Bears Fans, Beware: Caleb Williams Sparks Hope, But Storm Clouds Loom

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Chicago Bears fans didn’t need much to get swept away. One dazzling opening drive from Caleb Williams under the Sunday night lights, capped by a 38–0 dismantling of the Buffalo Bills, and suddenly Soldier Field was buzzing with visions of 17–0. Undefeated season? Super Bowl berth? Playoffs, at the very least.

But while the hype feels intoxicating, reality has a way of sobering up even the most passionate fan base. Enter Sports Illustrated’s annual NFL projections, courtesy of writer Connor Orr, who charted the outcome of all 272 regular-season games. His verdict on Chicago? The Bears may be destined for yet another cruel fall.

The Highs Before the Low

Orr predicts Chicago comes out swinging, rattling off a 3–0 start with wins over the Vikings, Lions, and Cowboys. At that point, the hype train will be barreling down the tracks—head coach Ben Johnson looking like a genius hire, Williams igniting highlight reels, and fans dreaming big.

But from Weeks 8 to 14, the script turns nightmarish. Orr has the Bears tumbling into a seven-game losing streak, undone by a brutal slate: road trips to Baltimore, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Green Bay, plus a home stumble against the Giants and a battle with the Steelers.

Old Ghosts, New Faces

For long-suffering Bears fans, it all feels eerily familiar. Just last year, Williams and Chicago opened 4–2 before unraveling with a 10-game losing streak that ended Matt Eberflus’ tenure. Now Johnson, the new sideline leader, faces the same challenge: preventing hope from dissolving into heartbreak.

Orr sees the risk clearly. “The Bears have major hype potential, which is a massive pitfall,” he wrote. “Everything looks and feels great, but how much can we depend on an offensive line built through free agency and a young quarterback who is both brilliant and confounding?”

The Divisional Picture

According to SI’s forecast, Chicago finishes 7–10, again at the bottom of the NFC North. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings both post 10–7 records, while the Green Bay Packers slide into third at 9–8.

That would mean another last-place finish for a franchise desperate to claw back to relevance.

Hope vs. History

The Bears still have Williams, a quarterback whose flair and fearlessness can flip a game in a heartbeat. They have Johnson, a coach hired to maximize that talent. And they have the kind of early-season schedule that could spark a national frenzy.

But in Chicago, fans know better than most: sometimes the brightest Septembers make for the darkest Novembers.