The rivalry between Chicago Bears fans and Green Bay Packers fans has always been heated. However, for years it always felt like there wasn’t an edge to it. That changed in a big way this season. For the first time in ages, Packers fans were vocal, taking shots at everybody connected to the Bears organization. Caleb Williams was at the top of the list. He was overrated, soft, inefficient, and nowhere close to Jordan Love. While they’ve enjoyed trolling previous QBs like Justin Fields, Mitch Trubisky, and Jay Cutler, this felt a little more personal.
Why?
Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated summed it up beautifully in his recent column. All of it comes from an uncomfortable realization. Williams is the first truly good quarterback the Bears have had in this rivalry in decades.
While Love and the offense sputtered, Williams was sensational in the fourth quarter. He threw two touchdown passes and made plays that few in the NFL can make.
Chicago has a quarterback now with a lot of talent. They’ve had players like that in the past, but none that have approached the level of Williams.
With Saturday’s win, Williams and the Bears have won three of their last four games against the Packers.
In one night, Ben Johnson and Williams equaled the number of playoff wins that LaFleur and Love have in three years together.
That sums it up.
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Not only is Williams better than the previous gallery of challengers Green Bay has faced, but he seems to have made it his personal mission to beat the Packers as much as possible. He is 3-2 in his first five meetings against them, and those two losses came down to the last second. Huberd admits this could have long-term ramifications if the Packers aren’t careful.
The Packers need to decide if they’re going to punch back, or if Saturday’s game was a changing of the guard, establishing a new bully in the NFL’s oldest rivalry.
Caleb Williams is proving the theories correct.
The prevailing sentiment among Bears fans over the past 30 years has been that Green Bay’s decisive edge in the rivalry stems from its dominance at quarterback. When you challenge Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers with an assortment of bargain bin castoffs and overhyped bodies, you will lose. It isn’t a coincidence that Detroit suddenly became competitive with the Packers after drafting Matthew Stafford. The same thing is happening for Chicago with Williams’ arrival on the scene. It was apparent even before they added Ben Johnson.
You can sense the feeling of dread creeping up the spines of Packers fans. The winds are shifting. For the first time in over 30 years, it looks like they are on equal footing with the Bears. Their iron grip on the rivalry is slipping. Nothing hurts more than realizing you’ve grown weak. The aura of invincibility is gone. When that happens, people tend to become more sensitive and outspoken. Caleb Williams opened that door last January with his win at Lambeau Field. Now he and the Bears walked straight through it.
