Caleb Williams, the Butler of Good Fortune
Week 6. A week where, in years past, Bears fans start to get excited for the upcoming NFL draft. Not in 2024. In this, the year of Caleb Williams, the scent of hope and a new era continue to linger, possibly longer and stronger than ever before.
61,000 fans filled an electric Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, a mere 4,000 miles away from Soldier Field. Distance be damned, this felt like a home game for the Bears. This became apparent early in the second quarter when the boo’s could be heard after linebacker Tremaine Edmunds’ forced fumble was overturned and ruled an incomplete pass. After the 35-16 win brought the Bears to 4-2 on the season, Edmunds wasn’t surprised by how many Bears fans were present:
“Our fans travel. We feel the energy from our fans and that’s what helped us do what we did today.”
As Caleb Williams played the butler in an endzone tea party with an invite from Keenan Allen, we are reminded of the good fortune he ushers in, as a new era of competent quarterback play begins to take root. In his third consecutive week with a passer rating greater than 100, Caleb carved up the Jaguars defense to the tune of 226 passing yards and a career high four touchdowns to only one interception, while adding 56 yards on the ground.
Caleb Williams is now the first number one overall rookie quarterback to win four of his first six starts in the league, in the common draft era. On pace for over 3,700 yards, he passes the eye test in a way that previous quarterbacks have not been able to.
Cole Kmet: Football Player
The good fortune does not end with Caleb Williams, as Cole Kmet and Keenan Allen ended the game with two touchdowns apiece. Kmet continues to be a reliable pass catcher who is tough to bring down, but showed that he is more than just a Tight End. When long snapper Scott Daly left the game due to injury (knee,) Kmet stepped in as the emergency long snapper and might have scored himself the accolade of Special Teams Player of the Week.
Keenan Allen’s Tea Party
We all had hoped that Keenan Allen would make a positive impact on this season, but we needed to see it. See it, we did. After grabbing his first two touchdowns of the year with 41 yards on five receptions, Allen must maintain this emergence and resurgence throughout the season as teams bear down on wide receiver one DJ Moore.
The Bears head into their bye week 4-2, and look to get healthy before taking on the 4-2 Washington Commanders on October 27th. While the Bears secondary looked more than able while playing with three backups, a little more certainty will be calming going into this matchup between the top two Rookie of the Year contenders.
