A late Cairo Santos field goal and a tough defensive stand saved Chicago after Williams threw a career-high four interceptions and the team coughed up five turnovers overall.
The Bears beat the Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday night despite spending most of the second half trying to give the game away. Chicago raced out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter behind two Caleb Williams touchdown passes, to Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, before things fell apart.
Williams finished with four interceptions, the worst total of his career, and the offense stalled through three second-half three-and-outs. A late fumble let Tampa Bay tie the game. Todd Bowles made halftime adjustments that flipped the momentum, and the Buccaneers nearly completed the comeback behind Baker Mayfield.
In the end it did not matter. Cairo Santos drilled a buzzer-beating field goal and the Chicago defense held up when it needed to, sealing the win. The Bears finished with five total turnovers but still walked away with their fourth straight victory.
Chicago improves to 7-2 and stays in the thick of the race atop a brutal NFC North. The offense will need to clean up the giveaways, but for now the Bears are finding ways to win ugly.