Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Chicago Bears a 27-24 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night.
Caleb Williams threw two touchdown passes in a mixed performance and Jaylon Johnson returned an interception for a touchdown as the Bears (7-2) won their fourth consecutive game.
Williams set up the decisive field goal with a 38-yard pass to tight end Colston Loveland to the Tampa Bay 16-yard line with 40 seconds left.
Williams completed 22 of 37 passes for 279 yards but threw four interceptions, a career high. Luther Burden III recorded seven catches for 97 yards and one touchdown, and Rome Odunze also had a scoring catch for the Bears.
Baker Mayfield completed 18 of 32 passes for 243 yards and two interceptions for the Buccaneers (3-6), who had a two-game winning streak halted. Bucky Irving rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
Zyon McCollum had two of Tampa Bay’s four interceptions. The Buccaneers had five takeaways overall, including a big fumble recovery by Ifeatu Melifonwu.
Tampa Bay trailed by eight when Burden fumbled after a hard hit from Rueben Bain Jr. on a third-down reception. Ifeatu Melifonwu recovered and returned the ball 4 yards to the Chicago 17. Burden suffered a concussion on the play and did not return.
Irving then ran 11 yards on the next play and 6 yards for a touchdown on the second with 2:51 to play. Mayfield then scrambled in on a two-point conversion play to knot the score at 24.
Buccaneers star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. exited with an ankle injury with 4:59 left in the first half and was later ruled out.
Tampa Bay, trailing 17-6 at halftime, drove 74 yards on six plays to open the second half, capped by Irving’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Alex Anzalone intercepted Williams late in the third quarter, giving Tampa Bay possession at the Chicago 37.
But two plays later, Johnson picked off Mayfield and raced 67 yards for a score to give the Bears a 24-13 lead.
Chase McLaughlin booted a 35-yard field goal to pull the Buccaneers within eight with 11:24 remaining in the contest.
Williams passed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the opening quarter as Chicago went up 14-0.
Williams hit Odunze for a 9-yard score to cap the game-opening possession. Then Burden caught a pass from Williams just before midfield and turned it into a 56-yard scoring play with six minutes left in the quarter.
Tampa Bay got on the board on McLaughlin’s 27-yard field goal with 13:48 left in the half.
The Bears pushed their lead to 17-3 on Santos’ 25-yard field goal with 3:02 left. McCollum later made a diving interception with 38 seconds left at the Chicago 43 to set up McLaughlin for a 21-yard field goal as time expired.
–Field Level Media
