CINCINNATI, OH., — If it's rookies propelling the Chicago Bears to big wins like Colston Loveland and Kyle Monangai did on Sunday afternoon, the future is incredibly bright for the Ben Johnson-led Bears. In a game that went down to the wire and for a few minutes, looked like a contest the Bears found a way to lose, the ending was different this time around.
On a 1st-and-10 from their own 42-yard line, the offense lined up in trips left, before Rome Odunze motioned to the right side of the formation, making it doubles. From there, Caleb Williams danced around in the pocket and hit Loveland in between two Bengals defenders. But the Gooding, Idaho native kept his balance and eventually managed to score a touchdown.
Boom, just like that, the Bears were ahead with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, in a game that some thought was over with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
On the Bears previous drive, Monangai had a 39-yard run to set the offense up inside the Bengals 17-yard line. As a seventh-rounder, some thought he'd have to compete for playing time with veterans D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson this season. But he too, has blossomed into a lethal playmaker for this team.
The Bears had everyone on the edge of their seats. It's hard to watch a game from start to finish without having some sort of negativity creep in but Sunday afternoon, this team showed that it's got the ability to hang around and get the job done, putting a W in the win column for the first time in two weeks. It's the type of victory that really puts into perspective how progress is being made under Johnson and Dennis Allen, whether or not the scoreboard reflects it.
Let's get into some instant takeaways following the Bears fifth win of the season.
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