When you’re at the top of the world, making the spectacular look ordinary, they love you. The moment you slip, they’re ready to pounce.
Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears just learned that this week.
A week after putting up an insane 59 points on the Carolina Panthers, the offense looked disjointed and undisciplined against Brian Flores’ Minnesota Vikings defense in a 9-3 loss. Now, people are talking about Ben Johnson’s jig being up after one game—one poor outing after a track record of excellence
so far in his Chicago tenure.
But Williams’ injury, and the reaction to it, is the most egregious part.
The quarterback going down with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter while scrambling deep in Minnesota territory added injury to the insult of the day’s offensive performance. All of us held our breath watching him struggle to get off the field and get carted to the locker room, towel over his head at one point, only to then let out a collective sigh of relief when we heard it was a hamstring injury, not an Achilles or knee blowout.
That news, however, has only brought the insult back into the injury.
Now, Williams’ frustrated, emotional reaction has brought the mouth-breathers out, chastising him for making a scene over what might only be a Grade 1 hamstring strain. All those tears, head-hanging, and letting the fans know you’re okay from the cart are only for real, serious injuries.
Now we’re talking about Williams being a crybaby, being too emotional to be a franchise quarterback, being a diva, and all the other things that go hard when you’re stupid.
Never mind the fact that Williams, despite being far from perfect on the day, was battling his ass off to get a hard-fought win and trying to make a play for his team on a frustrating afternoon, only to know he had to leave the game at the worst possible moment.
Never mind that he, in the moment, had no idea how bad the injury actually was. For all he knew, his muscle might’ve avulsed off the bone, which would have almost certainly meant the end of his season.
Never mind the fact that even a Grade I strain still hurts a lot. (I would know. I’ve had almost that exact injury in almost that exact same circumstance, and it does not feel good when the back of your leg trembles as if someone plucked it like a guitar string.) It still means your hamstring has a tear in it, even if it’s a minor one, and that Williams could still miss several games. (Even though he hasn’t been ruled out for next week’s tilt against the Eagles, he almost certainly should not play).
And never mind that all of this is going through Williams’ mind in the span of just a few minutes, unsure of what the future holds.
Nope. All the former NFL players-turned-podcasters and media hot-take artists who would flail around like they got shot if they had the same injury just couldn’t wait to question his toughness and make fun of him rather than simply be glad the injury wasn’t worse.
Because that’s what we reward these days: stupidity, ignorance, and a lack of empathy for anything we don’t personally go through. (Honestly, that makes the former-player takes that much worse: you’ve been through these situations, and you still felt the need to pop off?)
It’s all because of who he is—the unapologetic fingernail-painter whose pose and superstar ability fly in the face of what football culture says you should be.
It’s about what the Chicago Bears are and what they’re becoming—no longer the laughingstock of the league but an up-and-coming contender with real expectations and a coach who doesn’t care about playing nice.
I warned you it was coming. That they were just waiting for the chance to talk crazy about Williams the moment he looked vulnerable.
Well, here it is. And it’s even more idiotic than I expected.
And the worst? Some of y’all should know better, and you proved you don’t.
Silence is always an option. If you feel the need to pile on Williams for how he reacted to getting hurt, I’m inviting you to employ it now.
