Heartbreak fuels a fiery resolve. The young quarterback pinpoints two words defining the devastating overtime loss and his drive for redemption.
Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears battled for 60 minutes and then some, but came up short against the Los Angeles Rams 20-17 in overtime.
Williams didn't play a clean game by any stretch of the imagination, but made one of the biggest plays of the evening with the season on the line. The Bears needed to score a touchdown to tie the game at 17 on a 4th down from the Rams' 14-yard line.
The Rams' pass rush got through, forcing Williams to send a prayer to the end zone. It was caught by tight end Cole Kmet, as the Bears still had some fourth-quarter magic left in them.
Overtime didn't go quite as planned, even though the Bears got the ball back after a defensive stand. Williams was intercepted, then the Rams went down and hit the game-winning field goal.
Williams spoke at the podium after the soul-crushing loss. He shared what two words had been going through his head, stating that frustration and fire were prevalent after the loss.
However, the quarterback mentioned how inspired he is heading into next season and looks forward to seeing how he can improve in the near future.
"Frustration, it's a fire, and those are the two words I go with," Williams said. "So, I'm excited, though also. I'm obviously not happy about the outcome. Obviously frustrated about the outcome, but that's over with, and I can't go back and change it. So, gonna go back and watch, figure out how I can be better for the near future, and get this organization to where we wanna be."
The steps that Williams took in year two are definitely a great sign of things to come. He made leaps and bounds under Ben Johnson, and Chicago fans should be feeling great about the quarterback situation.
Williams had 257 passing yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in his final game of the 2025 season. He also ran for 40 rushing yards.
He has a lot to be proud of, as he broke Erik Kramer's 1995 record for single-season passing yards (3,838), finishing with 3,942 in the regular season.
He nearly broke Kramer's record of 29 passing touchdowns in a single season, needing to throw three more in the regular season to surpass it.
The future is bright in Chicago with Williams as quarterback under Johnson. It's good knowing that the position is in good hands for the near future.