As time expires, the Bears lose to Commanders at Hail Mary

LANDOVER, Md. – Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown as the clock expired to beat the Bears 18-15 and end what had been, up to that point, a battle between was the top two picks in this year's draft.

Daniels danced in the backfield and threw a pass into the end zone Sunday that bounced off the hand of cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and into the arms of receiver Noah Brown, who stood 10 feet behind the players hoping for a miracle catch. The crowd at Northwest Stadium erupted in disbelief.

For 59 minutes and 35 seconds, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams' homecoming seemed to culminate when his alma mater's high school students held the American flag during the national anthem, and things went downhill from there. Then running back D'Andre Swift dropped a yard into the end zone to cap a 10-play, 62-yard drive and give the Bears their only lead of the game. A two-point conversion pass to Cole Kmet gave the Bears a 15-12 lead – and the Commanders got the ball back with 19 seconds left in the game.

Daniels threw an incompletion, an 11-yard pass and a 13-yard pass. He took the Hail Mary snapshot with one second left in the game.

The Bears were close to taking the lead on third-and-goal from the 1 with 6:21 to play when they tried to go sweet. It failed spectacularly. Offensive guard and part-time fullback Doug Kramer declared himself eligible to play, and Williams turned and handed him the ball. He never recovered the ball – Williams was officially credited with the fumble – and Illinois graduate Jer'zhan Newton recovered it Ball on the 3rd

The Bears defense, which didn't allow a touchdown until the Hail Mary, forced a three-and-out on the next play, giving Williams a chance to make amends for an otherwise disappointing day. He converted a third-and-10 from the Bears' 38-yard line with a 16-yard pass to fellow rookie Rome Odunze. Two plays later, he rolled right and improvised a 22-yard completion to get to the Commanders' 19.

Bears coordinator Shane Waldron called for back-to-back runs for Williams on second and third downs to set up fourth and third runs in 12 minutes. He threw a lob to right to receiver Keenan Allen, who was blocked by cornerback Benjamin St. -Juste. To make a late play, running back Roschon Johnson rushed forward one yard and took the lead with 25 seconds left in the game.

The Bears were shut out in the first half and trailed by nine at halftime, with Williams completing just 3 of 8 passes for 33 yards.

Williams made three mistakes that were inexcusable even for a rookie:

On the third and second shots early in the second quarter, Williams stumbled and slid to the ground a meter from the post. The Bears punted.

Later in the quarter, the Bears faced a fourth-and-1 and threw a smoke pass to receiver DJ Moore, who was immediately attacked. The Commanders took the lead at the Bears' 40 and eventually scored a field goal.

Finally, on third-and-12 from the Commanders' 25 with just over a minute left in the half, Williams took a sack, resulting in a 15-yard loss that put the Bears out of field position. Williams was in the grasp of a defender but ran backwards and tried to break free. As a result, Williams forced the Bears to punt rather than move within a score with a field goal attempt.