CHICAGO — As Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams’ pass sailed through the windy, nighttime Chicago air, wide receiver DJ Moore raced to meet it.

The sound of 60,152 fans started to crescendo.

Not many people on the planet can relate to that feeling, to run as fast as you can to catch a football with someone chasing you step for step, knowing if you catch it, it’ll send a franchise and its fan base into delirium.

“Scary,” Moore said.

Scary, until it isn’t, until the moment slows down for the best athletes.

“But then I could track the ball and know if I got to slow down or speed up to get to where my hand placement is,” Moore said. “So I mean, it was scary, but it was cool.”

“Cool” doesn’t begin to describe it: a 46-yard game-winning touchdown catch in overtime to slay the rival Packers 22-16, complete an absurd 10-point comeback in the final two minutes of regulation, maintain first place in the NFC North and put the Bears on the doorstep of the playoffs.

Earlier in the week, Williams sat in coach Ben Johnson’s office and they went over a new play.

In “13 personnel” with three tight ends, Moore and a running back, Williams would take the snap from under center, fake the handoff to the back and look to two main targets — rookie tight end Colston Loveland running a “thumb” route over the middle of the field or Moore going deep.

They ran it in practice on Thursday and Williams connected with Moore.

“It almost looked identical to that,” Johnson said. “I thought Caleb threw a dime in practice and DJ came down with it. We’re hopeful it may or may not be there. We timed that one up right, DJ ran a great route and Caleb threw him a great ball.”

A documentary could be written about everything that led to this point, first-and-10 in overtime at the Packers’ 46-yard line. Running back Kyle Monangai’s 11-yard run on third-and-3 created the moment for Johnson to call the play.

“I heard the play call. Then once I saw the defense, it was one-on-one,” Moore said. “I knew Caleb was gonna give me a chance with the ball like he did at practice and connected with me.”

Tight end Durham Smythe was tasked with a “cross protection in the C-gap,” and his role was critical, picking up Packers linebacker Quay Walker.

“From my perspective, it’s coming back over, trying to get a piece of linebacker,” he said. “Caleb takes a step back and then absolutely launches it.”

Cole Kmet also stayed in to block — max protection for Williams to have the time to get the throw off.

“I was protecting, so making sure he doesn’t get hit,” Kmet said. “It felt like the clock kind of went (off) in my head, and felt the defender kind of eased up, so I looked up and saw the ball in the air.”

The way the play is designed, once the safety bites on Loveland’s route, the rookie explained, that should open up the opportunity to “take the top off” to Moore.

“Elite execution from those guys,” he said.

Unreal. pic.twitter.com/3QY4pXoVn4

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 21, 2025

Williams shifted ever so slightly to his left as Walker rushed, then he let it rip.

“I knew it was good,” he said. “You’ve got that belief, you’ve got that confidence, you’ve got that swagger as an offense. You practice well, you hit plays like that in practice. It was pretty identical to practice. When the play gets called, the moment comes up like that, it’s time to go hit it. It’s time to go win the game.”

Center Drew Dalman looked up and said it felt like the ball “hung in the air for 10 or 15 seconds.” Loveland said it “felt like slow motion.” As the ball traveled, Smythe wondered, “Does anyone have the juice to throw it that far?” He knew the answer.

Kmet knew they hit the play in practice, but teams connect on the practice field all the time on plays that don’t work in a game. And there was another element the Bears had to contend with for this throw that they didn’t on Thursday at Halas Hall.

“When adrenaline’s going in the moment and being able to hit it like that and for Caleb to let it fly as he did. I mean, in the wind — we didn’t have wind like that in practice all week,” he said. “Just a special throw and special catch in a huge moment for us.”

This team is special. pic.twitter.com/SGXkTAljwH

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 21, 2025

Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon was in coverage, the same player who intercepted Williams 13 days earlier in the end zone at Lambeau Field to end the game. Moore had a step, and that’s all he needed.

He made the catch and went to the ground.

“Hurt. I was hurt,” he said. “Until my teammates picked me up off the ground, I was like, all right, cool, now we can celebrate.”

The offense was inconsistent most of the night. The Bears struggled mightily on third down. They had only six points in the first 58 minutes of the game. When it mattered most, though … wait, where have we heard that before? It’s been the refrain of the 2025 Bears, the team that keeps coming through when the game is on the line.

Williams picked up his sixth game-winning drive, extending his franchise record.

“What do they call him, the Iceman?” Moore asked. “He just was cool, calm, and collected all game. And when we needed a big play, he was there to put it on the money.”

The team raced off the sideline to celebrate with Moore and Williams. Soldier Field erupted. The Bears won in as dramatic a finish — especially considering the circumstances — as this franchise has experienced in years, even decades.

For Kmet, the lifelong Bears fan who had never beaten the Packers at Soldier Field, the moment was surreal.

“I still can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s just crazy, man. You know, I’ve obviously been through a lot since I’ve been here, and this is my first win against them here. So, I mean, with the implications and what was on the line for us, it was just a big moment and something I’ll always remember.”