CHICAGO — Caleb Williams not only kept the Chicago Bears’ playoff run alive with a fourth-quarter, fourth-down completion to Rome Odunze, he created a viral moment: the Jumpman pass.
A quick back story: During the Bears’ 31-27 come-from-behind win Saturday in a wild-card-round game against the archrival Green Bay Packers, the Bears faced a fourth-and-8 from their 43-yard line with 5 minutes, 37 seconds left.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn a twist, Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie chased Williams from the backside and swiped at his legs, causing Williams to jump and — in defiance of gravity and all conventional wisdom about arm strength — lob a right-handed, 27-yard pass to Odunze as Williams fell to his left.
“It was just a good moment and ended up giving Rome the right football to be able to allow him to make the adjustment,” Williams told reporters Wednesday at Halas Hall.
Of course, the fact Williams made the clutch throw is just secondary, as far as the internet’s meme-makers were concerned.
They freeze-framed Williams’ leap and the pose bore an eerie resemblance to another Chicago sports icon: Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan’s Jumpman logo.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNike’s Air Jordan shoes feature the logo, inspired by Jacobus Rentmeester’s photograph for Life magazine in 1984 of Jordan holding a basketball while leaping toward a hoop.
Williams has seen the comparisons on social media, but to him, he has made similar throws.
For example, during a September 2023 road win against the Colorado Buffaloes, Williams scrambled left and struck a similar pose while throwing a 71-yard touchdown pass to Tahj Washington on third-and-4 in the first quarter.
“I’ve had a couple passes like that going left where I’ve ended up being in the air in that way a few times in college and things like that and high school,” Williams said. “I’m kind of used to it.”
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