Caleb Williams Throws 4 Touchdowns In London

Good morning Chicago fans! What a weekend for the faces of the franchise!

Connor Bedard and Caleb Williams played like stars. It’s a good feeling having elite talent and meaningful games to watch as the weather gets colder. Buckle up for better times and warm up with some tea:

RESULTS

W - Bears 35, Jaguars 16: Complete team win on the international stage!

• Time to lay to rest all the scarring I had from the ugly 2019 London game vs. the Raiders. The Bears flew to London early, enjoyed a training camp-esque week of practice, had a great gameplan, and put on a show against a bad team! This team is DIFFERENT now.

• They actually started slow again. 6 weeks and counting now…2 straight 3-and-outs on offense and a disheartening 14 play FG drive by the Jaguars led to a 3-0 deficit heading into the 2nd quarter.

• Caleb Williams (23/29, 226 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT) played GREAT again. Watching him play is incomprehensible after all of the pathetic offenses in this city. Despite an ugly underthrow to a wide open DJ Moore that was intercepted, Caleb played very efficiently and made impressive tight window throws. He was a few inches away from a fifth passing TD!

• Cole Kmet and Keenan Allen each caught 2 TDs - Allen was the last of the Big 3 WRs to score this season! He’s on the board!

• The running game improved! Bears running backs combined for 99 yards on 22 carries. D’Andre Swift had 119 total yards and a TD.

• The defense continued its dominance! 12 straight games allowing 21 points or less. They struggled on the first drive and on 3rd down (7-15), but the big plays continued showing up when needed. They also held the Jaguars to 68 rushing yards!

• Elijah Hicks started at safety in place of the injured Jaquan Brisker and had a massive PBU in the end zone and a fumble recovery (after a TJ Edwards Peanut Punch)! 💪

• Josh Blackwell entered the game when Kyler Gordon injured his hamstring and had an INT!

• Just 2 penalties for the Bears! The discipline continues to improve 📈

SEASON RECORD: 4-2 (T/3rd place, 1.5 GB)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Cole Kmet

Kmet had a strong performance at TE and also served as the long snapper for most of the game after Scott Daly left with an injury!

5 rec, 70 yds, 2 TD, 5/5 extra points at LS

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Caleb Williams to Cole Kmet touchdown

NEWS & NOTES

Jaquan Brisker did not play vs. the Jaguars due to concussion protocol and Tyrique Stevenson did not play due to a calf injury

Nate Davis was healthy but inactive 😬

Signed TE Tommy Sweeney to the practice squad

Opened the 21-day practice window for injured DE Jacob Martin

First time scoring 35+ points in back-to-back games since 2013 and 5 offensive touchdowns in back-to-back games since 1956

The NFC North is DOMINATING the NFL:

The Bears reportedly did not use a 15-play script to start their first few games on offense. Part of the recent leadership meetings with Shane Waldron resulted in the incorporation of the “first 15”. I honestly didn’t know any team EVER chose this option…clearly they never established a rhythm without it.

Next up ➡ Bye Week. At Washington in 2 weeks.

One more for each column this week! Tremaine Edmunds was robbed of a fumble recovery 😥

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS

L - Utah Hockey Club 5, Blackhawks 2: First game in Utah’s franchise history = First loss of the Blackhawks’ season

• Lifeless 1st period for the Hawks (3 SOG) left them with a 2-0 deficit

• Hawks controlled the rest of the game and looked like a legitimate NHL team for once - their mad rush when down 1 in the 3rd period ended in a few posts

• Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno scored goals

L - Jets 2, Blackhawks 1 (OT): Heartbreaking loss that erased a strong effort

• Mark Scheifele tied the game for the Jets with 1:04 left in the 3rd period and won the game 38 seconds into OT

  • Teuvo inexplicably shot a weak wrister from the blue line to start OT instead of hanging on to the puck

• Arvid Soderblom nearly earned a shutout and looked way more confident between the pipes

W - Blackhawks 5, Oilers 2: Huge bounce back against the defending Western Conference champions (oh, and Stan Bowman and Corey Perry…)

• The Teuvo Teravainen Game ™ 2 goals and 2 assists! Connor Bedard and Seth Jones had 3 points each

• Although they were outshot 36-20, the Hawks BATTLED: 35-12 in blocked shots, killed 2 of 3 penalties, and Petr Mrazek saved an impressive 35 of 37 shots

• Hawks were 3-for-3 on the power play 😮 what team is this?!?

SEASON RECORD: 1-1-1 (3 points)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Teuvo Teravainen

What a return! 3 goals, 2 assists, 8 shots on goal

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Teuvo Teravainen goal

NEWS & NOTES

D Nolan Allan made his NHL debut in the season opener

D Isaak Phillips cleared waivers and remains with the Blackhawks

Activated D Wyatt Kaiser and sent Phillips to Rockford

I expected Tyler Bertuzzi on the top line heading into the season. Instead, these combinations saw time together this week:

Mikheyev - Bedard - Teuvo & Foligno - Bedard - Teuvo

Bedard attempted another Michigan goal after scoring one last season 😂 he’ll land another soon

Seth Jones scored his first goal of the season on October 12th! He notoriously doesn’t score early in the season…it took until January 29th last year!

After the overtime loss, the players verbalized their disdain for moral victories. With two brutal years of hockey in the rear view mirror, they want to start winning games and winning them NOW. It was a great sign to see a big win after such a meltdown. Promising effort and attitude moving forward!

TROPHY TRACKER (2/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS (PRESEASON)

W - Bulls 116, Cavaliers 112

L - Grizzlies 124, Bulls 121

As always, preseason is virtually meaningless. I have a few takeaways from these games, but they may be rendered useless once the regular season begins:

Just like when we saw him in Summer League, Matas Buzelis looks like he can play. He had a big first game (12p, 5r) but struggled in the second game (1-9 FG). A rookie roller-coaster is expected, but he looked comfortable and confident.

Julian Phillips and Dalen Terry should have BIG roles off the bench this season

Team defense needs work. Hopefully some of the major issues get worked out before the games count!

Talen Horton-Tucker (8p and 16p) is making a case for a roster spot

Patrick Williams is…still not impacting games enough? Not a good look after signing his big extension this summer. I’m hoping this is rust from his lengthy injury absence.

NEWS & NOTES

Derrick Rose night on January 4, 2025 is official. And yes, he WILL be there! It is planned as a general “celebration” - the Bulls are reportedly undecided on retiring Rose’s jersey.

In typical Bulls fashion, the injuries are already piling up. In June, they replaced Director of Health & Performance Chip Schaefer with Eric Waters. I wonder how that’s going…

Patrick Williams jammed his wrist during a game. Ayo hurt his shoulder during a game. Coby White has groin tightness. THT has calf tightness. Jalen Smith and Lonzo Ball have knee soreness. It doesn’t end!!!

TROPHY TRACKER (1/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

Tom Ricketts wrote his annual postseason letter to season ticket holders. This year’s began with “There is no way to sugarcoat it…” He made it clear that the season was a failure, but the organization has the foundation for future success. Read the entire letter here.

Mutually parted ways with 3B coach Willie Harris. This was unexpected since it came after the initial coaching staff changes. Although he tended to wave around dead-to-rights runners, his energy and passion were always fun to see during his Cubs tenure! Now Craig Counsell can mold his own hand-picked staff even more.

OFFSEASON THOUGHTS (PART 1)

On a big picture level, the Cubs started their rebuild in July 2021 with an organization overhaul ahead of them. Year 3 just finished. and I’m buying their pitch that the team is set up for sustained success in the future.

They are painfully close to being a playoff team. Threading the needle of rebuilding and competing at the same time seemed virtually impossible, and they finished with 83 wins in back-to-back seasons (1 and 6 games out of the playoffs, respectively).

2023: 83-79, expected record of 90-72

2024: 83-79, expected record of 88-74

How in the world did they end up with 83 wins again after making some significant additions??? They “left wins on the table” in 2023 and ended up doing the same thing this season. Injuries, a long offensive slump, not having a closer, and…?

Offense had 3 great months, 2 awful months, and 1 average month

Pitching had 1 great month and 5 average months

Addressing the bullpen should provide enough of a boost to the pitching numbers with the starting rotation still in place. And unless Jed Hoyer figures out the secret sauce to prevent month-long slumps, the lineup needs a shakeup to raise their floor and provide more consistency.

TROPHY TRACKER (5/10 ➡ 🏆)

Charles Tillman

Peanut spent the week in London as a tourist and Bears representative.

Along with adventurous sightseeing, he helped out with the kids at Mini Monsters clinics and served military members at a USAA boot camp.

I appreciate one of my favorite Bears legends continuing to use his platform for good.

Check out his interview on Good Morning Football here:

The Bears found their guy.

I’ve seen enough. 6 games into his NFL career. The Bears found a real quarterback.

Caleb Williams seemed like a can’t miss prospect. He had the talent, the drive, and the story to back up his hype. His college production was off the charts. His physical traits were top level despite his shorter stature. But NFL evaluators are frequently wrong.

The Jayden Daniels love affair has gone too far around the league, and the criticism given to Caleb earlier in the year was unfairly lumped into the equation. I knew it would take him and the whole offense time. But let’s be honest…this is faster than expected. 🤷‍♂️

Previous Bears quarterbacks had strong arms. They could complete deep passes. They could evade pressure and be on SportsCenter’s Top 10 with a slick scramble. Mitch Trubisky was a high draft pick. Justin Fields was a high draft pick with an impressive pedigree.

Nobody has been Caleb Williams.

He moves around in the pocket like a veteran. He is decisive with the football. He consistently converts on 3rd down. He looks to throw when scrambling out of the pocket. His football IQ is off the charts, and he can already read NFL defenses. He is also a more mature and team-friendly leader than any of the others.

There isn’t anything Caleb can’t do, and this is only the beginning.

After decades of waiting, we made it.

Meghan Montemurro - Tom Ricketts interview (Chicago Tribune)

Courtney Cronin - Cole Kmet doubles as long snapper (ESPN)

Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers - Connor Bedard in Year 2 (The Athletic)

Patrick Finley - Caleb Williams’ first exposure to Soldier Field wind (Chicago Sun-Times)

Mark Lazerus - Connor Bedard interview (The Athletic)

Sahadev Sharma - Cubs will search for bullpen pieces (The Athletic)

Tony Andracki - Porter Hodge’s great rookie season (Marquee Sports Network)

Scott Powers - Why the Blackhawks wear their jersey numbers (The Athletic)

Chicago Bears - Caleb Williams mic’d up (YouTube)

Chicago Bulls - All Access: Ayo Dosunmu (YouTube)

Thanks for reading! Make sure to watch Caleb Williams highlights on repeat when you’re at the pumpkin patch or apple orchard during the bye week!

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