After the long awaited start to the new NFL season the Chicago Bears started off with a 24-17 victory versus the Tennessee Titans. Bears fans have been waiting for a fresh start with rookie Caleb Williams taking over at quarterback after the team drafted him first overall and traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This game has brought the fans hope as the hype around the team has risen. This start has longtime Bears fan, junior James Hanna, excited for the season.
“We saw flashes of the potential in our offense, as well as some great defensive play in the second half,” Hanna said.
The Bears have made many moves this offseason to greatly improve their team. They have added some great weapons for Williams on the offense including trading for wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Charges, drafting receiver Rome Odunze ninth overall and signing D’andre Swift in free agency. Not to mention they will have DJ Moore for a while after extending him to a massive 4 year, $110 million deal.
Regardless of all those moves, the Bears offense left much to be desired after their lackluster play. For Williams even though he said he never gets nervous in the HBO Max show “Hard Knocks” he looked like an NFL rookie QB posting only 92 yards passing. However, he doesn’t believe the game is all about stats, it’s about getting wins. Williams acknowledged this in his post game interview.
“We’ll be better obviously you know it’s great to get this first win and you know we’re all excited,” Willams said.
On the other side of the ball the defense looked amazing in the second half holding the Titans offense scoreless after their early struggles in the first half. Headlined by their block punt in the third quarter that changed the momentum of the whole game, leading to the Bears victory.
The Bears look to change the narrative this season, as they not only want to make the playoffs, but they want to win the division. With the Green Bay Packers’ star QB Jordan Love out for a significant amount of time, the Bears may actually beat the Packers.
A key part of the Bears possibly making the playoffs is having some easier games on their schedule. After being last place in the division the NFL gave them an easier schedule with weaker teams. This should get them plenty of easy wins and help the team gain confidence in their abilities to win games.
All in all, the team’s key this year is to improve because a rookie quarterback can have some growing pains. At the end of day the team has enough pieces around Williams that can help the team get better now and for the future. This opportunity for growth has Hanna stoked.
“I’m excited for the future because [Williams] has a lot of arm talent and can make a lot of things happen,” Hanna said, “If he can put all his skills together he can be one of the greatest Bears quarterbacks ever.”
