LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears tight end Colston Loveland lined up in the right slot, just 12 yards from the end zone. Steelers strong safety Kyle Dugger lined up to cover him, providing plenty of cushion.

Loveland sprinted hard off the snap, angled ever so slightly toward the sideline and Dugger drifted with him and flipped his hips. Then Loveland snatched back inside crossing the safety’s face and using his 6-foot-6, 241-pound frame to establish dominant position and no resistance in his path to the end zone.

Quarterback Caleb Williams threw a fastball Loveland way and was caught with ease for a touchdown to tie a game the Bears eventually won 31-28 at Soldier Field.

“He’s a big dude who’s not afraid to try to use his speed to create leverage,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “Did a great job of pressing the outside half, he got that guy to flip and then he came back at a friendly angle.”

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That sequence was perfectly executed by this year’s No. 10 overall pick and it was a similar route to a touchdown caught against the Cincinnati Bengals a few weeks earlier.

This was also a play made on 3^rd-and-5, yet another example of Williams targeting Loveland on a critical down.

“He’s a safe target,” Williams said. “He’s a reliable target and his body language when he’s running routes is very similar to a wide receiver. It’s very smooth, it speaks to me very easily and I know when he’s breaking down, when he’s doing what.

“Then he’s also tall and a large human. That makes it a little bit easier to sometimes just maybe toss it up to him or anything like that.”

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Williams has tossed it up to Loveland before to great results. Bears fans might never forget the Loveland’s catch-and-run to help beat the Bengals is dramatic fashion.

Overall, going to Loveland in big moments has become common. Loveland has been targeted 38 times this season, with 14 of them coming on third- or fourth-down. Loveland has 28 catches this season, and 12 of them have come in those situations, with eight of them earning a first down.

Williams has developed chemistry with and trust in Loveland throughout this season, and positive experiences like those described above only make the quarterback look to find his young tight end more often.

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This is also the beginning of what should be a lot relationship, with both of them as top 10 picks taken a year apart and under contract for a long time.

While it will only grow, this Williams-Loveland pairing is off to a strong start.

“He’s a very friendly target to throw to,” Doyle said. “I know the quarterbacks love throwing to him. There’s a reason he went where he did in the draft. There’s a reason that we like having him around.”

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