In lost season, Bears likely found their franchise QB in Caleb Williams

Carmen Vitali

NFL Reporter

CHICAGO — Never mind the Bears’ season, is Caleb Williams’ rookie season even salvageable?

Judging by Sunday’s loss to the Packers: yes.

Green Bay has now won 11 straight over Chicago — a record for either team in the 104-year rivalry — but Week 11’s 20-19 thriller was their most entertaining matchup in recent memory.

The Bears were in a tailspin entering this latest clash, and though there are no real moral victories, playing competitively against the team that is in their heads more than any other, and coming that close to finally beating them, is all encouraging given the week the organization has had.

Chicago fired an offensive coordinator midseason for the first time in franchise history last week. After a Week 7 bye, the offense went through a dramatic regression that resembled its output before the team’s three-game win streak. The Bears again looked discombobulated. Their No. 1 overall pick was holding the ball too long. Their offensive line wasn’t holding up among a rash of injuries. There was no run game to speak of.

There were also no adjustments made to account for Williams being flustered, or the offensive line being hurt. It also didn’t seem like then-offensive coordinator Shane Waldron knew when and how to use both D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson, two running backs with drastically different skill sets.

We knew there were plays that worked. We saw it in the three games preceding the bye. The offense was capable of rhythm and timing and explosive plays. That was good news when it came time to make a change.

New OC Thomas Brown, previously the passing game coordinator, was going to still have to work within the playbook. There’s no changing that at this stage of the season. But within it, he could hopefully pare down the game plan with better-fitting plays. In game, he would have total control over the flow and the communication of it all. Williams…

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Publish date : 2024-11-18 22:05:10

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