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Caleb Williams Throws Four Interceptions — and Still Wins It: Bears Edge Buccaneers 27-24 on Walk-Off Field Goal

CHICAGO — Caleb Williams threw four interceptions and watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers erase an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter — and still walked off Soldier Field a winner on Sunday night. Cairo Santos drilled a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Chicago Bears a 27-24 victory over the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football on 8 November 2026, a win that somehow survived five Chicago turnovers and kept the Bears firmly in the race at the top of the NFC North.

It was the strangest kind of statement win. Williams finished 22 of 37 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, but the four interceptions were a career high — the first four-interception game of his college or professional career, according to reports. Yet when the game was on the line, Williams delivered the throw that mattered most, hitting tight end Colston Loveland for 38 yards to set up the winning kick in front of 60,470 fans at Soldier Field.

Illustration: Chicago Bears quarterback throwing under pressure at night in a packed NFL stadium under bright floodlights

Illustration: A Chicago Bears quarterback throws under pressure at night in a packed stadium under bright floodlights. This is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of the actual game.

What Happened

The night began as though the Bears would cruise. Chicago raced to a 14-0 lead early, and the home crowd settled in for what looked like a comfortable prime-time win. The Bears — 6.5-point favourites entering the game, according to Bleacher Report — appeared ready to justify that confidence.

Then the second quarter happened. Williams threw three of his four interceptions in that quarter alone. Zyon McCollum picked off Williams twice in the first half, and the Buccaneers' defence, which leads the league in takeaways, began to impose itself. Tampa Bay's unit now leads the league with 16 interceptions on the season, according to the Buccaneers' official website, and it played like a group determined to add to that total.

By the second half, the Bears' early comfort had evaporated. Chicago still led 17-13 in the third quarter when Williams threw his fourth interception, a deflected ball that landed in the hands of linebacker Alex Anzalone. It was the kind of play that usually ends a team's night — a quarterback's fourth turnover, a defence feeding off the momentum, a road team suddenly believing it could steal a win in one of the league's loudest stadiums.

Instead, the Bears' defence answered immediately. Two plays later, cornerback Jaylon Johnson intercepted Baker Mayfield and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown, a pick-six that flipped the game back in Chicago's favour in an instant. The Bears led 24-13, and Soldier Field, which had gone quiet as the interceptions piled up, erupted.

Johnson's return was the defining defensive play of the night, but it was far from the last twist. In the fourth quarter, wide receiver Luther Burden III — who had caught seven passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, according to Yardbarker — fumbled, giving Tampa Bay yet another opening. The Buccaneers walked through it. Running back Bucky Irving scored on a six-yard touchdown run, and Mayfield followed it with a successful two-point conversion to tie the game at 24-24 with 2:51 remaining. The Buccaneers had rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, and a game the Bears had led 14-0 was suddenly level, with the visitors holding all the momentum and the home crowd holding its breath.

That set up a final drive that will be remembered in Chicago for a long time. Taking over with under three minutes to play, Williams led the Bears on an eight-play, 49-yard march. The defining moment came with 40 seconds left, when Williams found Loveland for 38 yards to the Tampa Bay 16-yard line. After two kneel-downs to run the clock down and centre the ball, Santos stepped up and kicked the 38-yard field goal as time expired, sealing a 27-24 win.

Illustration: Chicago Bears kicker striking a walk-off field goal as time expires with the stadium crowd on its feet

Illustration: A Chicago Bears kicker strikes a walk-off field goal as time expires, with the stadium crowd on its feet. This is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of the actual game.

Background

To understand why this win mattered so much — and why Williams' performance will be debated for days — it helps to know where the Bears stood when Sunday night began. Chicago entered Week 9 at 6-2, riding a four-game winning streak, and had not trailed at any point during that run, according to Sports Now.

Williams entered Week 9 with the fourth-shortest odds to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player award, listed at +500 by DraftKings, according to Sportskeeda. That is rarefied territory for a quarterback still early in his professional career, and it reflected how the wider league had begun to view him: not merely as a promising young passer, but as one of the central figures of the season. Sunday night was supposed to be another step in that story — a prime-time showcase against a struggling Tampa Bay side, with the Bears favoured by more than a touchdown.

The Buccaneers, by contrast, arrived in Chicago at 3-5, a team whose season had not gone to plan but whose defence had remained dangerous. Tampa Bay led the league in takeaways, with 16 interceptions on the season, according to the Buccaneers' official website. Its game plan was built around that strength: pressure the young quarterback, force mistakes, and turn those mistakes into points. For long stretches, it worked. McCollum's two first-half interceptions, the interceptions by Tykee Smith and Anzalone, and the forced fumble on Burden gave Tampa Bay five takeaways — and a genuine path to an upset.

The Bears' side of the story was more complicated. Chicago had built its winning streak on a formula that did not include giving the ball away five times, and Sunday night tested whether the team's confidence could survive its quarterback's worst statistical game. The early 14-0 lead suggested the usual formula was intact. The three second-quarter interceptions suggested it was falling apart. The pick-six suggested the defence could carry the team when the offence faltered. And the final drive suggested that Williams, for all his mistakes, still had the composure to deliver when the game was on the line.

That tension — between a quarterback having the worst turnover game of his life and a team winning anyway — is what made the night so unusual. Teams that commit five turnovers almost never win in the NFL. The Bears did, and the result said something about the resilience of the roster around Williams, and about the quarterback himself.

After the game, Williams held himself accountable, calling himself out after the win, according to ClutchPoints. It was the response of a quarterback who understood that the result had flattered him — that a 27-24 win could not hide four interceptions, and that the Bears had needed their defence and their kicker to rescue the game.

Illustration: Chicago Bears defensive back returning an interception for a touchdown as teammates celebrate

Illustration: A Chicago Bears defensive back returns an interception for a touchdown as teammates celebrate. This is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of the actual game.

Why It Matters

The result matters first for the standings. The win moved the Bears to 7-2 and extended their winning streak to four games, keeping them second in the NFC North behind Minnesota, who entered Week 9 at 6-1 and were scheduled to play Buffalo on Monday Night Football. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, fell to 3-6.

It matters, too, because of what it revealed about the Bears. A team that can win while committing five turnovers is a team with real depth and real character — a defence that can score touchdowns, a kicker who can deliver under the ultimate pressure, and a quarterback who can shake off four interceptions and still make the throw that wins the game. That is not a formula any coach would choose, and it is not one that will work every week, but it is evidence that Chicago is more than a one-man team.

For Williams personally, the game is a paradox that will follow him through the season. On the one hand, it was the worst turnover game of his college or professional career, a performance that will be cited by every critic who doubts his decision-making. On the other hand, he won it — with a 38-yard strike to Loveland on the final drive, a throw that required exactly the kind of confidence that four interceptions might have destroyed. The MVP odds that had him at +500 entering Week 9 will be debated all week: Sunday night showed his resilience in the biggest moments, but also the recklessness that can put his team in a hole.

For the Buccaneers, the defeat is a painful illustration of a season that has slipped away. Tampa Bay did almost everything a road underdog needs to do to win: it forced five turnovers, intercepted the opposing quarterback four times, rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, and tied the game with less than three minutes to play. And it still lost. The Buccaneers' defence, which leads the league in takeaways, deserved better than a 3-6 record.

What Happens Next

The Bears will now look to extend their winning streak to five games and keep the pressure on Minnesota at the top of the NFC North. The division race will take clearer shape after the Vikings play Buffalo on Monday Night Football. The immediate task for the coaching staff will be to work with Williams on the decision-making that produced four interceptions — without coaching away the aggression that produced the final drive.

For Williams, the next game is an opportunity to answer the questions Sunday night raised. A clean, efficient performance would do much to quiet the debate about his turnover-prone evening, while another multi-interception game would invite harder questions about whether the Bears' winning streak has been built on foundations that can last.

The Buccaneers, at 3-6, face a different kind of reckoning. Their defence has proved it can take the ball away from anyone, but their season will be defined by whether they can turn those takeaways into wins. The rally from 24-13 down showed fight, and the tying drive showed composure, but the final 2:51 showed the gap between a team that forces turnovers and a team that finishes games.

The wider NFC picture will also continue to shift. Week 9 has already delivered its share of drama, and the Bears' walk-off win will be remembered as one of its defining moments — not because it was clean, but because it was the opposite.

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FAQ

What was the final score of Bears vs. Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football?

The Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 on Sunday Night Football on 8 November 2026 at Soldier Field. Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to win the game, in front of a crowd of 60,470.

How many interceptions did Caleb Williams throw against the Buccaneers?

Caleb Williams threw four interceptions, a career high and the first four-interception game of his college or professional career, according to reports. He finished 22 of 37 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bears committed five turnovers in total. Zyon McCollum intercepted Williams twice in the first half, while Tykee Smith and Alex Anzalone also recorded interceptions.

What was the key play of the game?

The key play was Jaylon Johnson's 67-yard pick-six in the third quarter. It came just two plays after Williams' fourth interception — a deflected ball caught by Alex Anzalone with the Bears leading 17-13 — and it restored Chicago's lead at 24-13. The other decisive moment was the final drive, when Williams hit Colston Loveland for 38 yards to the Tampa Bay 16-yard line with 40 seconds left, setting up Santos' walk-off field goal.

How did the Buccaneers tie the game in the fourth quarter?

The Buccaneers rallied from 24-13 down in the fourth quarter after Luther Burden III fumbled. Bucky Irving scored on a six-yard touchdown run, and Baker Mayfield threw a successful two-point conversion to tie the game at 24-24 with 2:51 remaining. Mayfield finished 18 of 32 for 243 yards with two interceptions.

What does the win mean for the Bears' season?

The win moved the Bears to 7-2 and extended their winning streak to four games, keeping them second in the NFC North behind Minnesota, who entered Week 9 at 6-1 and were due to play Buffalo on Monday Night Football. The Buccaneers fell to 3-6. The result keeps Chicago firmly in the division race.

Sources

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