The Chicago Bears won their Sunday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was another game in which they never trailed. Yet you wouldn’t feel that way from watching it live. It was a brutal game from an offensive standpoint. Neither team looked sharp by any stretch of the imagination. At the center of the mess was Caleb Williams. Most would be shocked to hear that. Chicago’s quarterback hadn’t thrown an interception since coming back from his hamstring injury in week 6. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he threw 4 interceptions against the Buccaneers.
Every quarterback has their off nights from time to time. That was definitely the case for Williams. He started the game really well, leading the Bears to consecutive touchdown drives in the 1st quarter. Everything was clicking. Then, for some inexplicable reason, Williams started making some truly reckless decisions. One that he has never been prone to making. Tampa’s defense capitalized almost every time, handing him the most interceptions he’s ever thrown in a game in his career.
In fairness, one of those passes was tipped, and two others looked like throwaways that just weren’t far enough. Still, he must own those decisions.
Caleb Williams was served a wake-up call.
It felt like after that big win over the Seahawks in Seattle that he was starting to believe this team, including himself, was untouchable. This is the NFL, though. It can humble you really fast if you don’t respect it. You could argue, as weird as it sounds, that Williams needed a game like this. Getting one while still winning the game is the ideal outcome. It keeps the Bears on track towards the playoffs while forcing the young quarterback to sit and reflect on how he was the primary reason they almost lost.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
Players from the 1985 Bears have all said that the most important game of that entire season was their Monday night loss to the Miami Dolphins. They feel it was a critical reminder that their confidence was getting out of control. If they wanted to be champions, they’d better keep putting in the work. To his credit, Caleb Williams once again stepped up when the chips were down. Tied 24-24 with two minutes left, he hit an 8-yard pass for a crucial 1st down on 3rd and 4, then hit Colston Loveland for 38 yards to set up the winning field goal.
The Bears now have plenty of time to regroup.
Many feared this would be a trap game with the bye week right around the corner. It very nearly was. Yet the Bears, as they’ve proven so many times since last year, weathered the storm and made the plays necessary to win. Now they have two well-deserved weeks off. In that time, Williams and head coach Ben Johnson can convene and go over what went wrong and make adjustments to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Meanwhile, several key players will have a chance to heal up.
Kyle Monangai is expected back from his turf toe injury. The same is true of cornerback Malik Muhammad. There is also a strong possibility that Dayo Odeyingbo will return. Hopefully, Luther Burden has enough time to recover from the concussion he suffered near the end of the game. You should see a refocused team by the time they play the New Orleans Saints in two weeks. Especially Williams.
