Atlanta’s Fourth-Quarter Rally Couldn’t Cover Up Three Quarters of Embarrassment

Caleb Williams returned from injury to lead the Chicago Bears (4-2) past the Atlanta Falcons (2-4) 31-23 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 18, 2026, as Chicago built a commanding 24-point lead before surviving Atlanta’s late rally.

Quarter-by-Quarter

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
CHI	14	7	7	3	31
ATL	0	7	0	16	23

Caleb Williams missed three games with a torn hamstring, but Atlanta’s defense made his return look like he never left. Williams completed all six passes on Chicago’s opening touchdown drive, finding Colston Loveland for a 14-yard score before D’Andre Swift added two rushing touchdowns. By the time Roschon Johnson scored in the third quarter, the Bears had built a 28-7 lead, eventually stretching it to 31-7. Williams finished 30-of-36 for 305 yards and a touchdown, while Luther Burden III caught all eight targets for 95 yards and Loveland added 65. Chicago’s offense controlled possession for over 40 minutes, and its defense forced three turnovers despite missing several starters. Returning cornerback Kyler Gordon recorded three sacks, while Chicago repeatedly punished an Atlanta offense that looked completely unprepared to defend its own building.

The Falcons waited until the fourth quarter to remember they were playing football, and even their late comeback couldn’t disguise the embarrassment. Michael Penix Jr. finished with 225 yards and three touchdowns, including two fourth-quarter scores to Kyle Pitts, but Atlanta had already fallen behind by 24 points. Jahan Dotson contributed 87 receiving yards, Drake London added 62, and Bijan Robinson averaged 6.8 yards per carry yet received just nine rushing attempts. That questionable usage was only part of the disaster. Zachariah Branch muffed a punt and fumbled a kickoff return, while Atlanta surrendered five sacks and converted just three third downs. Injuries to linebackers Divine Deablo and Kendal Daniels further complicated matters. Even Chicago’s 12 penalties for 133 yards weren’t enough to rescue the Falcons. Atlanta remains winless at home, and Kevin Stefanski’s team has now dropped four of six games. Scoring 16 late points made the scoreboard respectable, but anyone watching knew how thoroughly Chicago had embarrassed them.

Postgame Statistical Breakdown

Team Stats

Stat	Chicago Bears	Atlanta Falcons
Final Score	31	23
Total Offensive Yards	368	257
Passing Yards	270	194
Rushing Yards	98	63
Total Plays	73	50
Yards Per Play	5.0	5.1
First Downs	20	13
Third Downs	9-17	3-12
Third-Down %	52.9%	25.0%
Fourth Downs	0-0	0-3
Passing TDs	1	3
Rushing TDs	3	0
Total Offensive TDs	4	3
Turnovers	1	3
Interceptions Thrown	0	0
Fumbles Lost	1	3
Sacks Allowed	4	5
Penalties	12	4
Penalty Yards	133	31
Time of Possession	40:08	19:52

Passing

Chicago Bears

1. Caleb Williams — 30/36, 83.3%, 305 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT, 8.5 YPA, 4 SACK, 111.2 RTG

Atlanta Falcons

1. Michael Penix Jr. — 19/33, 57.6%, 225 YDS, 3 TD, 0 INT, 6.8 YPA, 5 SACK, 108.8 RTG

Rushing

Chicago Bears

1. Roschon Johnson — 13 CAR, 51 YDS, 3.9 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 10, 1 FUM
2. D’Andre Swift — 16 CAR, 44 YDS, 2.8 AVG, 2 TD, LONG 14

Atlanta Falcons

1. Bijan Robinson — 9 CAR, 61 YDS, 6.8 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 23
2. Brian Robinson Jr. — 2 CAR, 1 YDS, 0.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 2

Receiving

Chicago Bears

1. Luther Burden III — 8 REC, 8 TGT, 95 YDS, 11.9 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 25
2. Colston Loveland — 6 REC, 7 TGT, 65 YDS, 10.8 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 16
3. Rome Odunze — 3 REC, 4 TGT, 39 YDS, 13.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 23
4. Roschon Johnson — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 34 YDS, 17.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 13
5. D’Andre Swift — 4 REC, 5 TGT, 26 YDS, 6.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 8

Atlanta Falcons

1. Jahan Dotson — 3 REC, 5 TGT, 87 YDS, 29.0 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 41
2. Drake London — 4 REC, 10 TGT, 62 YDS, 15.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 39
3. Kyle Pitts Sr. — 5 REC, 7 TGT, 60 YDS, 12.0 AVG, 2 TD, LONG 29
4. Brian Robinson Jr. — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 9 YDS, 4.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 5
5. Zachariah Branch — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 9 YDS, 4.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 5

Scoring Plays

Qtr	Clock	Team	Play	Score
Q1	8:15	Chicago Bears	Colston Loveland 14-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Cairo Santos kick)	CHI 7, ATL 0
Q1	1:07	Chicago Bears	D’Andre Swift 4-yard run (Cairo Santos kick)	CHI 14, ATL 0
Q2	5:45	Atlanta Falcons	Jahan Dotson 13-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Nick Folk kick)	CHI 14, ATL 7
Q2	1:26	Chicago Bears	D’Andre Swift 2-yard run (Cairo Santos kick)	CHI 21, ATL 7
Q3	1:48	Chicago Bears	Roschon Johnson 4-yard run (Cairo Santos kick)	CHI 28, ATL 7
Q4	14:56	Chicago Bears	Cairo Santos 50-yard field goal	CHI 31, ATL 7
Q4	9:34	Atlanta Falcons	Kyle Pitts Sr. 10-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Michael Penix Jr. pass to Zachariah Branch for Two-Point Conversion)	CHI 31, ATL 15
Q4	5:41	Atlanta Falcons	Kyle Pitts Sr. 5-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. (Michael Penix Jr. pass to Drake London for Two-Point Conversion)	CHI 31, ATL 23

Defense

Chicago Bears

1. Kyler Gordon — 4 TOT, 4 SOLO, 3 TFL, 3 SACK, 2 QBH
2. Daniel Hardy — 3 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 2 QBH, 1 PD
3. Dillon Thieneman — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH, 1 PD
4. Devin Bush — 7 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 FR
5. Josh Blackwell — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 PD, 1 FR
6. Noah Sewell — 6 TOT, 4 SOLO, 1 TFL
7. Nick McCloud — 1 FR
8. Elijah Hicks — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO
9. Austin Booker — 3 TOT, 3 SOLO
10. Cam Lewis — 3 TOT, 3 SOLO

Atlanta Falcons

1. Brandon Dorlus — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 2 TFL, 1 SACK, 2 QBH, 1 PD
2. Gervon Dexter Sr. — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 2 QBH
3. LaCale London — 5 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
4. Kendal Daniels — 7 TOT, 6 SOLO, 1 TFL
5. Mike Hughes — 7 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 TFL
6. Za’Darius Smith — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
7. Harold Perkins Jr. — 4 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 FR
8. Jessie Bates III — 7 TOT, 5 SOLO
9. Sydney Brown — 7 TOT, 5 SOLO
10. Xavier Watts — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL

Kick Returns

Chicago Bears

1. Zavion Thomas — 4 KR, 85 YDS, 21.3 AVG, LONG 24, 0 TD

Atlanta Falcons

1. Zachariah Branch — 4 KR, 86 YDS, 21.5 AVG, LONG 26, 0 TD

Punt Returns

Chicago Bears

1. Kalif Raymond — 3 PR, 54 YDS, 18.0 AVG, LONG 23, 0 TD

Atlanta Falcons

1. Zachariah Branch — 1 PR, 0 YDS, 0.0 AVG, 0 TD