Bears are flying high into the bye week

After the Chicago Bears' 35-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams admitted he was looking forward to the long flight back to Chicago, home to his own bed , to be happy to see his dog.

The Bears traveled to London early last week to adjust to the time change and prepare for their meeting with Jacksonville. This paid off for the Bears in the form of a one-sided win. For Williams, it paid off in the form of a four-touchdown performance.

For Bears fans, it paid off in the form of a three-game winning streak (their first such streak since 2020) and a 4-2 record entering the bye week. We still have two weeks until the Bears are back in action and face Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders. We have two weeks to be damn happy with the Chicago Bears as they enter their bye week in full swing.

Forgive us for enjoying the moment. Feelings like these have been fleeting in recent years. Last season, the Bears went 4-8 going into the bye week. They were 3-10 and had snapped a six-game losing streak the year before. In 2021, they were 3-7 with a four-game losing streak. It's been a while since we've been able to enjoy the bye week and dream about what the other side holds, rather than using it as a mental break from defeat and mediocrity and the start of the countdown to the end of another wasted season.

There's still a lot of football left, but Bears fans should be excited

I said before the season that this Bears team feels different. They didn't do much to make me believe that in the first few weeks, but a few weeks can feel like an eternity in the football world. A lot has changed for the Bears in the last few weeks. Shane Waldron is finding his groove, the offense is playing good football, D'Andre Swift has benefited from both and, most of all, Caleb Williams is starting to look like the franchise quarterback that other fan bases have been rooting for for so long.

In the last three weeks since the loss to Indianapolis, which Williams and the Bears called a turning point in their season, Chicago's offense has scored 24, 36 and 35 points, respectively. Caleb Williams completed 60 of 81 passes (74 percent completion rate) for 687 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked seven times during that time, compared to 13 in the first three weeks, including seven in the game against Houston alone.

Every week the numbers improve. Every week the litters get better. His ball placement in London was impeccable, save for a floater that was intercepted early on. His autonomy, his command of the offense, his reading skills and his playmaking ability are all there. He's not a finished product, but he's the most advanced passer to ever put on a Bears jersey, all before his first bye week.

Even after his best performance to date, Williams hinted that there will still be opportunities for correction in the future.

“It felt great,” Williams said of his performance on Sunday. “I think we obviously have to keep getting better – I can’t turn the ball over like that on a wide open touchdown to DJ. There were a few things that happened throughout the game that I needed to get better at, but I think the progress we've made will continue to increase. I think we have great leaders and great personality on this team, which I've talked about many times. I think this is all going to continue to grow and I think we have to keep going.”

As he did week after week in his rookie campaign, Williams will focus on the throw that should have belonged to DJ Moore. He is a connoisseur of the game and has an insatiable desire not to make the same mistake twice. He has proven that so far.

But that's not all he's proven.

He proved he was the quarterback the Bears thought they were getting when they passed on Justin Fields, gave Williams the first pick in the draft and handed him the keys to their offense shortly thereafter.

He and the Bears, on the other hand, have a demanding schedule, particularly on the road as they play six of their last eight games against NFC North opponents, a division that is full of winners after six weeks. The Bears, Packers and Lions' Week 6 wins made them a part of history. The NFC North is the first league since realignment in 2002 with every team posting four or more wins in the first six weeks.

Sandwiched between their NFC North battle are dates with the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, two teams that shouldn't be taken lightly in their regards. Nothing will be easy at the other end of the bye week, but for now everything is fine.

While nothing will be easy for Chicago going forward, it's good to know that the Bears finally have the quarterback that can make them and the fan base feel good no matter who's on the schedule.