Bears 19-Play Drive Was Instrumental to Win Over Cowboys

Dallas made a field goal the following drive, but Chicago responded right back — and in a big way. On the first play of the possession, Williams handed the ball off to D’Andre Swift, who quickly pitched the ball back to Williams, and proceeded to throw this absolute beauty of a ball:

What a way for rookie wideout Luther Burden III to score his first NFL touchdown. Williams’ pass traveled 62.1 air yards, the furthest completion of the season thus far, as well as his longest completed pass with Chicago.

Momentum… For Now

The Bears scored twice more in the second quarter and led 24-14 entering halftime. A solid start, but it would have been hard to blame fans inside Soldier Field for not feeling supremely confident after seeing what happened against the Vikings in the same building.

The defense did a good job to start the third quarter, forcing a punt and consuming nearly five minutes of clock. Now, it was up to the offense to do their job by making it a three-score game.

And that they did.

Running Down Their Throats

The drive started with an 11-yard run by Swift. Then, back-to-back incompletions brought up a 3rd and 10, where Williams connected with DJ Moore on a curl route to keep things moving.

After another 9-yard completion to Moore on first down, Chicago decided to stop passing… for a while. Here are the following 11 plays:

• 2nd and 1: Swift run
• 3rd and 1: Swift run
• 1st and 10: Williams scramble
• 2nd and 3: Swift run
• 1st and 10: Moore run
• 2nd and 8: Swift run
• 3rd and 4: Burden run
• 1st and 10: Williams scramble
• 2nd and 5: Swift run
• 3rd and 1: Swift run
• 1st and Goal: Kyle Monangai run

Fortunate Break

On Monangai’s run, play 16 of the drive, he lost 8 yards at the Dallas 7-yard line, bringing up 2nd and Goal from the Dallas 15. However, newly-acquired DT Kenny Clark got injured on the play, forcing a quick timeout.

While nobody is ever excited for an injury, it could not have come at a better time for both teams. By then, more than eight minutes had run off the clock, and even though these players are some of the top athletes in the world, they are not superheroes.

“‘We get tired, too. That timeout was kind of nice,” said guard Jonah Jackson after the game.

Finishing Strong

Once play resumed, Williams connected with Monangai for a four-yard gain on 2nd down and Burden for seven yards on third down. With four yards away from the goal line, it was decision time: settle for the easy field goal, or risk it and try for the touchdown.

However, Johnson had made up his mind the whole way. The Bears were going for it, and all the players knew it, too.

Tight end Durham Smythe stated there was “not a chance” they would kick the field goal, while Jackson claims he never even looked over at the sideline to see if the kicking unit was coming out because he knew they were running an offensive play.

The gamble paid off. In the shotgun, Williams worked his magic, stepping up in the pocket and shifting to the right before delivering a strike to a wide-open Moore in the back of the end zone.

Post-Game Thoughts

The Bears’ offense accumulated just 34 yards in the fourth quarter, but the defense stepped up in a huge way, intercepting the Cowboys on their final three possessions, sealing a 31-14 victory. Fatigue surely had something to do with the offense stalling out.

Moore had some choice words about the marathon drive.

“Torture. It’s a long time. Nineteen plays? And I didn’t even come off the field for none of it. So it was torture.'”

Others believe it may be the longest drive of their whole career. Williams believes “‘that was probably my longest drive I’ve ever had.'” Odunze and Smythe shared similar sentiments.

Williams received NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance, his first time winning the award. Furthermore, Ben Johnson earned his first career win as head coach, which featured an incredible moment in the locker room.

Although the victory is nice, Johnson, Williams, and co. are probably still not fully satisfied after the rough fourth quarter. But this week was certainly evidence of real progress, backed by an unforgettable third quarter drive.