The Chicago Bears have fallen to the basement of the NFC North, perhaps the most competitive division in the NFL, thanks to a blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. To add injury to insult, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter, which raised questions from audiences about why Matt Eberflus still played him even as the game was already out of reach. Asked about his garbage time stint after the game, Williams deferred.
“It’s not my decision,” the No. 1 overall pick of the NFL Draft said, via NFL writer @dave_bfr on X, formerly Twitter.
Week 9: Cardinals def. Bears
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts following the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Bears falling in Week 9 to the Cardinals didn’t need a Caleb Williams injury on top of it, but that was simply how the week went for Chicago.
Earlier, the Bears benched Tyrique Stevenson for his gross misplay that helped the Commanders steal the game in Week 9 thanks to a Jayden Daniels Hail Mary. Stevenson had taunted the Washington crowd while the ball was in the air, and then he tipped it to Noah Brown, who scored the game-winning touchdown.
Then, Stevenson pulled himself out of practice after learning that the team was benching him. This breach of trust between Stevenson and the rest of the locker room also compounded their brewing discontent with coach Eberflus.
During his post-game interview after the Commanders game, Eberflus seemingly threw his players under the bus, blaming them for the misplay that led to the touchdown. Afterward, the players called on the Bears coaching staff to take more accountability for the losses.
If Caleb Williams had gone down with a more serious injury, in the loss, and the Bears end up not making the playoffs, it’s almost a sure thing that Eberflus and his staff are out of Chicago.
Injury risk
Fans remember what happened to MVP Derrick Rose who tore his ACL during a playoff game against the Philadelphia 76ers in 2012, when his Bulls had led by 12 points with less than two minutes left. After that injury, the 76ers upset the Bulls and won the series.
“You fight to end of the game, if you’re in the game,” Williams said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “If not, [the] coach makes a decision like that. You have to deal with it and figure out the next steps. But yeah, not my decision.”
Meanwhile, the coach said that playing Williams in an already blown game was part of his development, despite the risk of injury, because they were “getting work and getting timing on the two-minute operation.”
Perhaps, the coaching staff should feel grateful that their quarterback of the future didn’t go down, or else they’re looking at an early departure from Chicago.
