The defense delivered another strong performance, intercepting two passes and limiting the Colts to 306 yards and 15 first downs. One Indianapolis touchdown came after an offside penalty on the punt return team extended a drive and another occurred after Indianapolis had recovered a Williams fumble at the Bears’ 16.
“Disappointed in the loss,” said coach Matt Eberflus. “I thought we had some really good opportunities out there to win the game. I was proud of the way the guys fought throughout the entire game, and my message to them in the locker room afterward was just this: It was missed opportunities. We had opportunities to win that game.
“The first thing we have to do is honor the football … That’s the most important thing in winning, and we’ve got to do a good job. And then once we do get takeaways, we’ve got to score off those opportunities. They scored on those opportunities, and we did not.”
In the first half, the Bears generated 247 yards while possessing the ball for 19:23, but they failed to score. Their two best chances came late in the second quarter.
First, they had first-and-goal from the 4 but were unable to get into the end zone on four plays. Khalil Herbert took a direct snap out of the shotgun and gained two yards on first down, was held to one yard on second down and was stuffed for no gain on third down. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Williams pitched the ball on an option play to Swift, who had no running room and retreated, losing 12 yards.
“[The offense] was better than the first couple weeks, I thought,” Kmet said. “We had a lot of sustained drives. I feel like we ran a lot of plays today. It felt like we were out there a lot, time of possession and all that stuff. But we’ve just got to finish in the end zone and be better in that regard.
“That first one before the half, that’s not the identity that we want to carry. We want to be a team that you get inside the 5, you’re able to run the ball and shove it down a team’s throat and just get points that way. Disappointed in that. We need points there and we just weren’t able to get it done.”
On the final snap of the first half from the Colts’ 45, Williams’ Hail Mary pass into the end zone was deflected and caught by Moore at the 1. But the veteran receiver was tackled immediately short of the goal line.
“The Hail Mary, shoot, I was so close,” Moore said. “Got to find a way to score on that. To not come away with points in the first half was a dagger in the heart.”
The Bears rallied in the second half, cutting the deficit to 14-9 on Williams’ 1-yard touchdown pass to Odunze midway through the fourth quarter and 21-16 on Williams’ 6-yard TD strike to Kmet with 2:01 to play. But the Colts picked up a first down on Jonathan Taylor’s 13-yard run and ran out the clock to clinch the win.
Taylor rushed for 110 yards and two TDs on 23 carries. Colts second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson completed 10 of 20 passes for 167 yards with two interceptions and a 39.0 passer rating. He also rushed for 24 yards on eight carries.
“I was proud of the way the defense fought today,” Eberflus said. “Had a couple of nice takeaways, had a nice fourth-down stop after some sudden changes. Had a nice turnover in the red zone down there to stop a score.
“But overall it’s just got to be better. We’ve got to do a better job as a team, honoring the football and just doing the details right and playing better. My hat’s off to the Colts. They won the game, but we left one out there today.”
