Caleb Williams was left furious by Bears teammate Luther Burden after the wideout cost Chicago a precious timeout in the 30-24 win over the New England Patriots at Soldier Field.

Williams, 24, led the Bears to a second consecutive victory, having missed three games due to a hamstring injury that kept him out of the devastating 31-7 defeat to fierce rivals, the Green Bay Packers, in Week 5. However, long before the Bears’ victory over last year’s Super Bowl runner-ups was confirmed, Williams was rubbed the wrong way by teammate Burden.

With less than 2 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first quarter and the Bears leading New England by three points to zero, Williams found Burden deep for a massive 58-yard gain. Burden proceeded to go to the sidelines to celebrate with fans, which prevented Williams and the Bears from getting off a quick snap with Chicago in the red zone.

Williams desperately shouted for Burden to return to the line of scrimmage, but the wide receiver appeared oblivious to his quarterback's instructions. The confusion forced Chicago to burn a timeout to get everyone organized before attempting to score from close range.

The Bears quickly recovered from the mishap, however, crossing the goal line on the following play to extend their advantage to 10-0.

Chicago struck first through D'Andre Swift, who crossed the goal line with under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. New England answered in the second period as quarterback Drake Maye ran in a touchdown of his own.

A further field goal extended the Bears' advantage before Luther Burden III atoned for his earlier confusion by hauling in a 24-yard touchdown with just 14 seconds left before halftime, putting Chicago 20-7 ahead.

However, the Patriots hit back immediately, with Rhamondre Stevenson breaking free for a 48-yard touchdown reception to cut the deficit to six points. Both sides found the end zone again in the third quarter, leaving the Bears clinging to a 27-21 lead heading into the final period.

Chicago also suffered an injury setback when tight end Cole Kmet hurt his knee and had to be carted off the field.

Cairo Santos made amends for an earlier missed kick by drilling a career-best 58-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining, giving the Bears some breathing room.

However, the Patriots refused to go quietly, reaching the Bears’ 29-yard line before settling for a field goal with 37 seconds on the clock to make it 30-24.

The Patriots' last hope rested on an onside kick, but Rome Odunze recovered the ball for the Bears to seal the victory and move their record to 5-2.

“Yeah, these nights are awesome,” Williams said after the win. “You play against another good team in a prime-time game in a short week. These games are awesome because you get to see who you are as a team, and that's who we are.

“We're a smashmouth football team, innovative team. And then when things happen and things don't go our way, when the water's rocky, we stay steady.

"So, we're going to keep going. We're going to keep fighting. That's who we are."