Bears' Caleb Williams blames himself for not throwing better pass on his crucial INT against Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Just when it appeared Caleb Williams was on the verge of completing yet another fourth-quarter comeback, he made a regrettable pass on Sunday that knocked the Chicago Bears out of the NFC North lead.

The Bears trailed 28-21 and faced fourth-and-1 from Green Bay’s 14-yard line when Williams faked a handoff and rolled to his left. Rather than checking down or trying to run for the first down, Williams threw into the end zone.

Bears tight end Cole Kmet had gotten behind cornerback Keisean Nixon, but Williams’ pass was underthrown. Nixon made a leaping grab with 22 seconds left, and the Bears' five-game winning streak ended as they fell a half-game behind the Packers in the division.

“In those moments, it’s you know, a got-to-have-it-moment,” said Williams, who went 19 of 35 for 186 yards with two touchdowns. “And they had a guy trailing me, so, I didn’t feel like I could go get it myself (by running). I’ve just got to give Cole a better shot at it. I think next time, just extend him a little bit more and kind of lead him. But in those moments, you want to put the ball in play and trust your guy or try to have your guy go make a play, and (I’ve) just got to give him a better ball.”

Williams had faked a handoff to D’Andre Swift, who then appeared to be open just beyond the first-down marker.

Chicago coach Ben Johnson said the Bears ran a similar play in their previous game, a win at Philadelphia, and it resulted in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Kmet.

“So we’ve got multiple options on that play,” Johnson said. “Caleb felt like Cole was open, and we didn’t hit it. That’s kind of my extent from the sideline. I got to go back and I got to look at it.”

Williams had made a habit of delivering down the stretch during Chicago’s surge as the Bears attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

He has orchestrated five fourth-quarter comebacks this season to match Denver’s Bo Nix for the most by any quarterback. Williams helped the Bears rally from a 14-3 halftime deficit to tie Sunday’s game on a 1-yard touchdown pass to Colston Loveland with eight minutes left.

After Green Bay regained the lead, Williams got Chicago into scoring position by completing a 27-yard pass to Luther Burden and a 24-yarder to Devin Duvernay.

The Bears faced third-and-1 from Green Bay’s 14 when Kyle Monangai was stopped for no gain by Kingsley Enagbare. That set up the fourth-down play that ended Chicago’s hopes.

“We had about two or three guys in front of, either stacking Swift or right there with Swift,” Williams said. “I rolled out and saw Cole and I tried to give him a big-boy ball, try and let him go up for it because I ended up seeing 25 (Nixon) start to sprint. So, I tried to slow them up and kind of give him a chance.”

Williams led scoring drives on each of Chicago’s first three second-half possessions, but he went 6 of 14 for 32 yards in the first half.

The Bears get another shot at Green Bay when they host the Packers on Dec. 20.

“I need to start faster,” Williams said. “We need to start faster, and I think that will do us well as a team and as an offense, especially. That’s something that they did better than us today, I would say, and they made plays at the end of the day.”

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Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) celebrates after an interception against Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (85) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) passes the ball against Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon, second from left, during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks to pass the ball against the Green Bay Packers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) embraces Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) after an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looks to pass against the Green Bay Packers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Elected to baseball's Hall of Fame more than 17 years after his final game, Jeff Kent couldn't control his emotions.

“Absolutely unprepared. Emotionally unstable,” he said after Sunday's vote announcement. “Thoughts are so far clouded."

Kent received 14 of 16 votes from the contemporary era committee, two more than the 12 ballots needed for the 75% minimum. Steroids-tainted stars Barry Bond and Roger Clemens were among seven players who fell short once again.

Kent will be inducted in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26 along with anyone chosen by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, whose balloting will be announced on Jan. 20.

“I hugged my wife after the the phone call had come in," Kent said, his voice cracking, “and I told her that a lot of the game had come rushing back to me at that moment. Similar to my retirement speech, my farewell speech that I did in LA, it reminds me of the `no crying in baseball.' Well, I was balling when I left the game because all that emotion just overcomes you.”

A five-time All-Star second baseman, Kent hit .290 with 377 homers and 1,518 RBIs over 17 seasons with Toronto (1992), the New York Mets (1992-96), Cleveland (1996), San Francisco (1997-2002), Houston (2003-04) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2005-08).

His 351 home runs as a second baseman are the most by a player at that position. Kent’s most productive seasons were with the Giants, joined in the lineup by the record-setting Bonds.

"I think I’ve turned the double play better than anybody in the game during my era," Kent said.

Carlos Delgado received nine votes, followed by Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy with six each. Bonds, Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela each received fewer than five votes and can't appear on the ballot again until 2031.

Bonds and Clemens also fell short in 2022 in their 10th and final appearances on the BBWAA ballot. Bonds denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs and Clemens maintains he never used PEDs.

“Barry was a good teammate of mine. He was a guy that I motivated and pushed,” Kent said. “We knocked heads a little bit. He was a guy that motivated me at times, in frustration and love, at times both. ... If you’re talking about moral code and all that, I’m not a voter and I’m trying to stay away from all of that the best I can because I don’t, I really don’t have an opinion.”

Kent's relationship with the Giants became strained when he broke a bone in his left wrist during spring training in 2002. Kent told team athletic trainer Stan Conte he got hurt while washing his truck the previous day but Giants general manager Brian Sabean said three weeks later “there’s mounting evidence from all sorts of eyewitnesses that says he fell off a motorcycle popping wheelies.”

Kent scuffled with Bonds in the dugout that June 25 during a game in San Diego.

Kent received 15.2% in his first BBWAA appearance in 2014 and a high of 46.5% in the last of his 10 times on the ballot in 2023.

“The moments seemed to pass by in not utter disappointment but just disappointment, frustration a little bit that I wasn’t better recognized,” Kent said.

Kent was drafted by Toronto and four months after his debut was traded to the Mets for David Cone, who helped the Blue Jays win the World Series.

“The rap for me probably started out in the wrong direction in New York,” Kent said. “There was this perception when I left New York and came to the West Coast that 'he wasn't a good middle infielder,' and that was so false.”

The Hall in 2022 restructured its veterans committees for the third time in 12 years, setting up panels to consider the contemporary era from 1980 on, as well as the classic era. The contemporary baseball era holds separate ballots for players and another for managers, executives and umpires.

Each committee meets every three years. Contemporary managers, executives and umpires will be considered in December 2026, classic era candidates in December 2027 and contemporary era players again in December 2028.

Under a change announced by the Hall last March, candidates who received fewer than five votes are not eligible for that committee’s ballot during the next three-year cycle. A candidate who is dropped, later reappears on a ballot and again receives fewer than five votes would be barred from future ballot appearances.

The December 2027 vote is the first chance for Pete Rose to appear on a Hall ballot after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred decided in May that Rose’s permanent suspension ended with his death in September 2024. The Hall prohibits anyone on the permanent ineligible list from appearing on a ballot.

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FILE - San Francisco Giants Livan Hernandez, left, and Jeff Kent react after the Anaheim Angels Garret Anderson hit a three run RBI double in the third inning during game 7 of the World Series in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2002. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers Jeff Kent hits a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sept. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)