Bear Digest

Jon Gruden makes Caleb Williams comp that Packers fans will hate

Reaching this level of stardom would take the Chicago Bears to uncharted waters in the NFC North.
Pete Martuneac|
Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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It may only be his second NFL season, but there's reason to believe that Caleb Williams is already the best Chicago Bears quarterback ever. He broke Erik Kramer's franchise record for most passing yards in a season, set an NFL record for fewest interceptions in a quarterback's first 1,000 pass attempts, and just did something that no Bears quarterback has done since 1991: he beat the Green Bay Packers twice in one year.

That unbelievable comeback victory over the Packers in the Wild Card round on Saturday night silenced any doubters who remained. With the season on the line against the team's biggest rival, Williams overcame a shaky start and fueled a 25-point fourth quarter performance for the ages. That was the kind of game that legacies are built on. The game that fans and analysts can point to as the moment a player began in earnest his rise to superstardom.

Speaking of superstars, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden made a Caleb Williams comparison that will surely drive Packers fans nuts. Appearing on The Shred Line podcast from Barstool, Gruden was asked if he could think of a quarterback like Williams, who can apparently overcome any adversity in a game and find a way to win.

Gruden answered immediately: "He reminds me of Brett Favre."

Gruden went on to tell how in Favre's early years, he "would throw rocket-balls" and would "overthink some things" when games started before settling in. Returning to the Bears, Gruden remarked that the things Williams does in the fourth quarter are remarkable, saying, "He just reminds me of Brett Favre. I'm speechless."

A Brett Favre career arc would send Chicago into euphoria and Green Bay into a conniption

Younger NFL fans may not remember much about Brett Favre, but in the 1990's he won the MVP award three years in a row, appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls, and won one of them. There's an argument to be made that perhaps the Packers underachieved with Favre on their roster, but not a Bears fan alive would turn up their nose to this kind of resume if that's how it turns out with Williams.

As for Packers fans, they already hate Caleb Williams for beating them twice in a row in dramatic fashion, including a playoff game, and then trolling them by grating a block of cheese on the postgame Amazon Prime show. Just imagine how furious they'll be if he goes on to win a Super Bowl and dominate MVP voting while their quarterback, third-year starter Jordan Love, continues to just be pretty good.

After this weekend and all the narratives and storylines that have come from that Wild Card thriller, including head coach Ben Johnson's postgame rant about the Packers, there's one thing that NFL fans can say for certain: the Bears-Packers rivalry is officially back and it's better than ever.

Caleb William
Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via 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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