Bears Beat Buccaneers 27-24 on Santos Walk-Off Field Goal

CHICAGO — Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Chicago Bears to a 27-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field on Sunday night, capping a chaotic Week 9 game in which quarterback Caleb Williams threw four interceptions and still led the winning drive.

The kick ended a prime-time game that swung back and forth all evening and left the Bears at 7-2, firmly in the thick of the NFC playoff race, while the Buccaneers fell to 3-6 after seeing a two-game winning streak come to an end.

Tampa Bay’s late rally

The Buccaneers looked to have stolen the game when they levelled the score at 24-24 with 2:51 remaining. Running back Bucky Irving scored on a six-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Baker Mayfield ran in the two-point conversion himself to erase Chicago’s lead.

Mayfield threw for a season-high 226 net passing yards, according to the Buccaneers’ own account of the game, and Tampa Bay’s defence gave him every chance to win it. The visitors intercepted Williams four times, turning the Bears quarterback’s worst night of the season into a game the Buccaneers still managed to lose.

For much of the evening, it looked as though those turnovers would decide the game. Williams, widely talked about as a candidate for the league’s most valuable player award, kept putting the ball in Tampa Bay’s hands, and the Buccaneers kept the game within reach despite their own mistakes.

Williams finds Loveland when it matters

With the score tied and time running out, Williams finally put the interceptions behind him. On the decisive drive, he found tight end Colston Loveland for a 38-yard gain that moved Chicago into field-goal range and set up Santos for the winner.

It was a fitting end to a strange performance from the young quarterback: four interceptions, a lost lead late, and then the one throw that mattered most. Santos, who has been one of the league’s most reliable kickers in recent seasons, made no mistake from 38 yards as the clock hit zero.

The win keeps Chicago’s momentum going in a crowded NFC, while Tampa Bay’s defeat leaves the Buccaneers three games below .500 and chasing in a tightly bunched NFC South. The division-leading Carolina Panthers also lost on Sunday, falling at home to the Denver Broncos, while the Atlanta Falcons lost in Madrid to the Cincinnati Bengals. Only the New Orleans Saints won in the division this week.

Packers make a statement in Foxborough

Elsewhere in Week 9, the Green Bay Packers delivered the most emphatic win of the weekend, beating the New England Patriots 45-27 at Gillette Stadium. Jordan Love threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score, as Green Bay scored 21 points off four Patriots turnovers.

The Packers improved to 6-3 with a fifth win in six games, while New England fell to 5-4 and lost its perfect home record. Love completed 23 of 29 passes with no interceptions and a 153.2 passer rating, and was replaced by backup Tyrod Taylor with nine minutes left and the result long settled.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ miserable season continued with a 19-11 defeat to the New York Giants, a seventh straight loss and their longest losing run since 2012. The Giants, at 5-2-1, now lead the NFC East. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the New York Jets 35-12, although quarterback Patrick Mahomes shook off an elbow scare during the game.

The Houston Texans routed the winless Los Angeles Chargers 44-22, with C.J. Stroud throwing for 384 yards and five touchdowns. The Chargers fell to 0-8. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-3, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-17 in Madrid, the Dallas Cowboys edged the Indianapolis Colts 27-23, and the Detroit Lions beat the Miami Dolphins 19-9.

What it means

For Chicago, the win is the kind that builds belief. Teams that win games in which their quarterback throws four interceptions do not come along often, and the Bears did it on national television against a desperate opponent. The defence held firm when it had to, and the final drive showed a composure that will matter in January.

For Tampa Bay, the defeat is harder to explain. Four interceptions, a season-high passing night from Mayfield and a late comeback should have been enough. Instead, the Buccaneers leave Chicago with nothing, and with their margin for error in the NFC South now almost gone.

Week 9 continues on Monday night, when the Buffalo Bills visit the Minnesota Vikings.

Elsewhere in American sport this week, UCLA stunned Arizona in the college basketball season opener, and the Jets stunned the Canadiens in overtime after a historic comeback.