Bears Survive Four Caleb Williams Interceptions to Beat Buccaneers 27-24 on a Walk-Off Field Goal
Chicago led 14-0, gave the ball away five times, watched Tampa Bay tie it with under three minutes left, then won on Cairo Santos's 38-yarder to go 7-2 and keep the NFC North tight.
Monday, November 9, 2026/2 min read
Caleb Williams threw four interceptions, a career high, and the Chicago Bears still beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday Night Football, winning on a 38-yard Cairo Santos field goal as time expired, according to NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk. The win lifts Chicago to 7-2.
It was a game the Bears did their best to lose, and could not quite manage.
How did the Bears beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night?
They started as if the evening would be easy. Williams threw touchdown passes to Rome Odunze and Luther Burden before the first quarter was out, and Chicago led 14-0, per the PFT account. Then the turnovers began. Four Williams interceptions came in the middle two quarters, plus a late Burden fumble, five giveaways in all. Remarkably, Tampa Bay turned them into only 10 points.
Chicago's defence kept the margin alive. In the third quarter Jaylon Johnson jumped a Baker Mayfield pass and took it 67 yards for a touchdown, one of two interceptions Mayfield threw. Santos had earlier kicked a 25-yard field goal to make it 17-3, and Chase McLaughlin answered with field goals for the Buccaneers as they chipped away.
How did Tampa Bay tie it late?
Bucky Irving ran for two touchdowns and finished with 97 yards on 20 carries, PFT reported. His six-yard run late in the fourth quarter, followed by a Mayfield scramble for the two-point conversion, made it 24-24 with a little over two minutes left, according to CBS Sports' live blog.
Williams had been shaky for most of the night, but on the two-minute drive CBS logged a blown coverage on a corner route, and Williams hit Colston Loveland for 38 yards. That set up Santos, whose kick ended it, as ESPN's takeaways also record. Williams finished 22 of 37 for 279 yards and two touchdowns; Mayfield was 18 of 32 for 243 yards.
What does it mean for the NFC North?
It matters because the division is crowded. The Bears are 7-2, and every NFC North team now has at least six wins, per PFT. Chicago has a bye in Week 10 and then hosts the New Orleans Saints in Week 11. That is a useful fortnight for a quarterback whose four-interception night the coaches will want to study rather than celebrate.
Tampa Bay fell to 3-6, with its own bye before a Week 11 trip to the Detroit Lions. Burden was taken to the locker room for further evaluation after his fourth-quarter fumble, PFT said, and no update had been published when this was written. Full league scores are on ESPN's scoreboard.
Chicago leaves with the record it wanted and a film session it will not enjoy. Whether the turnovers are a blip or a habit decides if 7-2 survives the harder games.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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