CHICAGO – Caleb Williams starred in a stellar encounter, leading the Bears to a resounding 34-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field, marking the first triumph for the team’s new coach. The celebration in the home locker room was intense, with the team enjoying a victory that served as a statement of intent. The Bears dominated the Cowboys, in Matt Eberflus’s return to Chicago after his dismissal last November. The team snapped a home losing streak dating back to October 6, 2024, and ended a two-game losing streak after starting the season with divisional losses against Minnesota and Detroit.
It will be fun tonight and we are already thinking about the next game. We are at a disadvantage here. We have a 1-2 record and we have to get back to .500.
Coach JohnsonCaleb Williams unleashed an attack that allowed him to have the best game of his career. The quarterback threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns, tying his personal record. In addition, he set new personal bests with a passer rating of 142.6 and an average of 10.8 yards per attempt. After receiving 68 sacks as a rookie and six in his first two games, Williams completed Week 3 without being sacked for the first time in his NFL career.At halftime, Williams had already thrown for 239 yards, the most in any half of his young career. He threw touchdown passes to Moore, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Cole Kmet, and did not turn the ball over. In addition to securing the first victory of the season for the Bears, Williams also won free hot dogs for the city of Chicago. “The Wieners Circle” announced on social media that they would give away free hot dogs on September 23 if Williams threw four touchdowns against the Cowboys. Williams mentioned that he has not visited the establishment on the north side of Chicago, but he heard about the promotion. Congratulations to everyone, you got free hot dogs. The Bears’ offense began on their second series of the game after Tyrique Stevenson snatched the ball from Cowboys running back Javonte Williams and recovered the fumble on a single play. Chicago recovered the ball on their own 24-yard line and scored five plays later. Williams helped the Bears build a 10-point lead over the Cowboys at halftime after leading a successful two-minute drive that ended with a pass to Kmet in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown, the first of two touchdown passes Williams made under pressure. After three-and-out in their first two series of the second half against Minnesota and Detroit, Chicago changed course by staying on the field for 9:54. The Bears ran 19 plays, including 11 consecutive runs, which spanned 76 yards and culminated when Williams connected with Moore on fourth down. It was their longest touchdown drive of this century by time and number of plays.He played an outstanding game. I think four different people scored. You can’t ask for much more.
DJ MooreAfter squandering an 11-point lead against the Vikings in the Week 1 loss and losing by 31 points to Detroit last Sunday, Williams said Chicago’s victory “builds confidence” throughout the team. The Bears’ 31 points broke a streak of 13 consecutive games scoring under 30 points, while the defense forced four turnovers.I’m not kidding, I think I passed out after play number eight. At camp, we always did that long series drill in practice, where we did 12 to 15 plays. That one was 19. But that’s the kind of thing you prepare for in the season. A little heat, a little humidity, so we wear them down at the end. Taking the ball for that whole third quarter was really good for us and that’s something we should be able to maintain in the future.
Cole KmetThe victory on Sunday comes days after Johnson criticized the Bears players for not having “championship caliber” practice habits. That same day, the defensive leaders called a players-only meeting to address concerns after allowing the Lions to score 52 points. It was an opportunity for defensive players to express their concerns and “get what they had to say off their chests,” according to safety Jaquan Brisker, who called the meeting along with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.I think we have a lot of players who care. It’s something Coach Johnson and I talked about. We have a lot of players who care about us as teammates, but also about winning. I know we started 0-2, but the belief was still there, the confidence was still there, which I talked about. So, it’s just about us being able to go out there and do it and execute it. That’s what it’s always about.
Caleb WilliamsWe were talking about being the best, the best defense in Bears history, in the league, in the top 5. You can’t give up 50 points. So, it’s just a mentality and we just had to make sure we were on the same page and get everything off our backs and, obviously, be on the same page and we did it today.
Jaquan Brisker
