(670 The Score) In the land of royals, Caleb Williams leading the Bears to a 35-16 rout of the Jaguars on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London was treated like a football coronation.
Back home in Chicago, it simply comes as confirmation.
Indeed, Williams is the one, the special player the Bears thought they were getting, the franchise quarterback they invested so heavily in to restore hope and belief in a once-proud franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in nearly 14 years. With due respect to everyone else on the McCaskey family payroll, Williams is what makes this team and this season — this era? — different.
More than any factor, Williams' presence gives the Bears reason to believe their promising start presages a successful season. You remember those, Bears fans?
After six games, all the preseason hype seems justified. Realistically, 4-2 is exactly where the Bears should be with their soft schedule, with an ascending rookie quarterback and an outstanding defense, welcoming a week off with ample reason to believe they can compete in the NFL's toughest division.
You might say this Bears season so far has gone according to the script, even if nobody at Halas Hall ever had one. (More on that later.)
But realize this is precisely where the Bears thought they should be. They didn't panic after losing a winnable game to the Colts and must avoid overreacting now to a three-game winning streak. They're on schedule. Period.
The Bears always expected to be competitive in the NFC North. They anticipated Williams experiencing early ups and downs due to the nature of the position and the scope of responsibilities he manages. They trusted a defense to carry the team through that unevenness until Williams became more comfortable in his role.
He sure looks comfy now.
After a sleepy first quarter by the Bears offense, Williams went on to complete 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns for a 124.4 passer rating — his third game exceeding 100. His only mistake was on an underthrown interception on a would-be touchdown to DJ Moore that made Williams "a bit pissed off at myself."
It appeared to barely faze Williams on the field, where he recovered nicely. He connected twice on touchdowns to tight end Cole Kmet. He flashed his accuracy on the other two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen, a dart between defenders on the first one and a beautiful fade to Allen on the second.
"We've been practicing that since OTAs," Allen told reporters postgame.
Allen was talking about the touchdown pass, though he could've been referring to the entertaining tea party celebration too.
Back to Williams, his uncanny field awareness was obvious when he took off and ran when the Jaguars played man defense and left the running lanes open, with Williams gaining 56 yards on four carries. He hurt Jacksonville with his legs and arm, an underrated dual threat.
That all this happened against the NFL's worst passing defense and a second straight weak opponent can't be overlooked. But nobody needs to worry about Williams overstating his progress that's obvious to everybody else. Not based on Williams' response when asked the biggest reasons for his success Sunday.
"Offensive line, coaching, progress, the leadership on this team and for me the constant mindset of keep going," Williams humbly told the assembled media postgame.
This looks like a good football team, with D'Andre Swift giving the run game more oomph with 91 yards on 17 carries. The offensive line benefited from the return of left guard Teven Jenkins, but that unit also must continue to improve — and will get healthy reinforcements.
But improvement is improvement. Much was made pregame about whether Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron scripted the first 15 plays of the game or not. Respected NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales told the Mully and Haugh Show on Friday that Waldron had begun scripting the first 15 plays of games only after the Bears' loss to the Colts when the leadership group asked for more specificity.
Dales cited a conversation with tight end and captain Marcedes Lewis, a font of information this season. A source later confirmed that Waldron previously had suggested calls and "openers" but began scripting the first 15 only at the players' request — an unusual way to approach a season with a rookie quarterback.
Whatever happened to precipitate change, it's working now. The Bears have scored 35 points in consecutive games for the first time since 2013.
Speaking of streaks, Sunday marked the 12th straight game the Bears defense has given up 21 points or fewer — the longest active streak in the league.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars came out strong and looked early anything but a team that arrived late due to complications created by Hurricane Milton. For many Jaguars players and coaches, football might've been the furthest thing from their minds during a week filled with anxiety for their families and homes.
Yet they looked like the sharper team in the first quarter, moving the chains before stalling in the red zone against a Bears defense easier to bend than break.
A dropped touchdown pass by Gabe Davis helped the Bears. The Jaguars consistently hurt themselves the way 1-5 teams do. Lawrence completed 23 of 35 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and Evan Engram had 10 catches for 102 yards. But the damage was minimal thanks to the Bears' knack for taking the football away. Josh Blackwell intercepted a pass and Elijah Hicks recovered a fumble, both backups pressed into action due to injuries.
Keep in mind the Bears played this game without safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf) — and they lost nickelback Kyler Gordon after he aggravated a hamstring injury. The depth of their best position group was tested.
Yet the pass rush stayed aggressive, the pursuit remained relentless and the standard stayed high as the defense continued to hold up its end. For instance, Jaylon Jones, who replaced Stevenson, led the Bears with 10 tackles.
"Complementary football is like helping the other person out," coach Matt Eberflus told reporters after the game.
The kind of complementary football the Bears are playing will keep the compliments coming, especially in a football city starving for success, so Eberflus' team must prove it can handle success as well as it has adversity. That becomes a new challenge under Eberflus — handling success during a season — that sure beats the alternative.
"We're in a good spot," Eberflus said.
He's right. And everybody knows the biggest reason why.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-10 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh.