The Green Bay Packers have owned the Chicago Bears for the past 30 years of the rivalry. A big reason for that was the decisive edge at quarterback, trotting out Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers while the Bears have thrown Erik Kramer, Steve Walsh, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Mitch Trubisky, and Justin Fields at them over the years. The mismatch has been obvious every single time. Packer fans probably expected it to stay the same even as the Bears secured the #1 overall pick this past off-season. They opted for USC standout Caleb Williams.
After some ugly early bumps, the young quarterback seems to have blossomed in recent weeks. His 340 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota was the latest indication Chicago may have finally gotten one. Former Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert admitted on Twitter (X) that the Patrick Mahomes comparison may have been more accurate than he wanted to believe.
Caleb Williams even gave the Packers a taste of what’s to come.
While his numbers last week weren’t as gaudy, the rookie still had 301 total yards, including 70 on the ground. The biggest signal of his imminent arrival came late in the 4th quarter when he delivered passes of 16, 21, and 12 yards to get the Bears in position for a 46-yard field goal. Green Bay escaped thanks to a blocked kick, but it was still a warning sign that their mastery of previous Bears quarterbacks wasn’t quite there. Was it an anomaly or a sign of things to come? Benkert seems to think the latter, which won’t make Packers fans too happy.
Their mastery of the NFC North is already weakened thanks to the ascent of Detroit and constantly present Minnesota. If the Bears figure things out, every year will turn into a dogfight. That makes getting to the playoffs even harder, never mind a Super Bowl. Remember, the Packers won two championships with Favre and Rodgers despite 22 trips to the postseason. Caleb Williams is good enough to stand in their way. This is a challenge they haven’t encountered in decades.
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@Dr. Melhus While I may not be as eager to close the book on Poles as TGena, I gotta say, he has proved pretty accurate in this comment section. He called the Nate Davis thing before anyone, he nailed Kiran’s injury status, and had Flus pegged as a vanilla DC who wouldn’t stand up to ownership. Credit where it’s due. Regarding Poles, he has built a significantly talented team. But the red flags around things like Velus Jones, Chase Claypool, and his statements about the depth of the OL have shared my faith in his ability to objectively evaluate professional… Read more »
@TGena: I agree that the Bears are in the catbird seat. Caleb is the real deal. That said, I can’t understand your rabid desire to get rid of the GM that got Caleb onto this team with a shrewd trade and thorough scouting to find the best QB in years and get him on the Bears. That said, remember that the Chiefs spent Mahomes’s first season with him riding the pine behind Alex Smith. Was that a waste of his first affordable rookie contract year? Or did Mahomes learn stuff from the bench that he would have learned in Chiefs… Read more »
Caleb Sequan Williams, “LLC” and the governing monetary limits that his NFLPA rookie contract provides the Bears franchise is a fleeting benefit. This is not the right time to offer a “perpetual rookie” GM an opportunity to spread his nascent wings and fly — simply because Ryan Poles really meant it when he told us that lie about “…the NFC North…” This is the time for serious, talented, experienced NFL football people to be placed in service at Halas Hall. I don’t know what CEO, Kevin Warren is capable of assembling — but he is no longer working with the… Read more »