Injuries have haunted the Chicago Bears all season. Most of them have been of the soft tissue variety, making them all the more infuriating. However, it appears the time of the year may have decided to get in on the “fun.” Recent reports indicated a bout of flu might be going through the Bears locker room. Four players were listed on the injury report this week with an illness designation. Unfortunately, the mini-pandemic struck again at the worst possible time. The Bears revealed that Darnell Wright, their stud right tackle, as added to the injury report on Saturday.

His designation is also an illness. He will not travel with the team to San Francisco today. As of now, he is questionable for the game on Sunday night. Based on how this is unfolding, there is a strong probability Wright won’t play in this game. If so, it’s a brutal blow for the Bears’ offensive line. Wright has been arguably their best player for most of the season. If he can’t go, backup Theo Benedet is likely to step into the starting role. Thankfully, he has some playing experience this season and should still help their rushing attack.

Darnell Wright will have a tough next several hours.

Not only must he rest and try to recover from his illness, but he will eventually have to make a difficult decision. Either he chooses to sit out the game and rest, risking the offense struggling, or he flies cross-country and plays a game on the west coast on the same day. Neither option is ideal. Knowing Darnell Wright and his toughness, there is a strong possibility that he will push to play. It may come down to whether the Bears’ medical staff believes he is recovered enough to take the risk. Typically, they’ve aired on the side of caution.

Head coach Ben Johnson won’t think much about it. He’s had to navigate injuries all season. This will be no different in his mind. The Bears didn’t have Rome Odunze or Luther Burden last week and still found a way to beat Green Bay. San Francisco is another brutally difficult task, but Johnson isn’t one to make excuses. Take the players you have and go win the game. If Darnell Wright can play, they will welcome him. If not, they will be glad to have him back next weekend.

The Chicago Bears pulled off the stunner of all stunners last week. For decades, the Green Bay Packers had always held onto leads against them in the 4th quarter. It was a sickening routine. Not a soul expected that chilly evening at Soldier Field to be any different. Chicago was down 16-9 with under two minutes left and all their timeouts gone. If they didn’t recover an onside kick, the game was over. Onside kicks have an 8% chance of success. Basically, they were screwed. However, Kevin Byard never lost faith.

The Bears had made crazy things happen all year. Late comebacks had become their identity. They would recover the onside and score. Sure enough, Green Bay bobbled the kick, allowing Josh Blackwell to recover. The offense then marched down the field and, with mere seconds left, reached the end zone on a pass to rookie Jahdae Walker. However, things took an unexpected twist. Byard didn’t understand why head coach Ben Johnson chose to kick an extra point rather than go for a two-point conversion and win. He told this to ESPN.

That is, until he put the pieces together.

Byard: “I went to Harry, and I said, Hey, man, can you kind of walk me through all the overtime stuff, defer or to kick? He kind of just basically told me, like, hey, you know, obviously in overtime, there is no defer, because you basically only kick the ball, there’s no defer, there’s no second half. But right before the overtime, I remember I walked up to Ben and asked him, like, Hey, we’re kicking, right? Just make sure, like, we’re all good with it. And he was like, ‘Yeah, man, we’re kicking. Go get a stop.'”

Byard was surprised his team got to overtime at all Saturday night, given his head coach’s aggressive tendencies.

Byard: “Honestly, [kicking the PAT] was a little bit surprising to me. Obviously, we didn’t talk about it, but we was on the sideline, like, just kind of talking amongst each other, like, if we score right here, we’re going for two, we’re going for the win! Man, I think [Ben] just put his trust in the defense that we was going to go get a stop. No, like I said, it was surprising, because Ben is usually aggressive in those situations. But like I said, he must have known something. It helped us out for sure.”

Kevin Byard and the defense got the extra juice they needed.

Johnson’s decision wasn’t solely about motivating the defense. He had logical reasons. The Bears were at home and clearly had momentum. Choosing overtime made sense. Johnson knew if the defense got a stop, all the Bears would need was a field goal to win. Conversely, even if the Packers managed to score, Chicago would still get a possession to answer, per the overtime rules. He was playing the odds. It turns out that was the smart decision. Reinvigorated, the defense sacked Malik Willis to ensure overtime.

Then, after a strong start to open the extra frame, Green Bay bogged down at Chicago’s 36-yard line. T.J. Edwards stuffed Willis a yard short. The Packers decided to go for it on 4th down. Willis bobbled the snap and fumbled, allowing the Bears to recover. Four plays later, Caleb Williams hit D.J. Moore for the winning touchdown. Kevin Byard couldn’t believe what had just happened, and Johnson had been the puppeteer through all of it. That served as further confirmation the head coach knew his stuff.

Sunday night in San Francisco feels like a statement game for the Chicago Bears, and this matchup against the 49ers sets up perfectly for a few bold outcomes.

Bold Prediction No. 1: The Bears force two 49ers punts.

San Francisco hasn’t punted in 21 straight possessions, the fifth longest streak in NFL history. That ends Sunday night. This Bears defense bends but doesn’t break, and the potential absence of George Kittle matters. Chicago may give up yards, but it tightens up when it counts and finally forces San Francisco to kick it away—twice.

Bold Prediction No. 2: Caleb Williams throws for 300+ yards.

Williams needs two 300 yard passing games to reach 4,000 yards on the season, and this is the spot. The 49ers defense can be attacked through the air, they just allowed 277 passing yards last week. Getting rookie WR Luther back will help too. Expect Caleb to be aggressive, poised, and productive under the lights.

Bold Prediction No. 3: The Bears record 2.5 sacks.

The pass rush shows up. Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Andrew Billings, and Grady Jarrett generate pressure, collapse pockets, and create uncomfortable moments all night.

Final Score Prediction: Bears 23, 49ers 20.

Sunday night belongs to Chicago.

The Chicago Bears were a preseason afterthought in the minds of experts. Predictions typically ranged from repeating 5-12 to at best 9-8 this year, even with the arrival of new head coach Ben Johnson. It was felt that the team needed tons of work that would require at least a year to sort out before it had any hope of becoming good. That started with Caleb Williams. Fixing all his issues as a passer after his frustrating rookie season couldn’t possibly be done in a matter of months. Yet here they are.

Williams is putting together one of the best overall seasons in Bears history despite an unideal completion percentage. Johnson has assembled one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks, and the defense leads the league in takeaways. The Bears are 11-4, clinching their first playoff berth in five years. By any metric, this season has been a major success. Just don’t tell Williams that. He made one thing clear after the big win over Green Bay. What they’ve accomplished means nothing to him. The bigger prize is still ahead.

“I get drafted here. I’m told that I’m not a special player. I’m told that I’m not a good fit here. I’m told that Coach and I won’t work. I’m told I can’t win here. I know that that’s going to keep going on. But I do take a little satisfaction and things like that in being able to help this team, help this organization, be a part of it to get to the playoffs. And my goal isn’t to just get to the playoffs. My goal is to win and win big.”

Caleb Williams has always made it clear what his objective is.

He made the statement during an interview last year. It was a screenshot on his phone. The goal was to break Tom Brady’s record of seven Super Bowl victories. Yes, that sounded overly ambitious, but that was the point. If you’re not aiming to be the absolute best ever to play the game, what is the point? Williams has said his goal is to be the best. Whether he gets there can be debated, but nobody can dismiss his willingness to aim high. That is often what the great quarterbacks do. Too many previous Bears passers never seemed to have those expectations.

That will never happen with Caleb Williams. Other players on the team might be content with making the playoffs. That is fine. It isn’t their job to keep an eye on the bigger picture. That falls on the shoulders of the quarterback. He is the leader. He sets the tone. In his eyes, making the playoffs and immediately losing would be a waste of precious time. Brady’s first playoff appearance ended with a Super Bowl ring. If he can do it, there is no reason to think Williams can’t. It starts with issuing the challenge.