Why Bears Playing Starters Vs. Detroit Is The Right Call — Especially For Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears won’t be able to get the #1 seed in the playoffs this year. Their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in that wild shootout made that clear. Now, fans and media are debating the obvious question. Should the team rest their starters in the season finale against the Detroit Lions? They’re already guaranteed a home game in the playoffs as NFC North champions. It feels like there won’t be much difference between the #2 seed and the #3 seed aside from determining who they play in the wild card round. However, quarterback Caleb Williams plays a big part in this decision.

With his stellar performance in San Francisco, he sits at 3,730 yards passing for the season. That means he is 270 yards away from becoming the first Bears quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000. You can bet head coach Ben Johnson would love nothing better than to get his young quarterback there against his former team. That aside, don’t tell Johnson the seeds don’t matter. Securing the #2 seed guarantees the Bears two home games in the playoffs, instead of just one. That matters.

Caleb Wiliams has a promise to keep.

He stated that he believed he’d get to 4,000 yards. Now he’s within reach. Don’t forget there is an element of revenge involved here. The Bears haven’t forgotten that the Lions scored 51 points against them in their last meeting. You can bet they’re itching to get some payback for that humiliation. Being the team to allow the first-ever Bears 4,000-yard passer would be a nice little rubbing of salt in the wound. The Lions have been soft against the pass for most of the past two months. Jameis Winston, Dak Prescott, and Matthew Stafford all cleared 300 easily against them.

Health is important. That is obvious. Still, the Bears have multiple things to play for. Every home game they can snag in the playoffs is important. Don’t forget this franchise is 2-6 on the road in the postseason during the Super Bowl era. Soldier Field is pivotal to any playoff ambitions they have. Using that as a pretext to get Caleb Williams to a milestone nobody else has reached in franchise history is a cherry on the sundae.