The Chicago Bears dropped to 2-1 on the season without Caleb Williams in the starting lineup after an ugly 31-7 loss to a hated rival. The fact that the collapse came against one of the league's most historic rivalries made it sting all the more. It ended a nice winning streak against the Packers and left Chicago fans wondering how quickly Williams is going to be able to get back up to speed after missing extended time.
While a level of frustration or panic is an understandable response to what we just witnessed it is a bit misplaced. Chicago still has the season well within hand, with clear reasons not to panic despite the undeniably ugly results.
1. Caleb Williams has a proven ceiling
Look back at the end of the 2025 season or the first week of 2026 and remember what this offense can accomplish when the quarterback is in the lineup. Williams is electric and has proven capable of making all of the plays that Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent were missing on Sunday. If the starting quarterback is out there it is impossible to believe the game is anything close to the blowout win for the Packers that it became.
Chicago is going to get an additional shot at the Packers later in the season and this time around they will have the benefit of Williams being in the lineup. A deciding factor that fans have to feel great about after Sunday's motivation and the past suggesting that perhaps the quarterback has Green Bay's number.
2. Minnesota will stumble
While going 2-1 without your starting quarterback in the lineup is objectively great, it is difficult to stay excited about this as the Vikings have remained perfect. Minnesota has been one of the league's surprise stories and sits at the top of the NFC North. While this has been an undeniably nice start, the offensive ability simply isn't there and everything suggests this is an early-season outlier, with the Vikings coming back to earth.
For Minnesota, there is zero reason to trust in Kyler Murray moving forward and your backup situation isn't much better. It simply is undeniable that the offense is going to open up the door for Chicago to take back control of the North.
3. Larger defensive sample size should be reassuring
Dennis Allen's defense was run up-and-down the field on Sunday as Green Bay's offense took advantage of consistent turnovers and burnt the secondary. While this was undeniably upsetting to watch, it is a fair result when you consider the lack of elite defenders and the need for the Chicago offense to take a level of pressure off the defense.
Defensively everything will return to baseline once Williams is back in the lineup and there is the support needed in place. It is a strong roster, but not one capable of winning a game without any level of offensive consistency.
4. Chicago survived far better than expected
Case Keenum delivered an incredible performance to beat the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago rushing attack did the heavy-lifting the next week to beat the New York Jets. Putting it simply, the way the Bears found a way to have a winning record without their starting quarterback in the lineup is incredible. It far exceeded any reasonable expectations and served as a reminder of the ability of the current coaching staff.
As much as Green Bay blowing out the Bears was difficult to stomach, it was one loss in what has been three weeks that went far better than expected.
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