'Madness': Chicago Bears react to wild final 2:30 and the 47-42 win over Cincinnati

After the Whistle | Reacting to the INSANE ending of the Bears vs. Bengals

The Bears won a wild one. Tina Nguyen, Chris Kwiecinski, Jim Miller and Pat the Designer react to an insane final 2:30.

Olamide Zaccheaus had one-word answers to describe some of the most important moments of the Bears' 47-42 win over the Bengals.

Admittedly, that's easier said than done.

"Madness," Zaccheaus said. "Straight madness."

How do you sum up the final 2:30 of a game with so many lead changes? Including two in the final 60 seconds of game time? The Bears tried.

What they're saying:

Sunday's game reminded DJ Moore of a game he once played in.  

On Oct. 30, 2022, Moore caught a game-tying 62-yard touchdown as a Carolina Panther against the Atlanta Falcons with just 12 seconds remaining. What happened next wasn't as memorable, though.

Moore took his helmet off after scoring and drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty that made what would have been a winning 33-yard extra point attempt a 48-yard attempt for then-Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro. Pinerio, an ex-Bears kicker, missed.

"That's what everyone in here was just talking about," Moore said.

It wasn't as high-scoring an affair, but Moore said the feelings were similar. However, this time Moore was on the winning side. He had four receptions for 72 yards, a 17-yard rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown.

In fact, Moore echoed what Zaccheaus said, word-for-word almost.

"Madness. Craziness. A thrill," Moore said. "We found a way to pull it off."

A reason why the Bears pulled it off was Caleb Williams. He threw a game-winning 58-yard touchdown to rookie right end Colston Loveland that stunned all of Cincinnati. Zaccheaus had one-word reactions to his quarterback, too. 

"Poise," Zaccheaus said. "Composure."

It was stressful seeing both teams go back and forth. Moore and other said so. But Williams and the Bears' roster of offensive playmakers got the job done on Sunday.

The Bears recorded over 500 yards of total offense for the first time since Sept. 9, 2016, vs. the Indianapolis Colts. A big reason was the running game, but the passing game got the win for the Bears.

"He's made for the spotlight," Moore said of Williams. 

The other side:

There was one person who didn't have quite outspoken reactions to the wild win.

That was the Bears' head coach. That's because he was thinking about scenarios. He had a scenario in mind to win the game.

"I try to keep it pretty steady," Bears' head coach Ben Johnson said. "I just try to keep level-headed in terms of making sure we have enough time for our own rebuttal. So we were using our timeouts, and that’s kinda worst case scenario, but you’re thinking that way and making sure you have a chance. We came back and we needed a field goal with a minute left and a timeout, so we felt pretty good about that scenario. It’s easy to go up and down and ride that roller coaster, but the coaching staff did a pretty good job staying level-headed throughout."

The win lifts the Bears to 5-3. They've matched their win total from last season. Next up are the 2-7 New York Giants at home.

Surpassing their win total from a dismal 2024 is the next objective. First, they'll process everything that happened in Cincy.

"Intense," Gardner-Johnson, who was signed to the active roster just days ago, said. "Very nerve-wracking."