Windy City Gridiron
The Chicago Bears might be winning games, but they aren’t doing their fans any favors by how close they keep cutting it these last-minute wins. For the second straight week, the offense had to win the game in the final two minutes of the game. Unlike last weekend’s team effort, Sunday’s win was all about their franchise quarterback. Five games ago, I said the Bears needed to go (4-1) over this five-game stretch to remain in the playoff race, and that’s precisely what they did. With the schedule tightening up starting next weekend on the road, heading into the final eight games at (6-3) was a must.
Before we turn the page to next weekend, let’s take a deeper dive into one of the more hectic weeks of the season.
1. To Summarize This Game As Easily As Possible: Quarterback Caleb Williams Put His Cape On And Won His Team The Game On Sunday.
Was it a perfect game for the Bears’ second-year quarterback? Absolutely not. He had moments of hesitation and a few inaccurate throws, but more than anything, his pass catchers let him down, and he played Houdini for most of the day, avoiding sacks and attempting to make something out of nothing. On paper, his line of 20-of-36 (55.5%) for 220 yards and a passing touchdown won’t look like much. Even when you add his 63 rushing yards and game-winning rushing touchdown, it doesn’t feel like anything “special”.
That’s why box-score scouting can be a dangerous task if not armed with the proper context. In reality, his pass catchers dropped six passes. Another two, maybe three throws should have been caught, but won’t be registered as drops due to the complexity of the catches. Although I’d say the offensive line played pretty well most of the game, it was easy to lose count of how many times Williams was able to evade direct pressure and make a play downfield.
The best aspect of his performance once again came down to the fourth quarter. Despite an offense that accounted for just 10 points through three and a half quarters, Williams played his best football when it mattered the most. On the final two drives of the game, he accounted for 130 of the team’s 139 offensive yards gained. Although there are still plenty of aspects of Williams’ game that need to be refined, there’s no denying that his poise in late-game situations is something the Bears haven’t had since the early days of Jay Cutler.
The Bears have plenty of “gaps” in their game that they need to iron out, and the offense isn’t immune to that. Even so, having a clutch quarterback who plays his best football when the game matters most is invaluable. Even better, their franchise quarterback once again put the team on his back and secured the win, which is something we haven’t seen in quite some time.
**2. The Trade Deadline Had Plenty Of Action, Yet Despite The Excitement, The Bears Only Swapped...
