At first glance, there might not be a lot to be optimistic about in terms of the Chicago Bears' heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 14.
We can make all the excuses in the world and wonder if things could have gone differently if the Bears had run the ball on fourth-and-one. But one undeniable fact from Sunday's game is that the Bears-Packers rivalry is back. Much of this is thanks to the Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
Caleb Williams is here to right the wrongs of past Bears quarterbacks
Before Williams' arrival, Bears fans endured an 11-game losing streak to the Packers. One of the NFL's oldest rivalries, Bears-Packers games are typically must-watch football with playoff implications on the line.
The intensity of this rivalry is only matched by the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys rivalry and the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens rivalry. This rivalry is so competitive and passionate that NFL.com's Bucky Brooks hailed it as the league's greatest.
Make no mistake, this rivalry has enjoyed several memorable moments over the years. But in recent years, it just has not been the same. The Bears possess a paltry 2-17 record versus the Packers over the last 10 seasons. Similarly, the rivalry has lost a bit of its spark, and a huge reason why is the imbalance at quarterback.
Over the past 30 years, the Packers have enjoyed an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position. Hall of Fame quarterbacks Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers basically owned the Bears over the course of their careers. While Jordan Love is not quite at their level yet, there is no denying he's the cheeseheads' franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.
In that same span of time, the Bears have gone through a slew of quarterbacks. Besides Cutler, they failed to find any quarterback continuity. And every recent quarterback has struggled against the Packers.
Justin Fields went 0-6 against the Packers while Mitchell Trubisky went 1-6. Cutler posted a 2-11 record versus the Bears' arch-rival. However you want to chalk it up, there's no denying the Bears have struggled against the Packers, and a big reason was shoddy quarterback play. That all changed when Williams arrived.
Williams has a 1-2 record versus the Packers and matches up head-to-head with Love very well. What was once a forgotten rivalry now has a lot of energy and moxie behind it, and Williams' impact in this is undeniable.
Read more: Caleb Williams' frustration boiled over after Bears' heartbreaking Packers loss
When new head coach Ben Johnson was hired, he made beating the Packers twice a year one of his primary goals. Now that the Bears have finally found their quarterback in Williams, that is not a crazy proclamation to make.