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.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
@skee….Don’t get down on the Bears Defense yet. Remember, they too are placed in bad situations by the Defensive Play Caller (Flus!!!). The man tends to play soft defense between the 20s, which consistently backfires on him. The Washington game is a perfect example (The play before the hail mary). The Packers and Vikings found the soft spots in the Defensive scheme all game and they barely best the Bears. So I recommend we the fans give the defense a pass for now until after Fluse is out of the picture. A new Strong DC will have them playing well… Read more »
Unfortunately Da Bears defense is now a problem again.
No team can be competitive when the defense can’t get pressure on the opposing offense, sorry Caleb.!
The way Caleb can turn and throw would have been a great pairing with Nabers, and how he can turn and get instantly vertical. Those 2 wouldn’t have been stopped.
JMHO, I appreciate the conversations with a bunch of you, and we’ve discussed QBs ability to throw off platform and stuff. Just from my perspective, Caleb can turn, pivot and throw like an all star 2nd baseman. Stafford can do it. ARod could maybe 8 years ago. It’s sudden and it’s controlled. He keeps it tight. The next few years in the division is going to be highlighted by Goff vs Caleb. Forget about the other 2. Goff is a 1.01, too. He is smart, motivated with a chip on his shoulder, and he can make all the throws. We… Read more »
If our franchise QB and our offense is trending up in a good way by the end of the year, I do not want to bring in someone from the outside to be our next HC. We all know it takes a lot for a team to come together and be successful. Success Ben Johnson has with the current Detroit Lions doesn’t automatically transfer over with him as the next HC of the Chicago Bears. The 3 games Brown was allowed to call plays for the Carolina Panthers seem to be used as a negative against him, which is just… Read more »