Williams, Santos lead Bears over Patriots

LOS ANGELES — Caleb Williams threw two touchdowns and finished with 308 passing yards as the Chicago Bears finally edged clear of the New England Patriots to clinch a 30-24 victory at Soldier Field on Thursday (Friday in Manila). The Bears — playing their first home game since the passing of legendary former coach Mike Ditka earlier this month — improved to 5-2 thanks to a composed display from Williams, who made 22-of-33 passes with no interceptions. Chicago were also grateful for a career-long 58-yard field goal from veteran kicker Cairo Santos in the final two minutes that gave Chicago a nine-point lead and effectively settled the game. “It felt great being able to be back with the guys, being able to be back out here in front of our fans,” said Williams, playing his first home game since a monthlong injury layoff. Earlier, the Bears defense dominated the early exchanges, winning a turnover on downs on the opening New England drive before forcing the visitors to punt twice. Chicago got on the board early with a 43-yard Santos field goal before D’Andre Swift rushed over for a close-range touchdown late in the first quarter to make it 10-0. New England however got back into the...