The Chicago Bears pulled off another late-second comeback to win this year. This time, the stakes were significantly higher. They were going back into the same building where they endured the spirit-breaking Hail Mary last season. Everybody expected the Washington Commanders to take care of business just as they had back then. To the shock of almost everybody, the Bears didn’t let it happen. After falling behind 24-16 at one point, they battled their way back to 24-22 before taking possession with three minutes left. Guided by D’Andre Swift, they marched down the field to set Jake Moody up for a 38-yard field goal to win it.
Nobody dared say the Bears got lucky. They knew they couldn’t. Why? It had become clear throughout the game that Washington wasn’t the only thing they were fighting against. The referees had it out for them, too. Chicago was penalized nine times in the game, and at least half of them were highly questionable. One offensive pass interference forced them to settle for a field goal. Another saw a touchdown taken off the board because of an illegal formation. That is 11 points the Bears were potentially robbed of.
Washington icon Darrell Green admitted after the game that the loss could’ve been much worse if not for some of those calls.
The Chicago Bears showed something unseen before.
They proved they could overcome things like that. Good teams find a way to deal with slanted referee calls and still win games. Previous versions of the Chicago Bears would’ve wilted over the constant setbacks. It looked like they were going to this time as well. After taking a 13-7 lead into the half, the Bears fell behind 24-16 in the 4th quarter. However, Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams refused to bend. After a quick scoring drive to make it 24-22, a turnover by the defense set them up with a chance to win with three minutes left. Johnson called a masterful drive that drained the clock, and Jake Moody took care of the rest on a 38-yard field goal.
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Try as the refs might, they couldn’t stop what happened. Mental toughness is building at Halas Hall, and that is the first step towards success.