Bears' journey was the gift that wouldn't stop giving — until, alas, it finally did

It’s ludicrous to suggest it didn’t even matter what happened after the play of the year in this remarkable, inimitable Bears season — in all the NFL, really — but in a way, it didn’t.

The play, the moment, the damn-near-a-miracle was that special. That promising. That perfect.

You all saw it. Hell, you all probably heard it. Who didn’t? On fourth-and-heartbreak for the Bears, needing four yards from the Rams’ 14 with 27 seconds to go or it was season over, quarterback Caleb Williams collected a shotgun snap at the 19, dropped back, back some more, glimpsed a pair of pass rushers steaming in, spun to his right, saw even more danger coming fast, spun out again, backpedaled all the way to the 40 — the 40! — let fly to the end zone and …

Goodness, this Bears journey, the gift that wouldn’t stop giving.

Until it finally did. The Bears lost to the Rams — a more complete team, more cut out for winning a Super Bowl, but not a damn bit more exciting to behold — 20-17 in overtime in a divisional playoff game at Soldier Field.

It’s over. Maybe wildness like this was the only way it could end.

But back to that play. Of course a heave so desperate, so unlikely to end well, found a home in tight end Cole Kmet’s hands for the biggest Bears touchdown since Devin Hester ran back a kickoff in the Super Bowl. Of course the Bears somehow tied it up. Of course they didn’t go quietly. Of course they smacked on their comeback hat until the last dust of magic came out.

“Our guys fought the entire way,” coach Ben Johnson said, “just like they have all season long.”

The Bears went further this season than most anyone had clear reasons to believe they would. Improbably, they won the NFC North. Deliciously, they beat the Packers in a playoff game. Undeniably, they flashed such gathering strength — at coach, at quarterback, at hanging in there, at finishing strong — that it feels more like the start of something than a conclusion.

It could have gone so much worse after wide receiver Rome Odunze dropped what should have been a touchdown catch on the opening possession of the game, leading to no points and a Williams interception. Especially because the Rams took over and, led by future Hall of Fame QB Matthew Stafford, drove 85 yards for a touchdown.

But the Bears answered with 12 plays, 80 yards and seven points of their own and it was game on.

In the third quarter, the score 10-10, the Rams picked off Williams for a second time and took possession at the 50, the best starting field position all night for either team. Trouble? Only if you’d consider the Rams not gaining a single inch trouble. End Montez Sweat pressured Stafford on first down, cornerback Kyler Gordon stuck to star receiver Puka Nacua like glue on third down, and in between Stafford airmailed an incompletion. Three-and-out? At this point, getting to the NFC Championship Game seemed ever so possible.

And in the fourth quarter, after the Bears, trailing 17-10, were stopped on downs at the Rams’ 2, they got the stop they had to have with two minutes left on the clock. Then Williams threw an 18-yard dart to tight end Colston Loveland, and running back D’Andre Swift rumbled for 13, and wideout Luther Burden III caught a ball. Sure, the clock was melting. Isn’t that when things go best for this team?

It all set up Williams to make that play, and we’ll remember it for longer than we’ll remember any of the details of a disappointing loss that came after it.

The Rams can worry about going to Seattle and facing the Seahawks, who might be close to unbeatable. The Bears will lick their wounds and look forward to what’s coming for themselves.

Once upon a time — 40 years ago — the Bears shuffled to their only Super Bowl win. You’ve probably heard about that by now. But the season before it, their trajectory changed dramatically. They dominated the division, set an all-time record for sacks and made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game before coming up against a 49ers powerhouse against which they simply had no chance because they were still a year away.

“We have touched the future,” linebacker Mike Singletary promised after that loss.

“There is no way that this team [has to] worry about not being back next year,” defensive tackle Dan Hampton said.

And then they came back and did what legends do. Might that be the path the current Bears are on?

The 2001 Bears were 13-3 to earn the team’s first playoff berth in seven years. They came back in 2002 and went 4-12.

The 2006 Bears went to the Super Bowl and followed that by missing the playoffs three years in a row.

The 2010 Bears had gobs of talent and got to the NFC Championship Game, then never returned to the playoffs as a core group.

And the 12-4 Bears who double-doinked out of the playoffs in the 2018 season? QB Mitch Trubisky and coach Matt Nagy — not to mention a great defense — never got their groove back.

Will it be different in the case of this Bears team? It feels like it. Sometimes, you just have to believe.