00:00With this matchup between the Vikings and the Bears, you have two fascinating teams.
00:04And look, for McCarthy, I know it's tough.
00:06He's young.
00:07He's just getting going here.
00:09But you have to be able to get the football to Justin Jefferson.
00:12That's what it's going to be.
00:13I think that's not what he's going to be measured on in terms of wins and losses.
00:16But when you're losing and Jefferson's not eating, that noise is going to get louder.
00:22For the Chicago Bears, they have had such a fascinating season.
00:25Where Caleb Williams is not playing like a superstar until the big moment.
00:35And Joe, he has been, it feels, pretty masterful in the clutch right now for Chicago.
00:41He has the comebacks against Cincinnati, against the Giants, against Washington.
00:47The Raiders, they were even down.
00:49But then you kind of listen to the teams I listed off.
00:53And it's like, ooh, they're needing a lot of heroics to beat teams that aren't so great here, right?
00:59During this streak where they've won six of seven, the loss was to Tyler Huntley and the Ravens.
01:04Like, that doesn't look as good in hindsight.
01:07So, it's this very interesting situation for the Bears where they check into this game as two and a half to three-point underdogs against the Vikings.
01:15And a banged-up defense.
01:17I'm not running to back Chicago in this one.
01:19No, but they are battle-tested on the road.
01:21They're a pretty good road team.
01:23You talk about the loss to the Ravens on the road, but they also knocked off the Raiders and the Commanders and the Bengals all away from their building, right?
01:31Tougher match-up divisional opponent with Minnesota.
01:34They're going to bring it, as we know, from a defensive perspective.
01:38They're going to blitz and see if they can get to Caleb in this match-up.
01:42But when Streetball Williams turns on in the fourth quarter, he is electric.
01:48I'll give him that.
01:49He looks like he's back at USC improvising, buying time, jumping when he shouldn't.
01:55You know, just he gives that little giddy-up, you know?
01:58And then, you know, Streetball Williams.
02:00But that's his strength right now.
02:03That is one of – and Ben Johnson has given him a leash.
02:07He's put playmakers around him.
02:09And he's starting to evolve in that offense where they're starting to believe in the fourth quarter they can pull these games out.
02:17I think it's interesting because, you know, with Caleb, right, these wild plays, right, that was the allure.
02:26You love those wild plays.
02:28Well, yeah, they're great.
02:30You love them.
02:31I know.
02:31I'm not even watching the game with you.
02:34I hear you.
02:35That's it.
02:36And I just go, Streetball Williams.
02:38He's just running around like a – here's the thing.
02:43Like, this is what Josh Allen, I feel like, used to do.
02:46And now he's a little bit more, ah, check it down, not as much.
02:50Like, Caleb has – again, it's why you would watch his game.
02:54You're like, oh, there's a little Mahomesian in there, right?
02:57Like, it's very unique, and there's not a lot of guys that do it.
03:01But I think for Caleb, the ideal world is you do that stuff when you need to, not that's how I am consistently winning, right?
03:12You want to be able to get the simple stuff to be simple and easy, and that's not going on.
03:18You know, Caleb, I think for the second year, I was like, yeah, I want to complete 70% of my passes.
03:22Like, brother?
03:22Yeah, cut it out, all right?
03:24You're at 60.8% right now.
03:28He, look, absolutely has a chance to become the first 4,000-yard passer for the Chicago Bears.
03:33The touchdowns seem to all come in bunches.
03:35He has, you know, two games with three or more, and then he's got a bunch of games with one or none, in fact, here.
03:42I just – I look at this game, Joe, and I do think Caleb is the much better quarterback,
03:47but I'm not sure that's just – that alone is enough to get me interested in the Bears.
03:52I will say for Chicago, Lisi, though, as a team, removing the quarterback and everything,
03:58they are the – they are one of eight teams fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC, right?
04:06I think that's fair to say when you look through it, right?
04:09But you also have a situation where about five teams already know they're in, it feels like.
04:15Seahawks, Rams, Eagles, Lions, Bucs.
04:19So you then have the Bears, the Packers, and the 49ers all vying for that playoff spot.
Be the first to comment