MINNEAPOLIS — Are the Bears really going to do this all season?
Just when it seemed like the late-game magic that has carried them finally evaporated, they pulled off another unbelievable escape Sunday against the Vikings. After falling behind in the final minute, they won 19-17 on a 48-yard field goal by Cairo Santos from the right hash as time ran out.
They’ve hit the point in the season where each victory is monumental, and at 7-3 for the first time since 2018, they’re very much in the thick of the NFC North race and the playoff mix regardless of how it has looked.
It certainly wasn’t a masterpiece Sunday, but the Bears’ resilience was undeniable.
Ice in his veins 🥶 pic.twitter.com/PVDGn731Q6
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 16, 2025
They led most of the game before the Vikings pulled ahead 17-16 on J.J. McCarthy’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison with 56 seconds left.
The Bears got the answers they desperately needed, though, from their special teams. Devin Duverney took the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to the Vikings’ 40-yard line, and after some tough runs by D’Andre Swift to the 31, Santos came through with the winning kick.
The Bears will need increasingly more from quarterback Caleb Williams as they get deeper into the season and the playoff chase intensifies, but he did enough Sunday simply by avoiding the mistakes that devastated McCarthy.
Williams completed 16 of 32 passes for 193 yards with no turnovers for a 68.9 passer rating, which was a decent place to end up after starting the game 1-for-4 for minus-3 yards. He also ran four times for 26 yards.
Was it beautiful? No.
Was it prettier than McCarthy? By a lot.
McCarthy, playing through a bruise on his throwing hand, had a brutal day. He completed 16 of 32 passes as well, managing 150 yards, but threw two interceptions and tumbled to a 47.7 passer rating.
Bears safety Kevin Byard picked off his pass late in the second quarter to set the offense up at the Vikings’ 25-yard line, and cornerback Nahshon Wright kept points off the board by intercepting McCarthy’s throw to Jordan Addison in the end zone just before halftime.
That was a low bar for Williams to clear, but the Bears badly need to win this battle over the long run. They drafted Williams first overall last year, and the Vikings followed by taking McCarthy, from La Grange Park, at No. 10.
The key to the Bears’ bid to get on top of the division, both now and for years ahead, is Williams climbing the quarterback ranks.
It’s been decades since they could argue they had the best quarterback in the division, and while Williams has a long way to go to catch the Lions’ Jared Goff and the Packers’ Jordan Love, the task Sunday was to leave McCarthy in the dust.
Here are the Bears’ inactives for the game:
QB Case Keenum – designated as emergency third quarterback
WR Jahdae Walker (concussion)
DL Chris Williams
DB Jaylon Jones
LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring)
