Caleb Williams Shows Flashes, but Inconsistency Defines Bears’ Loss to Packers
The Chicago Bears' 28-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 14 wasn’t just another chapter in the league’s oldest rivalry-it was a full-on rollercoaster ride for anyone trying to make sense of Caleb Williams’ performance under center.
Let’s start with the rough stuff. The first quarter was, quite frankly, brutal.
Williams completed just one of his first seven passes for a grand total of three yards. The offense looked stuck in neutral, managing only a field goal as Green Bay’s defense dictated the tempo.
Williams’ timing was off, his footwork looked rushed, and the ball placement-well, it just wasn’t there.
One play in particular summed up the early struggles. Late in the second quarter, Williams had Luther Burden III wide open on a short route-an easy five-yard connection by NFL standards.
But the throw sailed well to the right, uncatchable. That’s a throw most quarterbacks make in their sleep.
For Williams, it was another missed opportunity in a half full of them.
But here’s the thing about young quarterbacks: growth isn’t linear. And when the second half kicked off, Williams flipped the script.
He started moving with more confidence, both in and out of the pocket. The rhythm returned.
The ball came out quicker, the reads looked sharper, and suddenly, the Bears were alive. Williams tossed two touchdown passes-one to Colston Loveland, the other to Olamide Zaccheaus-that reminded everyone why he was taken with such high expectations.
Both throws were tight-window lasers, the kind that require not just arm talent, but timing and trust.
He even gave the Bears a chance to tie it late in the fourth. On the final drive, with the game hanging in the balance, Williams delivered a clutch 21-yard strike to Devin Duvernay, threading it perfectly between defenders to keep the drive alive. It looked like he might complete the comeback.
Then came the final play. Fourth-and-one.
End zone in sight. Cole Kmet slipped open in the back of the end zone.
Williams saw it, pulled the trigger-but the throw was undercut. Interception.
Game over.
His final stat line: 19-of-35 for 186 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and 15 rushing yards on four carries. Not terrible.
Not great. Just enough to spark both hope and frustration.
And that’s where the Bears are right now with Caleb Williams. There are stretches-sometimes even full quarters-where he looks like the real deal.
The arm talent is obvious. The mobility is there.
He can make throws on the run that most quarterbacks wouldn’t dare attempt. But then there are the misses, the hesitation, the errant throws that stall drives and leave points on the field.
It’s a tale of two halves, not just in this game, but in the broader arc of Williams’ rookie season. The inconsistency is real, but so is the upside. The flashes are bright enough to believe that, with time, the pieces can come together.
For now, though, Bears fans are left in a familiar spot-searching for answers, clinging to potential, and waiting for their quarterback of the future to become the quarterback of the present.