Toward the end of the Bears’ 31-3 takedown of the Browns, quarterback Caleb Williams kicked his foot against the bench while he chatted with wide receiver DJ Moore and waited for the clock to run out, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett danced on the sideline and a “Green Bay sucks” chant even broke out in the seats.
Even in 8 degrees and subzero wind chill Sunday, Soldier Field hasn’t been this warm in a long time.
It was the Bears’ largest margin of victory since 2020, and it was the calm before the impending blizzard.
They likely need at least one more win to get into the playoffs, and their last three games are brutally tough, beginning Saturday at home against the Packers. They follow that with a visit to the 49ers and a potentially high-stakes finale at home against the Lions.
That’s what really matters. Thumping the Browns was a nice and necessary step, but the whole season comes down to those three games.
“We’re a good football team, and I’m looking forward to seeing this competition,” coach Ben Johnson said. “We’re 10-4 and we’ve got a lot to play for over the next three weeks. Really, in this league, you can’t ask for a lot more than that.”
That kind of talk is believable from the Bears for the first time in years. They reached double-digit wins for the first time since 2018, and getting a direct shot at the teams they’re battling for a playoff spot.
“Love it,” Williams said. “I like our chances versus anybody.”
It’s tight. And while Johnson has been saying for weeks he thinks 11 wins is the entry fee for the playoffs, even that might not be enough.
The best part, though, is that Johnson has been relentless in enforcing high standards. A 10-win season is miles ahead of where the Bears have been, but not nearly good enough for a team serious about ultimately competing for a championship.
He drilled that mentality again on a day in which the Bears led by double digits almost all game, had three takeaways and were solid rushing and passing.
“You win a game 31-3, yet there’s still a number of areas we can address — we need to address,” he said.
When asked if the 10-win mark meant something to him in his debut season as a head coach, Johnson said, “Not really. Ten is great, but it’s not enough.”
With a treacherous path ahead, the Bears absolutely had to beat the lowly pitiful, and the victory was never in doubt. They did enough right and got more than enough help from the Browns to cruise comfortably.
Williams’ strong performance was refreshing, and the Bears hope it sparks something in him for the playoff push. He finished 17-of-28 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns for a 112.5 passer rating for his best game in more than a month, all without injured wide receiver Rome Odunze.
While the Browns are a mess, their defense is not. They went into the game No. 2 overall and first against the pass. Star defensive end Myles Garrett is chasing the single-season sack record and got Williams 1 1/2 times. He had a few near-misses, too, and left Soldier Field one short of the record at 22 1/2.
Williams’ first touchdown pass was a perfectly placed lob to wide receiver DJ Moore streaking ahead of cornerback Myles Harden to the back left corner of the end zone, and the second, also to Moore, was arguably his most impressive throw of the season.
In the middle of the third quarter, Williams scrambled to his right and, as he approached the right sideline with defensive tackle Shelby Harris closing in on him, he turned left, hopped and sent a dart about 35 yards through the air to Moore in the back of the end zone with two defenders in reach of the ball.
NFL Next Gen Stats charted it as a 16.1% chance of being completed, making it the most improbable completion by a Bears quarterback over the last five seasons.
“Ninety-nine percent of the quarterbacks,” Johnson said, “you tell them don’t even waste your time looking back there and trying to make that throw.”
Williams laughed when he was questioned about whether that was an ill-advised decision even though he pulled it off.
“I can make any throw,” he said.
The other moment that took Bears fans’ breath away — in a bad way — happened right before halftime, when Johnson tried a desperation play from the Browns’ 42-yard line in the final seconds.
It started with Williams throwing a 12-yard pass to Luther Burden, and then the Bears kept pitching the ball back to keep the play alive before it fizzled at the 26-yard line, but Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger hit Williams on the throw. Williams hobbled to the locker room, clearly avoiding putting weight on his left leg, and that could’ve been a major concern.
But when the team came back from halftime, Williams came sprinting out of the tunnel like nothing ever happened. He said it was only a bruise.
That’s a relief for the Bears because they need him more than ever as they head into these final three games. Johnson called them a “good” team, but if Williams takes off, he has the potential to make them great. And good simply isn’t good enough.
