Bears Survive Wild Finish as Bengals’ Defensive Woes Continue
November 3, 2025
This game was such a whirlwind of emotions. Cincinnati seemingly does enough to win, but finds a way to blow it in the end. That seems to be a Cincinnati sports special that occurs any time a game is on, regardless of sport. Per NextGenStats, the Bengals defense missed 15 tackles against the Bears which allowed Chicago to gain 133 additional yards that would not have existed. This includes 35 yards on the touchdown reception from Colston Loveland that sealed the game at the end.
If you’re on the other side, the Bears are sitting pretty with a 41-27 lead with two minutes to go until Flacco hits Noah Fant for 6, they go on to get the two point conversion. Okay, then they get the onside kick?! The Bear down crew is now sitting up a bit and it’s full blown panic when Flacco hits Iosivas to take the lead. What is going on?!
Both offenses played absolutely lights out. Check out these quarterback numbers:
Caleb Williams – 20/34, 280 yards and 3 touchdowns
Joe Flacco – 31/47, 470 yards and 4 touchdowns (2 interceptions, 1 coming on a hail mary)
Neither defense was playing their best football on Sunday. However, when the Bengals took the lead with a minute to go, Caleb Williams got his shot. In what has been such an up and down season of Williams looking spectacular and following that up with something terrible, it was his opportunity to find a way to win when the odds were slim. All he did was find his rookie tight end Loveland for a 58 yard touchdown. Yes, we can rip on the Bengals defense (and we will), but the plays still need to be made – And with each punch Williams took, he kept finding a way to fight back. That alone puts so much of his growth as a player on full display. The Bears were about to take an incredibly unfortunate loss, but Williams played smart and took his shot when he saw it.
Alright, let’s flip this, because Joe Flacco isn’t the savior of the Bengals. That’s nothing against him. He’s 41 and has played phenomenal in relief of Joe Burrow. But, did you see the numbers I put up there? Joe Burrow did those too, and they still lost a lot of games last year. It doesn’t matter who is at quarterback. This team was built around Burrow and his weapons. Key defenders were let go in free agency and never replaced through signings or the draft process. Oh, but they drafted a pass rusher in the draft? Great, he missed most of the summer via holdout and has 3 tackles to his name through nine weeks. This defense allowed the Bears to find the endzone in four of five redzone attempts. They’ve allowed 500+ yards in back to back weeks (they played the Jets last week ..), and have given up 27+ points eight weeks in a row. Yup! You read that correctly, every single week aside from week 1. It isn’t just the defense either, it’s the untimely penalties as well. While today, the yardage was similar for both teams, the Bengals gifted Chicago an early first down when they jumped offsides on a field goal attempt. That error led to another Bears touchdown.
I’m done with it. This should be more about the Bears and their mega victory. Great teams find ways to win. Ben Johnson will get things cleaned up and this group is now 5-3 and right in the hunt for the NFC North as both the Lions and Packers took a loss. Heck, we got through this whole game recap and are only now bringing Kyle Monangai and his incredible performance. 26 carries for 176 yards and running like a little Skattebo out there. Spinning, trucking, juking; the Bears 7th round pick is looking like a STEAL. Odunze had a rough one, but no big deal, because Loveland, Moore and Zaccheaus can help carry the load in the passing game. The Bears suddenly look loaded and scary, and as they continue to grow their confidence, they’re becoming a team you don’t want to mess with.
Keith, Author
Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.
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