Caleb Williams Throws 4 Interceptions, Then Sets Up Cairo Santos' Walk-Off Kick as the Bears Beat the Bucs 27-24

By The Arena Staff

CHICAGO, Nov. 8, 2026 — Caleb Williams had never thrown more than two interceptions in an NFL game. On Sunday night he threw four, the Bears turned it over five times, and a 14-point lead turned into a 24-24 tie with less than three minutes to play.

Then Williams went right back to throwing.

Facing second-and-9 from the Chicago 46 in the final minute, he found tight end Colston Loveland wide open, and Loveland ran 38 yards down the sideline before he was pushed out at the Tampa Bay 16. Williams knelt twice, and Cairo Santos drilled a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bears a 27-24 win over the Buccaneers in front of 60,470 at Soldier Field.

"I'm going to throw until I can't throw anymore," Williams said. "That's how I live. I work my tail off to be in this position. I'll never not throw the ball. I could throw 100 picks in one game."

It was a strange night for a team that had looked like the best in the league. The Bears scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, a 9-yard Williams pass to Rome Odunze and a 56-yard catch-and-run by Luther Burden, and seemed ready to run away with it. Instead, Williams threw three interceptions in the second quarter alone. Tykee Smith picked him off near the goal line to end one red-zone trip, and Zyon McCollum grabbed two more. The Bucs turned all three of those second-quarter takeaways into just three points, and Chicago led only 17-6 at the half.

Tampa Bay blitzed Williams on 66% of his dropbacks, according to ESPN Research, and three of his four interceptions came against the pressure. The fourth was a deflection that Alex Anzalone caught midway through the third quarter with Chicago up 17-13.

The Bears got it right back on the next snap. Baker Mayfield looked for tight end Cade Otton, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson jumped in front of the throw and went 67 yards the other way for a pick-six and a 24-13 lead. It was Johnson's first interception of the season and the second touchdown of his career.

"You really could feel the momentum swing back in our favor after that one," Johnson said.

Tampa Bay still had one more push. With the Bears trying to run out the clock deep in their own end, Burden took a hit to the head on a screen pass and lost the ball, and the Bucs recovered at the Chicago 17. Bucky Irving scored from 6 yards out for his second touchdown, and Mayfield ran in the two-point conversion to tie it with 2:51 left. Burden, who had seven catches for 97 yards, was later ruled out with a concussion.

That left the ball, and all three timeouts, with Williams. He finished 22 of 37 for 279 yards with two touchdowns, the four picks and a 61.5 passer rating. The Sun-Times reported it was the first time the Bears won a game in which their quarterback threw four interceptions since 2010, and ESPN Research said Chicago is just the third team in the past 20 seasons to win a game it never trailed despite committing at least five turnovers.

Coach Ben Johnson was terse afterward, according to the Sun-Times. On the other side, Mayfield threw for a season-high 243 yards but was intercepted twice, and the Bucs were flagged eight times, including five false starts.

"The team fought, fought to stay in it, against one of the top teams if not the top team in the league," Mayfield said. "We're right there, so if we play clean football we can be proud of that. We need to get it fixed."

The Bears (7-2) have won four straight and head into their bye. Tampa Bay (3-6) also has a bye next.

Watch Santos' game-winning kick on the NFL's official X account.