Green Bay Packers fans have had plenty to say about Chicago Bears quarterbacks in the past. That is nothing new. When you've enjoyed a 30-year run of Hall of Fame excellence at the position, you're inevitably going to look down on guys like Justin Fields, Mitch Trubisky, Jay Cutler, Rex Grossman, Jim Miller, Cade McNown, and so on. No doubt they expected the tradition to continue after the Bears selected Caleb Williams with the #1 overall pick last year. He might be a top pick, but the Bears are still the Bears. They don't develop quarterbacks.
Time has proven such thoughts were premature. Williams seems to save some of his best performances for the matchups against Green Bay. He was a blocked field goal away from beating them at Soldier Field last year, did beat them on a last-second field goal at Lambeau, and almost forced overtime in the final seconds on Sunday. His 175 passing yards and two touchdowns in the second half included some outright ridiculous plays. It reached a point where even Packers fans had no choice but to admit that the Bears may have finally found a guy.
Green Bay can sense what's coming with Caleb Williams.
He hasn't quite mastered the smaller details of the position yet. That comes from learning a new system and rewiring everything he understands about how to play quarterback. His footwork still isn't there, which has been impacting his accuracy. Once everything aligns properly, those missed throws will start hitting. Then, stopping the Bears will become even more difficult than it was for the Packers in that second half. If nothing else, it feels notable that this is the first Bears quarterback to garner legitimate respect from Green Bay fans in decades.
For now, the Packers remain in control of the NFC North. They have the star power and the more established quarterback. It feels like this has to be the season they go get that Super Bowl. That Micah Parsons contract will only hit harder as the next few years progress. Meanwhile, the Bears know their goals.
- Keep developing Caleb Williams
- Re-tool the defense
- Keep the arsenal of weapons and protection stacked
Their time feels like it's not too far away. The trick is making sure not to rush the process. Keep building the right way, and everything should come together.
