On Saturday night in Chicago, Caleb Williams and Jordan Love put on a fierce battle in a thrilling playoff game between the NFC North rivals.
While Williams and the Bears prevailed in the end, what we witnessed was more than a score. It was a show put on by two young, Black quarterbacks who had lots to prove.
The game’s standard storylines were obvious- hated rivals, battle for NFC North bragging rights, the Packers possibly playing for head coach Matt LaFleur’s job, etc.
But an underlying, yet extremely important story for many of us was whether Williams and/or Love could show they had the talent to lead their teams in the postseason and have the potential to be stars.
After Sunday night, mission accomplished.
The Bears faced an 18-point deficit in the third quarter, but a calmer, more confident Caleb Williams emerged in the second half and led Chicago to a 31-27 come-from-behind victory, throwing for 361 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs.
Caleb set a new team record for most passing yards in a single postseason game, passing Mitch Trubisky’s 303 yards against the Eagles in their 2018 wild card game.
He also led the Bears to their largest comeback victory in franchise playoff history and the team’s 25 points in the final quarter were the second most points scored in any quarter of a postseason game.
Despite the loss, Love, who missed the final two games of the regular season after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit against the Bears in Week 16, actually had a better game, throwing for 323 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INTs.
