THE GREATEST WEEK IN CHICAGO SPORTS HISTORY?

Are we not seeing the light? Are we so preoccupied with how the Bears can beat the Philadelphia Eagles that we can’t take a step back and realize how lucky we all are?

The organization, the fanbase, the entire city dodged what could have been a catastrophic blow to everything we had hoped and wished for over the next 10 years. Maybe longer. 

So it begs the question, “Is this the greatest week in Chicago sports history?” 

It may not feel like it now. 

But maybe in five months from now, this is exactly what we will be saying.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Imagine for a second the alternate reality going on in another dimension. 

Right now, you are watching a CHGO Bears Podcast where we are discussing Case Keenum vs. Tyson Bagent for Monday Night Football, while mapping out a 12-month timetable for Caleb Williams’ return from a torn Achilles tendon. 

Will Williams ever be the same? Are the Bears going to be picking in the top 10 again? Tankwatch? Sound fun? 

Or consider this: the New York Giants are living out this painful reality currently in real time with quarterback Jaxson Dart now lost for the season. 

THE REALITY

Instead, Caleb Williams is taking in walk-throughs at Halas Hall and looking at a short-term absence as the Bears weather the storm, starting against the Eagles.

The NFC North doesn’t appear to be the same challenge as last year, when it became the second division in NFL History to end the season with each team having a winning record. 

The Bears – in this insane reality –  have the strongest QB room in all of football. They have a more than capable third-string QB in Keenum with a long history in the NFL and a talent pedigree that, at the very least, will have you intrigued if they can put up a fight against the Eagles at Soldier Field on prime time.

TROUBLE IN ENTITLETOWN?

The Packers just got embarrassed on Thursday Night Football by the Atlanta Falcons. Running back Bijan Robinson ran wild in the same way Derrick Henry ran wild on the Packers last year to end their division championship hopes. 

What is going on in Green Bay?

I don’t know but it’s not good – and I smell blood in the water.

Everything in Green Bay sounds familiar. Their coaches, their players, their fanbase all remind me of the dysfunction that the Bears had for so many years. 

I know that sound when I hear it. 

The coaches sound inept. The players sound dejected. The fanbase is in denial. 

Tight end Tucker Kraft was quoted in the locker room criticizing Packers fans for booing them during their 35-14 loss at Lambeau Field.

“That’s pretty tough,” he said. “Like everyone pictures Lambeau Field and not boos. I don’t picture boos. I picture my home stadium. That’s tough. It’s pretty disappointing – especially for a home opener. It’s pretty disappointing. It’s not going to help us win. Like I don’t know what people think that’s going to rally us or something like that. But … we’re grown men. We’re mentally strong enough, capable enough to get back on the field and play ball. But it’d probably be much easier with the 70,000 people behind us rather than opposing us.”

Speaking of soft! Holy moly. 

You know it’s going bad when you start turning your criticism back on the fans after getting blown out at home. Maybe in five months we are looking back at this week and saying this was the beginning of the end of the Matt Lafleur/Jordan Love Era in Wisconsin. That alone would qualify this as the best week ever for most of Chicago.

KEEP OUR FOCUS

So much has been made of Caleb Williams’  injury and his emotions on the field and as he was being carted off. 

Let me just say this. As someone unapologetic about showing emotions, keep doing you, Caleb. Forget the people who act fake online to prove how “real” they are. 

Here’s the reality of the NFC North fanbases that want to make this more than just a thing we can look back at and laugh a little about: they are just upset that Williams didn’t actually tear his Achilles and was lost for the year. 

Don’t let them tell you any differently. They had the obituary written for Williams, Ben Johnson and the Good, Better, Best Era in Chicago. It was over in their minds. Done. Bears back to being the Bears in an instant.

WE’VE SEEN THAT STORY BEFORE

It was fitting that I saw Derrick Rose at Medinah Country Club on Thursday during the first day of the Presidents Cup. I’ve been thinking about him all week. Caleb Williams was almost the next in a line of sports tragedies here in Chicago. But Derrick sits at the top with arguably the worst injury in all of sports history. We’re talking about a young star that could’ve been the best point guard in NBA history. An MVP. An icon in his home city. 

All of that was ripped away in an instant. It’s had a lasting impact on the Bulls organization till this day, 15 years later. THAT is what the Bears avoided last Sunday.

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

I get it. We only get 17 of these. We wait all year for it. And the Bears could really use a surprise win on Monday night to really get that sun to burst through those clouds. 

But let’s not gloss over the bigger picture – what this week could have been for all of us. For Caleb Williams. Crisis was avoided. We should be grateful. 

Enjoy a weekend of stress-free football watching. Stress-free baseball watching! Congrats to Cubs and Sox fans! Clinching the playoffs on the same day for the first time in history? And Chicago is front and center for the Presidents Cup.

Best week ever? You’re damn right.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

I’m keeping my expectations low for Monday night against the Eagles but I keep thinking about that Mike Sando piece in The Athletic, where an NFL executive anonymously took swipes at Ben Johnson for getting beat pretty convincingly in a chess match by Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores in a monsoon. 

You KNOW Ben Johnson heard that. He might ignore what talking heads like me say in the media. But people in the league? Yeah … keep talking. 

I see this as a huge opportunity for Johnson. You have a chance on the national stage to show you are the best football coach in the world. A third-string quarterback vs. Vic Fangio and the Eagles on MNF? Now, I’m getting excited for Monday! 

I absolutely can see Case Keenum being a guy the team rallies around as well. It could be similar to what we saw with Josh McCown in this town. Keenum can still spin it. He can drop it in the bucket. But we need these elite weapons to show just how elite they are.

SMILE, BEARS FANS

You just had the best week of your life and you didn’t even know it. Your alternate-reality self is in a deep state of depression with a QB that will never be the same and a team in shambles, while Green Bay is riding that momentum to a 2-1 start, taking back control of the division that the Bears staked their claim in for a fleeting moment. Back to the cellar, the Bears go. 

Nope, instead, your QB is going to be just fine. Your team is still on track. Your QB room is the deepest in the NFL. Your baseball teams are in the playoffs. Your grill is out. The sun is shining. And Ben Johnson is still the Bears’ head coach. 

The outcome on Monday Night Football matters less when you consider the alternate reality. 

Do I want them to win? Sure. 

But will I lose sight of what this week could’ve been? 

Not for a while. I will be smiling ear to ear on Monday. So join us for the watch-along and smile along with me.