Caleb Williams launched the ball from the far side of the 50-yard line. For the players on the field, and for the 60,152 fans in the stands Saturday night at Soldier Field, the ball floated seemingly forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it hung in the air for maybe 10 or 15 seconds,\u201d center Drew Dalman said.<\/p>\n
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Added rookie tight end Colston Loveland<\/a>: \u201cIt felt like slow-motion.\u201d<\/p>\n One man had a different opinion of what it felt like watching the ball in the air.<\/p>\n \u201cScary,\u201d said DJ Moore, who was beneath the ball as it came back down to earth.<\/p>\n The football landed perfectly in Moore\u2019s waiting arms. The veteran receiver crumpled into a heap with Packers cornerback with Keisean Nixon draped all over him, but Moore held onto the ball for a 46-yard touchdown. Game over.<\/p>\n The Bears had erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, converted an onside kick with less than two minutes to play, scored a tying touchdown from an undrafted rookie with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter and then won 22-16 in overtime<\/a> on a miraculous heave from their second-year quarterback.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Inside the stadium, there was a brief instant of sheer, utter disbelief \u2014 and then there was pandemonium. Soldier Field lost its cool. The fans erupted. The players on the Bears sideline ran onto the field in a moment that most of them struggled to find the words to describe afterward.<\/p>\n Safety Jaquan Brisker, who wasn\u2019t even on the field for the play, was among the first players to reach Moore where he lay in the end zone.<\/p>\n \u201cMan, as soon as the ball went up, I knew it was going to be a touchdown,\u201d Brisker said. \u201cIt\u2019s DJ Moore. Any up ball he catches. I knew it.\u201d<\/p>\n Tight end Cole Kmet, a Chicago-area native who was winless against the Packers until January, had his back to the throw as he was blocking. When he saw Moore come down with the ball, he ran to celebrate with his quarterback.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll remember this one forever,\u201d Kmet later said.<\/p>\n The quarterback himself was probably the only person who never had a doubt when he released the ball.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew it was good,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n Related Articles<\/p>\n In a season full of dramatic finishes, this one \u2014 against the archrival Packers at home with supremacy in the division on the line \u2014 might have been the most incredible of them all.<\/p>\n Everything was right there for the taking<\/a> Saturday night. Micah Parsons was out<\/a> of the picture. Jordan Love exited the game in the second quarter with a concussion. The time to take full control of the NFC North was now.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n And then the offense sputtered for much of the night. The Bears didn\u2019t score a touchdown until there were 24 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. They punted three times and settled for three field goals. For most of the night, it looked as if the Packers would escape with a win thanks to backup quarterback Malik Willis.<\/p>\n The tension ran high as time was running out. But there was no panic on the Bears bench.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve been around a team that, when it\u2019s this late in games, they don\u2019t bat an eye,\u201d coach Ben Johnson said.<\/p>\n This team won some miraculous games already this season. A blocked field goal<\/a> in Las Vegas. A game-winning field goal<\/a> from the backup kicker at Washington. A wild, shootout victory<\/a> in Cincinnati. You don\u2019t win 11 games in the NFL without winning a few close ones along the way.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cYou get some of those wins, the Raiders game, the Washington game, you start feeling it \u2014 the belief coming,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThis group, I\u2019m talking about coaches and players combined, it\u2019s just rare.\u201d<\/p>\n Special teams ace Josh Blackwell recovered an onside kick with 1 minute, 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Undrafted rookie Jahdae Walker \u2014 who had never caught a pass in an NFL game before Saturday \u2014 scored the tying touchdown on fourth-and-4 from the Packers 6 in the final minute to force overtime. The Bears defense, clutch in the red zone all night, came up with a huge stop to begin overtime.<\/p>\n And that led to Moore\u2019s touchdown<\/a>. Johnson and Williams saw something on film this week that they thought they could take advantage of. The Bears didn\u2019t put the play into their game plan until Thursday.<\/p>\n But when they ran it in practice, it worked exactly as they had hoped it would.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThat was one that we put in and we ran in practice on Thursday and it almost looked identical to that,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI thought Caleb threw a dime in practice and DJ came down with it. We were hopeful that it may or may not be there (in the game), but we timed that one up right.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore had taken a big hit from Nixon earlier in the game. Nixon was the hero two weeks ago, grabbing a game-sealing interception in the final seconds of the Packers\u2019 Week 14 win over the Bears<\/a> at Lambeau Field.<\/p>\n As the play developed in overtime Saturday, Williams saw Nixon in one-on-one coverage against Moore. The Bears had the look they wanted, and Williams let it fly.<\/p>\n For Williams, that touchdown pass just might be his signature moment of the season. It\u2019s a play that, no doubt, will be remembered in Chicago for years to come.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThe stadium went live and blew up,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI\u2019m happy for our guys, I\u2019m happy for Chicago, I\u2019m happy for this moment. Very grateful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n