For years, Chicago Bears fans have yearned for a true franchise quarterback who also proudly champions them in their historic rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.
In second-year prodigy signal-caller Caleb Williams, the Bears may have finally found their man.
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On Saturday night, in the midst of an all-time comeback win over Green Bay (one that probably felt familiar to Packers fans), Williams was terrific in the clutch. In the roughly last 20 minutes of gameplay, Williams engineered four separate scoring drives, including two absurd touchdown passes (one to tie at the end of regulation, one for the walk-off win in overtime) that only someone with his special gifts even dreams of attempting.
In this sequence, he completed over 70 percent of his passes and created 164 total yards of offense. Phew.
Williams’ performance to steal victory from the jaws of defeat, as a dynamic quarterback with a cannon arm, was reminiscent of the many wins the Packers have enjoyed over the Bears over the years with their passers. For once, as Williams officially moved to 2-2 against the Packers in his young career, he ensured the shoe was on the other foot:
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Outside of the game, Williams was not done beating up on the Packers. As the quarterback handed out food around the Chicago area on Sunday, he wore a fitting headpiece that we also saw overtime hero D.J. Moore adorn on Saturday night: a cheese grater.
Is it a little corny? Sure. Is it still a welcome gesture to see a gifted Bears quarterback leaning into the NFL’s oldest rivalry by being an ice-cold villain who likes to troll off the field? Yes, yes, and yes. This sort of stuff really matters when you’re the face of a popular team with a long-suffering fanbase:
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The Bears and their fans have been waiting for a charismatic, talented quarterback who can vault them into consistent championship contention for a very long time. On a lesser but still important level, they’ve been waiting for a quarterback who not only doesn’t shy away from big games, especially against the Packers, but who actively welcomes all the tension, responsibilities, and fun that come with being a franchise star expected to step up in these big games.
Saturday night (and the aftermath) might have been Williams’ coming-out party in this regard. At every level, he has seemed to intuitively understand what’s expected of him as the Bears’ quarterback, and he hasn’t flinched. With great power comes great … oh, you know the quote.
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I can tell you with great confidence that Williams was well worth the wait.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Caleb Williams wore troll Packers hat while giving back to Chicago