Caleb Williams has produced off plenty of miraculous moments in the Chicago Bears’ magical run this season. His latest escape act might just be his greatest. It also might have used up his seemingly endless reserve of magic.

On a fourth-and-4 from the Los Angeles Rams’ 9-yard line, Williams retreated all the way back to the 40-yard line before tossing up a perfect pass to tight end Cole Kmet for a game-tying touchdown.

Kmet got himself open with a bit of hand fighting, allowing Williams’ pass to land right in his bread basket on a last-gasp effort from Chicago. The touchdown tied Sunday night’s game 17-17, though Los Angeles rallied in overtime to kick a walk-off field goal and win, 20-17, advancing to the NFC Championship.

The overhead view provides another perspective on Williams’ wild throw. His protection fell apart almost instantaneously, and he had his back fully turned to the play before gathering himself and delivering the ball more than 51 yards through the air.

And how about this field-level view?

The videos still somehow only does it partial justice. NFL Next Gen Stats specifies that Williams’ 14-yard completion traveled 51.2 air yards, making it the “longest” completion in the red zone since at least 2016.

That was as good as it got for the 2024 No. 1 pick out of USC. In overtime, the Bears’ defense got a stop, setting up Williams and co. for a potential game-winning drive. Instead, Williams threw his third interception of the night, with Kamren Curl stepping in front of a deep pass intended for DJ Moore and making a remarkable diving, bobbling catch.

Matthew Stafford then drove the Rams into field goal range, and Harrison Mevis delivered the game-winning field goal. The Rams will face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship.

For Williams, it ends an impressive bounce-back campaign after a tough rookie season. He had seven fourth-quarter comebacks this season (including the postseason), one shy of tying the single-season record. Last week in the Wild Card Round against the Green Bay Packers, he made a similarly incredible fourth-down play as the Bears, who trailed 21-6, won 31-27.

The Bears finished with an NFL-record seven wins in games they trailed in the final two minutes of regulation.

But living in such small margins also meant mistakes like the one Williams made in overtime were devastating, and one of Williams’ next steps will be limiting those mistakes. Though he was generally safe with the ball this season, Williams’ accuracy inconsistencies continued to rear their ugly head, and they did so again in the worst moment Sunday. Williams had a 14.6% off-target rate this season, the highest in the NFL.

Sunday night’s game proved to be a microcosm of the season as a whole: many tremendous highs and some frustrating lows. The biggest difference? The Bears ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.