Silvy: The Bears do have one big reason to be thankful this season

I am thankful that Caleb Williams is the Bears quarterback.

In a season we as Bears fans have lived over and over, with steaming with piles of disappointment and dysfunction, when have we ever said to ourselves with certainty that we have a star at quarterback?

Yes, we have a star at the most important position in sports.

Want to argue that the past two weeks are devastating losses and nothing coming out of those games should be celebrated? I’d counter that watching your rookie quarterback overcome tons of adversity and play his best football when the game is on the line is no moral victory. It’s probably the best thing to happen to the Bears in years.

Now it’s up to the Bears to get out of their own way and find a way to surround him with better players up front and a coaching staff that makes everyone better.

Caleb still has things to clean up.

His sack in overtime was unacceptable for any QB. His accuracy downfield needs to improve and I’m confident it will when he gets back into the lab this offseason. Rookies are still going to rookie.

Knowing that this is the baseline should have everyone excited whether you wanted the Bears to draft him or not. It’s time to drop the preconceived notions and believe.

It’s almost as if the Bears intentionally tried to put Williams through an obstacle course filled with pitfalls to see if he would fail.

• Bring back a head coach with shaky leadership qualities that will most likely be fired and repeat the same mistake of Bears front offices of the past.

• Hire the worst offensive coordinator possible and fire him after only nine games.

• Fail to build the offensive line with actual solutions. The Bears have had to use a whooping 21 different line combos in 11 games.

• Lose as many devastating games in walkoff fashion.

• Have the head coach keep the door open to benching Williams instead of giving the kid a vote of confidence after the Patriots game.

It’s enough to break anyone, especially a rookie with all the pressure in the world of being drafted number one overall in a city that is quarterback starved. Yet, here is Caleb standing taller than ever after going through it all.

Williams has led the Bears back three times in the fourth quarter in the past five games.

That’s money on the table time. We’d be raving about that if Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, or Josh Allen did that, let alone a rookie.

You cannot measure having “it” in money on the table time.

When the country was watching the Bears vs. the Commanders, Williams took his team downfield not once, but twice in the fourth quarter to take the lead. The first time was spoiled by Shane Waldron’s silly call for a handoff to Doug Kramer. There’s that obstacle course again. Williams shook it off and the Bears went on a 10-play, 62-yard touchdown drive soon after, only to watch the Hail Mary fiasco.

In a game against the arch rival Green Bay Packers, a team the Bears haven’t beaten in 10 tries, Williams took the offense on a seven-play, 42-yard drive to set up the game-winning field goal attempt. Field goal blocked. This is like an obstacle course from the tv show Double Dare!

Then this past game, instead of wilting, Williams had his third 300 yard game of the season along with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Plus, highlight reel throws from start to finish and another 4th quarter rally.

Then there’s Matt Eberflus. What’s the opposite of clutch?

That’s Eberflus trying to close out games with his “vaunted” defense, something that is supposed to be the Bears calling card.

• Blew a 21-point lead with under a minute to play at home in the 3rd quarter to the Broncos in 2023.

• Squandered a 12-point lead with under four minutes left in Detroit in 2023.

• Gave away a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter to Joe Flacco and the Browns in 2023

• Allowed the Commanders to complete the shocking Hail Mary comeback in October.

The Bears have a quarterback. They don’t have a coach or even a good defensive coordinator for that matter.

We’re seeing how important the coach is with Sean Payton developing Bo Nix into a stud. Nix doesn’t have nearly the talent that Williams has. Payton was acquired for draft picks and a top salary. The Bears should take note and not spare an expense with the gift they’ve been given with Williams.

Don’t get Flus’d again; 5-18 in one score games is atrocious.

Once anyone gets through an obstacle course in record time, they should win a prize. Williams’ prize should be a top of the market head coach. So grab the wishbone Bears fans, Caleb deserves our wish of a top-tier head coach.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.