yards to move the ball near midfield. Needing 20 yards to put the Bears into field goal range, Williams delivered as he found Loveland for what looked to be a 20-yard catch, which is where the line to gain for Santos was. Instead, it was Loveland making a play as he broke through several tackles on that play to break free for the 58-yard score to put the Bears on top for good, 47-42. Talk about an incredible moment for the rookie as Flacco watched his Hail Mary attempt fall short in the end as Nashon Wright came down with an interception to seal the victory for the Bears. COLSTON LOVELAND TAKES IT ALL THE WAY! Caleb Williams and the Bears were HYPED after beating the Bengals 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eIgjYnjIjA
BEARS LEAD 47-42 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/LIA17H14qR
