Bear Digest

Caleb Williams headlines duds from Bears' heartbreaking loss to Packers

Despite a valiant second-half effort, Caleb Williams came up short when the Chicago Bears needed him most.
Pete Martuneac|
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Their magical run as the top team in the NFC finally came to an end in Week 14 as the Chicago Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 28-21. A surprise Kyler Gordon injury in pregame warmups proved to be a bad omen for what was to come, as the defense largely struggled and the offense couldn't find any traction until the second half.

While this is obviously a massive disappointment for Bears fans, they should remember that this team is still very much ahead of schedule. A reality check was overdue at this point, but it doesn't change the fact that Chicago has already won more games than many analysts expected, proving the success of Ryan Poles' vision for 2025 and beyond.

But we can't look too far ahead yet. We still need to dissect what was a valiant yet losing effort from the Bears. A handful of players stood out in a bad way on Sunday, and it started with the quarterback.

1. Caleb Williams

I won't mince words: Caleb Williams has been playing some pretty bad football of late. In fact, Williams has been playing mostly bad football since the start of November. He did play much better in the second half, and he still shows up with some wow-plays, but Williams' accuracy is way off for a former first-overall pick, and it's holding this team back from reaching even greater heights.

Bears fans shouldn't panic, however. Williams has already demonstrated tremendous growth in other areas of quarterbacking, particularly in avoiding sacks. He'll figure out the accuracy issues sooner or later, just perhaps not as quickly as Bears fans might prefer.

2. Offensive line

As Ben Johnson mentioned last week, not all of Chicago's woes in the passing game fall on Williams' shoulders. Such was the case on Sunday as Chicago's vastly improved offensive line underwhelmed. Williams was under constant pressure, and some early penalties knocked the offense out of rhythm.

There's no excuse for that performance, either. Micah Parsons may be a dominant pass rusher, but he wasn't the only one living in the backfield. The O-line just didn't play up to their standards on Sunday, and they're going to have to do some soul-searching.

Caleb William
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

3. Ben Johnson

The Bears' head coach is in the same boat as his quarterback: he's not performing up to the standard he set earlier this year. Johnson made some questionable play calls on Sunday and didn't seem in a hurry to establish the run game, which hamstrung the offense in the first half.

Again, Bears fans don't need to panic. Johnson is your head coach of the future, and he'll figure things out. Also, out of fairness to Johnson, it's hard to call a good game when your quarterback is stuck in a slump. But Sunday was not a great day for Johnson.

Ben Johnson
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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