An hour or two before the Bears kicked off in London, coach Matt Eberflus asked quarterback Caleb Williams how he was feeling. “He goes, ‘Man, I’m spinning it today,’” Eberflus said “I asked why and he goes, ‘There’s no wind.’” When you play your home games on the blustery lakefront, other stadiums, be they domed or open-air, foreign or domestic, can feel luxurious by comparison.
Williams’ two losses this season, though, have been in the Bears’ only true road games. That’s the latest in a series of narratives the rookie quarterback has a chance to change Sunday. It’s his biggest test of the season — a game at the five-win Commanders, Williams’ hometown team, with his friends and family watching.
It will be Williams’ homecoming. The Commanders’ stadium is only 10 miles from the apartment on 77 H Street NW, where Williams lived on his own while attending Gonzaga College High School a block away. “I’ve used all my tickets,” he said with a smile.
“And for the people that are coming, I’m excited, for sure.” As always, the Bears bring the baggage of the past with them. In their last 20 road games against winning teams, they’re 1-19, with the outlier being a 2021 Week 5 victory against a distracted 3-1 Raiders team.
The next day, Raiders coach Jon Gruden resigned following an email scandal. To win on the road Sunday, the Bears will need Williams to play better than he did in Houston and Indianapolis. Williams went 56-for-89 for 537 y.