Cole Kmet should have been the first read on the play, but he was knocked down by a defensive end before could leak out into open space. Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams faked a handoff and rolled out to his right. Seeing Kmet go down, Williams turned his eyes upfield.

Kmet, still getting up off the frozen ground, watched Williams launch a ball toward the back of the end zone, where several Cleveland Browns defenders appeared to be in position to make an interception.

“Isn’t that like an ill-advised throw?” Kmet later said.

Not for Williams.

Week 15 photos: Chicago Bears 31, Cleveland Browns 3

Somehow the ball made its way past the outstretched arms of two defenders and landed in the hands of Bears wide receiver DJ Moore. The touchdown, Moore’s second of the game, extended a two-possession lead to three and pretty much ended any hope of a Cleveland comeback — if any such hope ever existed.

The Bears cruised to a 31-3 win over the Browns on Sunday at Soldier Field. Williams threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, both to Moore. Running back D’Andre Swift scored twice and piled up 98 rushing yards.

The third-quarter touchdown to Moore was a jaw-dropping moment.

“He’s been pinpoint with his accuracy on those things,” Moore said of the throw. “So it was just, I’ve got to come down with it.”

Did Williams think that throw would qualify as ill-advised?

“No, I can make every throw,” he said.

The confidence is supreme for Williams, who has thrown for 3,150 yards and 21 touchdowns this season with six interceptions. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, the second touchdown to Moore had just a 16.1% chance of completion.

“That was unbelievable,” Kmet said. “It just shows off why he was the No. 1 overall pick. Just a special play that I don’t know how many guys in the league can make that throw.”

The Bears improved to 10-4 on the season, their first 10-win season since 2018. Coach Ben Johnson began the week by stating the Bears “desperately” needed this win. The standings suggest it will take at least 11 wins to make the playoffs in the NFC, and the lowly Browns were the last losing team remaining on the schedule.

With three games remaining, nothing is guaranteed for the Bears. But they couldn’t afford to lose this game.

The Browns (3-11) are one of the worst teams in the NFL and looked like it. Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw three interceptions, and the Bears offense turned all three takeaways into points.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams meets members of the Browns after the game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

“When you get interceptions or you get the turnovers, the fumbles, whatever the case may be, you want to go down and score,” Williams said. “It creates a sense of momentum for us and it gets everybody in it, gets everybody going.”

The Bears punted on their first possession, but after that the offense had no trouble getting going.

Swift scored on a 6-yard run and Williams connected with Moore for a 3-yard score to put the Bears ahead 14-0 in the first quarter. During a season in which the Bears frequently have had to eke out wins in the final minutes, this was a much-needed change of pace.

Browns star pass rusher Myles Garrett recorded 1½ sacks, pulling him within one from tying the single-season record, but it wasn’t enough to alter the outcome. His presence felt like more of a footnote than anything.

The Bears played without wide receiver Rome Odunze, who aggravated his foot injury during pregame warmups. They were down to four available receivers before Luther Burden III exited midway through the game with an ankle injury, leaving them with only three receivers down the stretch. Burden led the team with six catches for 84 yards.

Despite those injuries, the offense didn’t blink.

“I just know that at any point I could be anywhere and I know the playbook like the back of my hand,” Moore said.

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (2) and running back D’Andre Swift (4) celebrate Swift’s third-quarter touchdown against the Browns on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Moore’s big game — he finished with four catches for 69 yards and the two touchdowns — came a week after he totaled one catch for minus-4 yards in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. That was the worst game of Moore’s career in terms of receiving yards, and it was the third time this season he caught one or zero passes in a game.

Before this season, that hadn’t happened since he played for the Carolina Panthers. Johnson knew he needed his highest-paid wide receiver to step up, and he did.

“He’s been playing this way every week,” Johnson said. “It’s just we haven’t been able to get the ball in his hands. We were able to target him a few more times, and he came through with some big plays for us.

“Sometimes these things come in bunches. You kind of have a dry spell, and then all of a sudden he could come on hot here over the next three games and just really take off.”

Although Moore has had some quiet spells this season, the Bears will need him down the stretch, even when Odunze returns. Their final three games come against teams in the playoff hunt, starting with the Packers on Saturday night at Soldier Field. Then they finish with a trip to San Francisco and a home matchup with the Detroit Lions.

The Bears exerted their will on the Browns. It might not be so easy down the stretch, but the Bears did what they needed to do to get to 10 wins.

“Can’t get to 11 without getting to 10,” tight end Colston Loveland said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/14/chicago-bears-cleveland-browns-caleb-williams-dj-moore/