Colston Loveland stared toward the ball as he lined up on the field Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The Bears faced a do-or-die moment, a fourth-and-5 coming up at the San Francisco 49ers 26-yard line. The Bears trailed 42-38 with 33 seconds left in the game and no timeouts.

Loveland waited patiently about a foot behind the line of scrimmage as he waited for center Drew Dalman to hike the ball. He only had one thing on his mind.

“Just get open,” Loveland told Shaw Local News Network. “Whatever you need to do to get the first.”

Loveland sprinted as soon as he saw Dalman snap the ball to quarterback Caleb Williams. When he reached just past the 20, Loveland turned, faced Williams and found himself on an island. The 49ers had somehow lost track of the 6-foot-6, 241-pound tight end.

A few seconds ticked away before Williams hit Loveland. Once the 49ers recovered, it was too late. Loveland turned and ran the ball down to the 11.

“He ran a great route,” Williams said. “The play fake ... [49ers linebacker Dee Winters] stayed near the line, and Colston was able to get behind him and obviously turned on the jets. There was a lot of space. I tried to give him a good ball and see what he does with it.”

The Bears featured Loveland prominently on their final drive Sunday when they needed to score.

Williams targeted Loveland four times, connecting twice for 15 yards. One of those included a trick play Bears head coach Ben Johnson called on the team’s penultimate throw. Williams hit Loveland for a hook and ladder that went to running back D’Andre Swift. Loveland also dropped a pass earlier in the drive.

The targets showed how much trust Johnson and Williams have in Loveland, the team’s first-round pick this year, late in the season. Whenever the Bears need a critical catch, they turn to Loveland.

“I gotta give credit to the coaching staff, teammates obviously, as well, for the execution, but for putting us in that position, for putting us in that play, knowing what they’re going to do on fourth down, knowing how the best way to attack it and then all I got to do is go out there and do what I’m told and make the catch,” Loveland said. “It’s an honor to be a target on third, critical downs. And as a tight end, I think that’s what we want. Whenever in doubt, you can throw it to us.”

That’s become more true as the season has progressed and Loveland has become more comfortable in the offense. He has been one of the Bears’ most dependable targets this year.

Loveland leads the Bears with four catches on fourth down. According to Pro Football Focus, he picked up first downs on all of those catches and gained 37 yards. Wide receiver DJ Moore and rookie running back Kyle Monangai also have been targeted four times on fourth down. But each has one catch on those throws.

That production isn’t limited to fourth down.

Loveland has caught 15 of his 18 targets on third down, picked up 10 first downs and scored three touchdowns. Wide receivers Rome Odunze, Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus all have been targeted more than Loveland on third down. But Odunze is the only Bear with more catches (16) on third down, while Zaccheaus is tied with Loveland.

His success has been what the Bears hoped for when they drafted him in April. Johnson compared Loveland to Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta over the offseason because of his ability to be a unique pass-catching tight end with his speed and size.

Both are great qualities for quarterbacks looking to get the ball out of the pocket.

“I think about his attention to detail and then just the gifts that he has, right?” Bears quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, said. “Being able to be that mismatch problem for the safety, linebackers, being that he has a quickness in order to beat a linebacker, but then the strength in order to be physical with the safety. So I think those qualities about him helps with that.”

It took time for Loveland and Williams to build that relationship. Loveland had a slow start to his career after he missed all of the team’s offseason programs while he recovered from surgery. He averaged three targets during his first six games.

At some point in the season, Williams and Loveland started working with each other after practices to make up for lost time. They ran all the possible routes the Bears had in their game plan for that week and followed the same pattern.

They ran a play and made sure it was flawless. Is the throw on time? Was the catch made? Alright, on to the next one.

“They’ve got a lot of time on task now at this point,” Johnson said. “They spend a lot of time after practice perfecting their craft just the two of them, and I think it’s really starting to pay off for us.”

It started to pay off in Week 9 against the Cincinnati Bengals when Loveland had a career game. He caught a season-high six passes for 118 yards, including the go-ahead, 58-yard touchdown pass.

Loveland continued to make an impact since then. He’s averaged 48.5 receiving yards and 3.9 receptions in the past eight games, boosting his season average to 13 yards per reception. Williams targeted Loveland a season-high 10 times against the 49ers as the rookie tight end proved how dependable he can be with more opportunities.

“Everyone always says the more reps you get, the more you do something, the better you’re gonna get at it,” Loveland said. “So that’s just the biggest thing is just reps, reps, reps. How many balls can I catch? How many [passes] can I get my hands on? How many routes can I run? It’s all ... stuff that translates to the game. I feel like it’s definitely helped me this far in the season.”

Loveland likely will continue to get the ball when the pressure gets more intense over the next few weeks. Williams and Johnson should look Loveland’s way more as Chicago starts its playoff run next week.

“It’s an honor to be a target on third, critical downs. And as a tight end, I think that’s what we want. Whenever in doubt, you can throw it to us.”

—  Colston Lo

That’s fine by Loveland. He’s been confident in his ability to make a difference in the NFL since the Bears drafted him. Now that he’s got the experience, Loveland’s confidence has only grown so that he can be there when his team needs him the most in the most-dire moments.

“Just the same thing I’ve been doing,” Loveland said of his approach. “Just trusting in God, trusting myself, my preparation, my teammates and what we’ve done throughout the week. So that way, when we go out there on Sunday, we’re not worried or anything. It’s just like we’ve done this before. Whatever happens, happens.”