Caleb Williams sat on a bench on the Chicago Bears sideline inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon as he waited for the moment to happen.

Running back D’Andre Swift stood right at the Bears 36-yard line on the sideline with what ended up becoming a front-row seat.

Cornerback Josh Blackwell stood ready on the field waiting to make a play.

It was a movie the Bears had seen plenty of times before. Chicago played in a close game and took a late lead before its opponent had a chance to play spoiler in another unfathomable way.

But this time, the Bears wrote a different script.

Blackwell looked to the sideline to find special team coordinator Richard Hightower, who yelled at his players to make a play. When the Raiders snapped the ball to attempt a 54-yard field goal to take a lead in the final minute, Blackwell sprinted off the right edge, dove through and blocked enough of the kick that it dropped near the 10.

Blackwell and his teammates sprinted toward the opposite end zone as they experienced what they called an out-of-body experience. The Bears had survived to not only beat the Raiders 25-24. They beat the mantra of being the same old Bears.

“It’s an incredible win,” Blackwell said. “That’s just a testament to the team that we have. I think we started a good week of practice and we kind of got this quote, unquote, monkey off our back, that the Bears are different.”

It would be fair if there was some doubt in Williams’, Swift’s, Blackwell’s, every Bears’ minds. They had plenty of experience with heart-breaking losses within the calendar year. Whether it was losing to the Washington Commanders on a last-second Hail Mary.

Or losing on a last-second field goal to the Green Bay Packers.

Or having a comeback fall short in overtime to the Minnesota Vikings.

Or failing to come back in devastating fashion against the Detroit Lions in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving.

The Raiders took over on their own 42, trailing 25-24 with 1:34 left in the game and played the usual part. They moved the ball effectively down the field to set up the go-ahead field goal with 38 seconds left in the game.

But the Bears said they were confident despite all that. Long snapper Scott Daly had noticed a tendency by the Raiders field goal unit on film earlier in the week and Blackwell had come close to getting to the ball on the first couple field goal attempts.

This time, he got through when it mattered.

“The narrative is that the Bears can’t finish out games that are close, right?” Blackwell said. “I think this team is different. We took our licks at the beginning and now it’s time to lock in. I think we all have kind of bought into that narrative and we’re gonna keep stacking wins.”

Sunday didn’t seem like there was a way the Bears were going to win no matter how they wrote it. The defense had created four turnovers for a second straight week but Chicago trailed 24-19 with just over six minutes left in the game.

Then Bears head coach Ben Johnson had a message for Williams as he got ready to hit the field

“This is what you’re built for,” Johnson recalled saying to Williams.

His quarterback and the offense took over on their own 31 and put together their best drive of the day. Williams effectively moved the ball down the sideline to get the ball to the Raiders 13 at the two-minute warning.

After a pass to tight end Cole Kmet fell incomplete, Williams and Swift each picked up gains before Swift rushed in for a 2-yard touchdown to take the final lead.

It culminated a mixed day for Williams. The Bears failed to get much going because of the Raiders pass rush featuring defensive end Maxx Crosby. He finished the game with 212 passing yards, a 59.6% completion rate, one touchdown and one interception a week after being named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

But when it came time to make a play, Williams came through.

“These are the moments that he thrives in the most,” Johnson said. “I think that’s really been the story of his life to be honest with you. I know he came through for us in a big way.”

Chicago will now have two weeks to dissect what happened Sunday and the first four weeks of the season as it enters its Week 5 bye. The Bears will try to get revenge for last season’s loss to the Commanders when they next play on Oct. 13 in Landover, Maryland.

“It’s an incredible win. That’s just a testament to the team that we have. I think we started a good week of practice and we kind of got this quote, unquote, monkey off our back, that the Bears are different.”

—  Josh Blackwell, Chicago Bears cornerback

Sunday wasn’t perfect for the Bears by any means. There are still plenty of questions as the Chicago develops in Johnson’s first season in charge.

But the win felt different for many players in the locker room. It felt like a different ending to a movie they had seen before.

“Obviously we have things that we have to find ways to get better, get the run game going, get early completions, fast completions and then obviously when we get our shots, take them,” Williams said. “But I think we’re creating something special here and we got to keep going something that we got to keep building on.”