Patriots-Bears | North Texas Sports B

The Bears Have Arrived, and Caleb Williams Is Becoming the Reason Nobody Wants to See Them in January

On a cool, October night in Chicago, the Bears honored NFL Hall of Famer and their former head coach, Mike Ditka, and proceeded to establish themselves as a serious NFC Super Bowl contender by virtue of their 30-24 win over the New England Patriots

By Rob Olds

The North Texas Sports Blog

October 23, 2026

There are victories that add one to the left side of the standings, victories that look nice on a schedule in December, and then there are victories that tell you something important about what a football team is becoming.

Thursday night at Soldier Field belonged in that last category.

Chicago’s 30-24 victory over New England was not overwhelming, immaculate or particularly easy. In some ways, it was better than that. It was convincing in the way that matters when we begin separating good teams from genuine contenders. The Bears took the Patriots’ best shots, watched Drake Maye produce 321 passing yards and three total touchdowns, and still controlled enough of the football game to walk away 5-2.

And standing in the middle of all of it was Caleb Williams.

Williams completed 22 of 33 passes for 308 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, finishing with a 116.7 passer rating. He added 18 yards with his legs. More revealing than the final numbers was where the production came from and how Williams created it. Luther Burden caught four passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, Colston Loveland caught seven for 69 yards and another score, Rome Odunze added four receptions for 69 yards, and Cole Kmet supplied three catches for 28.

Williams was not relying upon one receiver or attacking one portion of the field. Chicago’s passing game attacked New England with multiple weapons and multiple answers.

The first announcement came early. Late in the first quarter, with Chicago leading only 3-0, Williams connected with Burden for 58 yards, turning a possession beginning at the Bears’ 26 into a sudden red-zone opportunity. D’Andre Swift finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run, and Chicago had a 10-0 lead.

Then came perhaps the most impressive Williams sequence of the night. With 21 seconds remaining in the first half, facing third-and-17 from the New England 24, Williams found Burden for a touchdown. The Bears went to halftime leading 20-14 instead of settling for a field goal or walking away empty.

In the third quarter, Williams offered another glimpse at why his development changes Chicago’s ceiling. From the Bears’ 28, he guided a nine-play, 72-yard touchdown drive. He converted third-and-two with a five-yard scramble, hit Swift for 11, found Loveland for 22 on second-and-14, scrambled for nine more, and then hit Loveland for a 12-yard touchdown.

One possession contained virtually everything that has begun to make Williams such a difficult quarterback to defend: mobility, explosive-play ability, off-schedule creativity, accuracy in the middle of the field and the capacity to erase unfavorable down-and-distance situations.

That is why I am ready to make what would have sounded like a remarkably aggressive argument not long ago:

Caleb Williams belongs in the conversation among the five best quarterbacks in football right now.

Notice the wording. This is not a lifetime-achievement ranking. Williams obviously does not yet possess the career résumé of the NFL’s established superstar quarterbacks. It is an assessment of the quarterback he is becoming and the level at which he is capable of playing right now.

Watch Williams and consider what constitutes elite quarterback play in the modern NFL. It isn’t merely accumulating passing yards. It is forcing a defense to defend every dimension of the field while knowing the quarterback can turn a correct defensive call into an incorrect result.

Williams is increasingly doing that.

His arm gives Chicago access to throws throughout the field. His mobility makes conventional pass-rush solutions dangerous. His improvisational ability creates a second play after the defense has successfully defended the first one. And against New England, he demonstrated something even more important than raw talent: situational command.

There is also context that makes the performance more impressive. Williams was playing just his second game back after being sidelined for three games with a right hamstring injury. Against New England, he nevertheless threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

That matters because greatness at quarterback ultimately isn’t about producing the occasional spectacular throw. Plenty of extremely gifted quarterbacks can do that. The difference between exciting and elite is whether a quarterback can combine those rare physical gifts with command, decision-making and the ability to deliver in high-leverage situations.

Williams is starting to do exactly that.

And Chicago is becoming more dangerous because Williams does not have to be Chicago’s entire offense.

Swift carried 22 times for 78 yards and a touchdown Thursday night, and Chicago entered the game leading the NFL at 160.7 rushing yards per game.

That distinction matters enormously. Defenses cannot approach Williams by simply flooding coverage, taking away his first read and daring Chicago to run. They have to respect a Bears rushing attack capable of dictating games. That creates exactly the strategic dilemma an explosive quarterback wants. Devote additional resources to stopping the run and Williams receives opportunities downfield. Concentrate on containing Williams and Chicago has demonstrated it can hand the ball off and make you pay.

That is what an increasingly complete offense looks like.

The Patriots discovered how unforgiving that equation can become.

New England actually played plenty of winning football Thursday. Maye completed 24 of 31 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown. Rhamondre Stevenson produced 93 receiving yards on five catches, including a stunning 48-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half.

Ordinarily, quarterback play that efficient gives New England an excellent chance to win.

But the night’s most damaging New England mistake belonged to Maye as well. With 3:32 remaining in the second quarter and the Patriots at Chicago’s 15, D’Marco Jackson intercepted Maye in the end zone. Instead of a New England scoring opportunity producing points, Chicago took possession and eventually marched 80 yards for Williams’ touchdown to Burden.

In a six-point game between closely matched teams, that was not background noise. It was one of the defining sequences of the evening.

For New England, the consequences extend beyond one frustrating Thursday night. The Patriots arrived in Chicago at 4-2 and in second place in the AFC East after winning three consecutive games. They leave 4-3, while Buffalo sits at 5-1. The Patriots remain second in the division, ahead of the 2-4 Jets and 0-5 Dolphins.

There is an important nuance for Patriots fans. This was a damaging loss, but it was hardly a disastrous one.

New England remains 2-0 inside the AFC East, and losing to an NFC opponent did not directly damage that divisional record. What the defeat did was reduce New England’s margin for error.

At 4-3, catching Buffalo becomes more difficult. The Patriots now need not only to win their own games but also to make up ground on a Bills team that owns the better overall record. More broadly, New England has moved deeper into the packed collection of AFC teams fighting for postseason positioning.

The season isn’t remotely over. But the road just became narrower.

Chicago’s situation is almost the mirror image.

The Bears wake up Friday morning at 5-2 and, for the moment, in second place in perhaps the most competitive division in football. Minnesota remains 5-0, Green Bay is 4-2 and Detroit is 3-2. Thursday night’s victory also moved Chicago into the No. 5 position in the NFC playoff picture.

That makes the New England victory significant, but it also exposes Chicago’s biggest remaining question.

The Bears are 0-2 within the NFC North.

That cannot be dismissed. Their 5-2 overall record says contender. Their 0-2 division record says unfinished business.

Minnesota remains unbeaten, and the NFC North is far too strong for Chicago to expect the teams around it to conveniently disappear. If the Bears genuinely intend to win the North rather than merely qualify for January, they eventually have to demonstrate that this version of themselves can defeat the teams standing directly in their way.

But there is a larger and considerably more interesting question:

Can the Chicago Bears win the NFC?

My answer after Thursday night is yes.

Not because defeating New England by six points automatically transforms the Bears into Super Bowl favorites. It doesn’t.

Chicago still committed nine penalties for 69 yards, went only 4-for-12 on third down and surrendered 380 total yards. The Bears missed a 53-yard field goal that could have given them additional breathing room. This is not a finished football team, and pretending otherwise would miss the larger point.

Contenders do not have to be flawless in October.

They need characteristics that translate to January.

Chicago possesses a surprising number of them.

The Bears can run the football. They can produce explosive passes. Their quarterback can create outside structure. They protected the football Thursday night. They converted both of their fourth-down opportunities. Most importantly, they demonstrated an ability to close a competitive football game without panicking when the opponent refused to disappear.

Chicago’s final meaningful possession deserves to be remembered.

Starting at its own 9-yard line with 6:22 remaining and protecting a 27-21 lead, Chicago proceeded to consume 4:48 and travel 51 yards before Cairo Santos delivered a magnificent 58-yard field goal. Instead of handing Maye the football with an opportunity to win the game with a touchdown, the Bears pushed the lead to nine with just 1:39 remaining.

That is contender football.

The fourth quarter also demonstrated a quality that doesn’t fit neatly into the final box score. Chicago didn’t spend the closing minutes merely hoping the clock would disappear.

On third-and-11 from his own 13 earlier in the quarter, Williams hit Odunze for 21 yards. On fourth-and-two from the New England 43, Williams hit Loveland for nine yards. On third-and-nine from the Chicago 10 on Chicago’s last major possession, Williams found Odunze for 21 yards. Four plays later, he connected with Odunze for another 21.

When Chicago desperately needed conversions, its quarterback delivered them.

That is the portion of Williams’ development that should make the rest of the NFC uncomfortable.

The spectacular throws were always supposed to arrive. Williams was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft for a reason. What matters now is the developing marriage between spectacular talent and winning situational football.

A physically brilliant quarterback can produce highlights.

A great quarterback can close games.

Williams is increasingly showing us the latter.

And his supporting cast looks increasingly suited to grow alongside him. Burden’s 130-yard performance provided a demonstration of explosive receiving ability. Loveland’s seven catches, 69 yards and touchdown showed what an athletic tight end can do within this offense. Odunze repeatedly delivered important second-half receptions. Swift supplies a legitimate running threat.

Williams therefore isn’t being asked to manufacture an offense out of thin air. Chicago can attack a defense through personnel, formation, the ground game, intermediate passes and downfield explosives.

That versatility becomes enormously important in January, when defenses become better, tendencies become more thoroughly studied and the easiest things an offense likes to do are often removed.

There is another reason I am willing to put the Bears squarely into the NFC contender conversation. Chicago isn’t looking up at an entire conference filled with dominant teams. San Francisco is off to a spectacular 6-0 start and Minnesota remains unbeaten at 5-0, while Chicago stands at 5-2 and holds the fifth position in the NFC playoff field.

That emphatically does not mean Chicago should be considered superior to either undefeated team.

It means the Bears have earned admission into the group of teams whose January possibilities need to be taken seriously.

If there is a formula for playoff football when the temperature falls and every possession acquires enormous importance, Chicago can already see the outline of it.

Run effectively. Protect the football. Produce explosive plays. Convert critical late downs. Possess a quarterback capable of solving a problem after the original play breaks down. And find ways to win games that aren’t aesthetically perfect.

Thursday night provided evidence of every one of those characteristics.

There will be harder tests.

There will be defenses that disguise coverages more effectively, offenses that punish Chicago’s mistakes more severely and NFC North games carrying much greater consequences. Williams will have poor afternoons. Every quarterback does. The Bears will also have to prove that their 0-2 division record is merely an early-season blemish rather than evidence of a larger problem.

But something changed at Soldier Field on Thursday night.

The Bears didn’t simply defeat the Patriots.

They demonstrated that their path to winning no longer requires Caleb Williams to become great someday.

Increasingly, he looks capable of playing like an elite NFL quarterback now.

That is why Williams belongs in the top-five conversation.

It is not simply the 308 yards against New England. It isn’t only the two touchdown passes or the 116.7 passer rating. It is the total package that is becoming visible: the extraordinary arm talent, the ability to extend plays, the willingness to attack vertically, the increasing command of critical situations and, perhaps most importantly, the realization that Chicago does not need him to perform a one-man rescue operation every Sunday.

That changes everything.

For New England, Thursday night was a painful lesson in how narrow the margin between two good football teams can become. One red-zone interception, one third-and-17 touchdown, a few crucial conversions and one enormous 58-yard field goal were enough to end the Patriots’ three-game winning streak.

For Chicago, the night represented something considerably more exciting.

The Bears have a running game.

They have playmakers.

They have a 5-2 record.

They are in the thick of the NFC North race.

They have legitimate January ambitions.

And perhaps most importantly, they appear to possess the most precious commodity in professional football: a quarterback capable of making an entire conference wonder just how high Chicago’s ceiling might be.

The Chicago Bears are no longer merely an interesting young football team.

They are contenders.

And if Caleb Williams continues developing into the quarterback we watched Thursday night at Soldier Field, getting to the Super Bowl is no longer an absurd possibility for the Bears to contemplate.

It is time to start talking about it seriously.

NTSB North Texas Sports Blog

© 2026 North Texas Sports Blog | Feature written by Rob Olds at the NTSB NFL Coverage Desk
Statistical sources: Football Reference, StatMuse, ESPN.com/NFL