Could a loss to the Rams hurt Caleb Williams' breakout season?

There's more at stake in the Bears' Divisional Round matchup against the Rams than you may think.

David Banks-Imagn Images

At this point in the 2025 NFL season, there's no way to say that this year hasn't been a smashing success for the Chicago Bears. To go from 5-12 in 2024 to clinching the 2025 NFC North championship is a testament to how head coach Ben Johnson is changing the Bears' culture. But the turnaround hasn't stopped there. The Bears went on to secure one of the greatest, most thrilling wins in franchise history with their unbelievable comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

While both the team and the fans will, of course, hope to see the Bears defeat the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and advance to the NFC Championship game, they can collectively hold their heads high this offseason should they lose. However, this may not be the case at the individual level for quarterback Caleb Williams.

He's made some vast improvements since his rookie season, but Williams remains far from a complete player. The furious comebacks are exciting and have earned him a cool nickname, but the Bears may not be in those situations as much if Williams had gotten off to faster starts. Even in Saturday's Wild Card victory, Green Bay's Jordan Love massively outplayed Williams in the first half.

That leaves us with one question: Will a loss to the Rams on Sunday hurt the way that people look at Williams' breakout 2025 season?

Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Seasons are rarely defined by a single game

If you ask Danny Parkins of the "First Things First" show on FOX Sports 1, the answer is a resounding 'no'. In fact, he doesn't think a win would help Williams' reputation, either. Parkins believes that Williams is on a trajectory to becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL, and that one game, as important as it may be for the team, will not change that for better or for worse.

“I think people will just start catching up to what I felt last year... He is excellent, a Tier 1, elite talent in the game and I don’t think it really comes to the result of one game for him.”@DannyParkins doesn't think a win or loss will impact his opinion of Caleb Williams: pic.twitter.com/ip4KQi6kT9

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 15, 2026

I'm inclined to agree with Parkins on this. A single game cannot define a legacy one way or another, especially not when we look at Williams' entire body of work this season. From cutting his sack total by two-thirds to becoming deadly accurate on deep balls, we've seen enough improvements to believe that his development will only continue. Beating the Rams on Sunday will only confirm that feeling, not necessarily change it.

And if the Bears lose? Well, they were never supposed to be here to begin with. Barring a catastrophically bad performance from Williams, a loss at this stage shouldn't be held against him. This was the breakout season for QB1 that every Bears fan was hoping to see, and win or lose on Sunday, they'll get to spend the entire offseason enjoying the memory of it.

Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

More Chicago Bears News:

• Bears' Colston Loveland set to take postseason torch from Travis Kelce

• 4 biggest winners from Bears' miraculous Wild Card win over Packers

• Jon Gruden makes Caleb Williams comp that Packers fans will hate

• Bears lose two key starters in unbelievable Wild Card victory

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter