“Caleb Williams is HIM” – Kyle Long on Chicago Bears’ 31-3 dominate in win over Cleveland Browns

“Caleb Williams is HIM” – Kyle Long on Chicago Bears’ 31-3 dominate in win over Cleveland Browns

Ah, yes. Welcome inside our CBS Sports Studios. I’m Adam Shine alongside my guy, the great Kyle Long. And Kyle, I want to give some love to the Bears because there might have been, you know, games that were sexier this week in the NFL or victories that you look at and say, “That’s a statement. This is a statement.” Let me tell you something. Chicago had a golden opportunity to beat Green Bay. They didn’t credit the Packers. things at the end you can criticize Chicago for I picked Chicago to win that game. You picked Chicago to win that game. I thought there were so many positives and what I wanted to see from Chicago this week bounce back. Look great. Don’t overlook the fact that you have Green Bay coming up in a relatively short period of time now in week number 16. I thought the Bears showed a lot of heart, gumption, talent, and they are absolutely ready to take care of business. I’m just calling my shot again. This showed me that they’re ready to beat the Green Bay Packers in Chicago coming up in week 16. Love what I saw from the Chicago Bears. You know, I I’ve seen enough throughout the course of the year to feel comfortable saying I felt comfortable thinking that the Bears would handle business on the road. Now, obviously, you get another crack at it next week with the Packers coming to your house. But let’s dive in a little bit on today against this Browns team in some real Chicago type weather. So, uh, the Chicago offense got to showcase today their super weapon for l lack of a better phrase in Caleb Williams. I remember when I was in Kansas City and it was a balmy 9° and it was a 1:00 kickoff or whatever it was and the wind was whipping through Arrowhead and I looked at Mike Cafkar, our quarterback coach at the time and I said, “So, are we going to change up our game plan at all in terms of what we’re thinking in the passing game?” And he looked me dead in the eyes. He laughed in my face and then he pointed to a guy warming up with number 15 on. He said, “That guy throws right through the wind.” Yeah. In Chicago, you’ve got a quarterback that can throw right through the wind. Not only that, he’s getting more confident week to week. The defense showed up in a big in a big way today. Three points total for the Cleveland Browns who had a 350 yard passer last week. Uh a team not short on confidence at all offensively. And obviously they got some real killers on the defensive side as well. 31 points for the Bears at home. Good teams beat teams they’re better than. Really good teams beat the brakes off of teams that they’re better than. What we saw today was a butt whooping old school BTA as the kids in the YouTube comments would say. I’ll explain that to you off air. Thank you. But I’ll just say this, the Chicago Bears, they’re ready. They went and they got their water break this week against the Cleveland Browns. They get an opportunity to play the Packers at home next week. Some bully ball. If you thought Lambo was a physical affair last week, which it was, round two is is always more physical cuz you’re building on last week’s momentum, hatred, lack of chemistry. That stuff’s coming in a huge way at Soldierfield. Round two when you play two times within three weeks, which I love when the NFL does that. It It’s incredible. It’s great theater, great drama. That’s done with a point and a purpose. To your point though, and I think this is brilliant. Not only did they have to win, you kind of wanted to see them kick Cleveland’s ass. Yep. They’re a better team. Take all the aggression out on on the Cleveland Browns. And it was a total team effort. The run game was terrific. The defense was outstanding. Caleb Williams showing off that that arm, that accuracy, the ability to run, the physique, the toughness. And remember the Green Bay game, Caleb was bad in the first half. Second half, he was great. Now, obviously at the end, we could talk about the play call. We could talk about the throw, we could talk about the decision, or we can move on to next week. Bingo. And you know what? I think that because they moved on this past week with how they beat Cleveland, they showed us that they did. They 100% prove they’ve moved on and ready to rock and roll now. And I’ll tell you something else. I think a lot of people were feeling like, okay, Chicago’s a house of cards. They’re frauds. Nonsense. If you watch that game in that second half, they were better than Green Bay. Credit the Packers. There were three plays in that game where they were tough and clutch and Green Bay earned that victory. But if you look at the signs, it’s all there for Chicago to find a way to get this win and to make the playoffs andor big picture win the division. I mean, if you’re a Bears fan, it’s Ben Johnson and that culture and it’s unbelievable. And you know what? It kind of feels to me like we were having a conversation during the Patriots game, 21 nothing. I was like, Mike Rabel, coach of the year, you and I are kind of like, yeah, it’s kind of a no-brainer. Well, after today, it feels like not so much a no-brainer. And if Ben Johnson can get this team to kick ass two weeks in a row, Browns, you go beat the Packers at home, we could be having a different conversation. And there’s so many storylines at play for the Chicago Bears. Also, when you look at the nature of the NFC, and I this is why I like raising the bar in Chicago because my goal for the Bears, I picked them preseason to make the playoffs. You want this season at the end of the day to say, “Okay, the 2026 Chicago Bears can represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.” Like that. That’s that’s the goal landscape of the NFC, right? Why not the Bears? And that and I don’t want to sit here, oh, Adam, they just beat the Cleveland Browns. No, it’s the response and how they lost. Caleb throws that pass, right? Didn’t it wasn’t the right decision. Didn’t get enough on the fast ball. The bounce back is there. I The schedule for Chicago is quote unquote difficult. All these teams, Kyle, go through it. They have to find a way to beat Chicago. Like, you know, someone might look at that schedule and say 0 and3. I’m saying two in one minimum for the Chicago Bears. And you know what the great you can look at it one of two ways. It’s you know it’s all it’s a mindset as the great Patrick Mahomes used to say uh when I’d be there watching him operate week to week. He’d always tell his guys it’s a mindset. And I think that’s a perfect way to approach these final three weeks. Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions. Oh, you’re just telling me we’re in the playoffs. We’re in the playoffs. We’re playing playoff teams. Not only just like wildcard cal. These are playoff teams. You get in that mindset. You get in your tunnel and you launch into outer space and where you end up just comes down to a little bit of luck, a lot of physicality, and the Chicago Bears have that on their side this year. Like you said, two in one. That’s all you got to go. And a couple weeks ago it was you got to go four out of seven. And now we’re at the two and one mark. You beat the Packers, you look up in a couple weeks, you’re going to be really happy where you’re at. Yeah. And I think they’re going to go a minimum of two and one. I think they’re going to beat Green Bay. And you’re right. when you start talking about coach of the year vibes when it comes to someone like Ben Johnson. Welcome inside our CBS Sports Studios. I’m Adam Shine alongside my guy, the great Kyle Long. What did I tell you last week? I guaranteed Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills would go into New England, take care of business, get a monster statement win. So, I was checking the old Twitter when New England was up big in the first half. You were wrong. We were right. Buffalo monster win. This changes the entire complexion of everything. Even if New England holds on and at the end of the day, end of the season, wheel stops spinning, finds a way to win the AFC East. It doesn’t matter. Josh Allen marches into New England. James Cook marches into New England. that third quarter, the fourth quarter, the response in the third, even after the Henderson touchdown, the way they responded with another score, that means the Buffalo Bills, no matter the seed, team to beats in the AFC. You know what, Adam, I’m not going to sit here and fight you on that because Josh Allen proved me wrong with anything that I could have come here and said today. And you know, when you watch the way that New England jumped up on the Bills early and then you watch Mike Vrabel given his going into the locker room uh interview, it was really telling about the kind of game that we were going to be in store for. So some people that don’t have an appreciation for the MVP caliber ball that Josh Allen plays, they probably shut the TV off, went did something else, got some chores done. But you and me, we stuck around because like M Mike Vrabel said at the interview at halftime, he said, “We know that 17’s coming and we know this Bill’s team’s coming. We just can’t let them get back in this football game.” He’s a good coach, so he’s obviously worried about the right things. The thing that concerns me for the New England Patri or the New England Patriots, who I have said is one of the most complete football teams in the National Football League, is they let that that lead dwindle down. And if if you’re a Patriots fan, that’s extremely concerning. If you’re a Bills fan, oh boy. Just like you come in here screaming and rocking and rolling on the Josh Allen train. Yeah. Yeah. You have every right to because at the end at the end of the day, there’s one guy left that really has superpowers and it’s that guy in Buffalo by the name of Josh Allen. And for Allen to do this on the day that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs get eliminated, I mean, it just feels like there’s something in the air here, Kyle. And you know, last week you saw the Cook fumble against Cincinnati. That’s a game. Bills fans know this better than anyone. Buffalo doesn’t find a way to win. Down big early to New England. It’s, you know, Brady Bellich vibes. Here we go again. Historically, that’s not a game that Buffalo comes back and wins. And for Buffalo and for Allen to do this on the day almost at the exact same time where they don’t even have to think about Patrick Mahomes when they get into the playoffs. Man, if you’re looking for signs in the universe, you’re seeing them why this year can be different. And Kyle, Buffalo made plays on defense in the second half. James Cook ran with authority. Knox and Concade. Knox had a couple of touchdowns. Concaid had a couple of unbelievable catches. the tight ends came to play. Buffalo and Josh Allen, whether it’s, you know, going into a a place like Jacksonville, which will not be easy, going into Denver, obviously going into New England in the postseason, you know, let’s just even assume for the same conversation, New England wins the division, which is not guaranteed. Buffalo today proved any style of fight, any kind of lead, it’s not insurmountable, they can win anywhere. And I’ll say it again, Bills are going to the Super Bowl. I will say this as as the counterpoint to that. If I’m a New England Patriots player, number one, I’m sick. I am sick with the way that that game finished and how we weren’t a I say we and people, you know, my bosses in the media, they always say, “Don’t play don’t say we, but you’re not on that team.” But I can feel what they they’re going through as players. So, I say we had them on the ropes. 21 points. I literally looked at one of my colleagues and said, “Pass the sticks.” As the kids say, “2 points, buddy. your younger brother’s gonna play now, like you didn’t earn it. And then you you go and use the the bathroom, you come back and Josh Allen and the Bills are right back in it. But for the New England Patriots, you feel sick for a second and then you go look at the film and you see all the great stuff that showed up on the film and how close and how close the margins were in the second half for that Buffalo Bills team to come back. Um, it’s impressive. So, there are silver linings for New England Patriots fans. Okay, Drake May still incredible. Uh Mike Vrabel still a great coach. You just have to learn how to win with this current version of the New England Patriots and that’s one of those games they’re gonna want back and the third version of that game is going to be awesome. Uh I also say this about the Bills. Josh Allen runs in for a touchdown. The low red zone in the third quarter, early fourth quarter, they call it back holding. I believe it was Torrance. Josh Allen finds a finds a way. Yeah. So it’s like Josh Allen’s superpower is that he can run he can run the ball, right? He has another one too. He can throw a pigkin 120 m an hour into a very tight window. And we saw that in backtoback instances. It just showed me that this team has mental toughness. There’s multiple ways to skin a cat for the Buffalo offense. And that was showcased today. And look, in terms of the division, right? I mean, Buffalo can still win it. Like we’re talking about going on the road now. They’re going to need to take care of business and run the table and sweep. They have Cleveland. They have Philadelphia, which will not be easy. The game’s in Buffalo. I expect them to win that game. They finish the season with the glorified scrimmage going up against the Jets. Here’s the big one. Baltimore. New England. Baltimore next Sunday night. I do think New England bounces back and wins the game. I would be surprised after all this if the Patriots go on a losing streak. But all of a sudden, if you’re a fan of the Buffalo Bills, you’re going to get on your Lamar Jackson and Derk Henry jersey because if you could take care of business and New England stumbles in Baltimore, that changes everything. Yeah. and and these same people that are potentially renting a Baltimore jersey are going to look at the scoreboard, you know, scoreboard watchers from this Bengals game uh this this previous game 1:00 window and say, I guess the Ravens are back. Uh so, it’ll be a lot of fun to watch how this thing goes, but my eyes are going to be on these two teams. They will meet again at some point. And the win in Buffalo for New England, the win for for uh New England in Buffalo, they can play in the Walmart parking lot. It’s going to be great football. You know what I’m saying? Book travel. Like, book travel right now to San Francisco if you’re a fan of the Buffalo. Book travel. Okay. Book travel. Mahomes is out. You could win in New England. You could win any style of fight. The Bills are going to the Super Bowl. And I’m jumping through this table.

“Caleb Williams is HIM” – Kyle Long on Chicago Bears’ 31-3 dominate in win over Cleveland Browns