Another week, another loss. Another prime time national embarrassment, and yet another division loss in the Ryan Poles era.
The Bears were toyed with by the rival Vikings on Monday night, falling 30-12 for their eighth-straight loss of the season. They might have hung around for a while, but only because the Vikings were shooting themselves in the foot with penalties all game long.
Truthfully, the Bears were never really in it, in part, because they could not reach the end zone for the vast majority of the game. They couldn’t even reach the scoreboard in the first two quarters of play.
The offense failed to score any first half points as their four possessions — not including a one-play kneel down — ended with two turnovers on downs, a fumble, and a punt. They managed two field goals in the second half and a garbage time touchdown to salvage the slightest bit of dignity. But by that time, they were way out of it anyway.
Obviously, with the Bears out of the playoffs, losing a game like this matters little to this season. The greater concern that Bears fans and the organization itself must now be feeling is how things have gotten so bad and how they can salvage what they’ve got on the roster.
Specifically, how can they keep Caleb Williams upright and alive and prevent him from getting “ruined.”
All sorts of thoughts run through my head when I see Williams lying flat on the field or hunched over in pain on the bench.
I think about how the Bears received a major gift when the Panthers finished dead last in 2023, which gave the Bears the first overall selection in April’s draft. And how the Bears were able to get a Heisman winning-quarterback, which appeared to solve their decades-long need for a franchise player at the position.
And then I think about how Poles, although he gave Williams some intriguing skill position players to help him succeed, badly misjudged the effectiveness of his offensive line and has left Williams hanging out to dry to the tune of a league-leading 58 sacks.
I don’t really believe the notion of “ruining” a quarterback. I think it’s blaming the organization for the shortcomings of the player. If a player is truly talented, he might not “thrive” in a certain organization, but he definitely won’t be “ruined” because a ruined player does not put up the respectable numbers that Williams has put up this season.
However, amongst the stream of consciousness flowing through my brain, I can’t help but wonder if Williams might want out of Chicago. Yes, I know, that seems a little bit of a stretch. And Williams has been nothing but professional in his time in Chicago. He’s taken his lumps and continues to get out there and be a good face of the organization.
But if there was any truth to the rumors that Caleb, his father, or anyone in his circle did not want him originally going to Chicago in the first place, and that he should have refused to play for them like Eli Manning once did, then why wouldn’t Caleb pull a similar power play and demand a trade?
Now, that doesn’t mean the Bears would have to oblige. They have him under contract. And I don’t really believe that Williams wants to cut and run. But it’s just one of the thoughts — one of the fears — that I have running through my head while reflecting on this mess of a situation that a good quarterback — a great college prospect — has landed in this year.
We have no choice but to sit through three more games this season, which could result in miserable failures that generate further embarrassment. And the worst possible thing that could happen is a serious Williams injury that has him missing most of the offseason rehabbing instead of preparing for the 2025 season. But I’m not advocating for the Bears to bench him to preserve him in Tupperware.
He needs to get out there and play. They need to keep an extra blocker in to help that woeful offensive line protect him. And they need to finish the season strong with some positive momentum on which they can hang their hats.
When the offseason comes, we can quibble about whether Poles needs to stay or go. We can debate who the best hire at head coach will be. We can lay out our master plans — which mean nothing but a hill of beans — for how to fix the Bears and what pieces the organization needs to bring in.
But for now, I want to see Caleb play. I want to see him not only survive, but thrive. And I want to see him finish out a strong rookie season amidst troubling circumstances. If he can do that, maybe we won’t feel as overwhelmed as we do right now about how far away the Bears are from contending, because they will have gotten the most important position in pro sports finally stabilized.
