Bears

• Bears QB Caleb Williams detailed his hamstring injury: “It’s felt good but it’s different when you have to go through a whole week of practice and you’ve got to prepare for a game and all that, the stress on the mind, body and spirit.” (Mike Garafolo)
• Williams took issue with reports about the injury’s severity and revealed he suffered a“hamstring tear, a pretty serious one,“ without disclosing the grade. (Courtney Cronin)
• He talked about trusting his hamstring when he returns to game action: “I trust myself. I trust my body. I trust my guys. And so, if I’m out there, I’m out there and it’s full trust. If I’m not out there, I need a little more time.” (Cronin)

Packers

Packers WR Matthew Golden filled in at punt returner in Week 5, logging two returns for 27 yards. Green Bay ST coordinator Cam Achord praised Golden for stepping up and playing naturally. 

“I thought he did a really good job. Stepped in there, a 17-yard return. You can see his development. He took pride in it. Went to him on the sideline, you can tell in his eyes he was ready to go. So that’s a great testament to him, what he’s done at practice. Going back there, catching the ball, being ready to go. Because you never know. I thought he made good decisions. He was confident going back there, feeling the ball in the air, feeling off the bounce, getting vertical. There was no hesitation to go back there and put him in the game,” Achord said, via the team’s site. 

As for K Trey Smack missing an extra point and two field goals, Achord understands rookies will sometimes hit a “bump in the road” and isn’t skeptical about the kicker going forward. 

“You got to trust the process. The good thing about the bad situation is it happened in a nice win, right? It was good to have a bad game when you’re winning. So it’s something we can build off of. We talked about it, wasn’t always going to be perfect. Whether you’re a kicker or another position, you’re a rookie. There’s going to be a bump in the road, and he’s got the right mental makeup to trust the process, trust what we’re doing in practice, trust what he did the first four weeks. I think he’s going to be fine. I have no fear about that,” Achord said. 

Regarding LB Nick Niemann helping track down a long kickoff return by the Bears, Achord praised the effort by Niemann, LB Isaiah McDuffie, and CB Brandon Cisse in the moment. 

“It was an amazing play by not only Neimann, but Trey, he goes underestimated. I know he didn’t make the tackle, but he slowed the guy down, and made the guy cut back. And just because he makes the guy cut back, Nick and Duff (Isaiah McDuffie) and Brandon (Cisse), they’re all running their tails off. Obviously our defense did a great job, you know. Stopped the touchdown after that, but it was a bad call. I’ll call it what it was. It was a bad call. That was on me. I didn’t really make the right call, and then Chicago made a great scheme fit, and that’s kind of what happened. So I got to do a better job right there.”

Packers

Packers S Xavier McKinney picked off two passes in the 31-7 win over the Bears in Week 5. Green Bay DC Jonathan Gannon praised the veteran safety and their coaching staff for challenging him. 

“X is obviously a high-profile, high-performing player, right? He’s been really good throughout his whole career since he’s been in the NFL, but the great ones still want to get challenged and they still want to improve and I think that the DB coaches have done a good job with him of saying hey, let’s do a couple of these things and work on it and X, and all of our players, took it to heart. As far as here’s some fundamentals or here’s some coaching points that you can work on to make yourself a better player. All players really want is how can you help me? And they set forth a good plan and give credit to X. He’s taken that and he works on it. He works on that part of his game a lot and it’s good to see it show up,” Gannon said, via the team’s site. 

Packers LB Zaire Franklin recorded nine tackles and forced a fumble against Chicago. Gannon said the linebacker is always proactive in asking important questions as they prepare for games. 

“He’s a very serious person, so you better be on top of it. Not just players. Coaches. When he has questions, you better have answers or he will expose you, so it’s good. It’s a challenge. When we put up something, he’s going to ask the why and I believe in those guys knowing the why. He’s all about ball. He’s like that on the field and in the meeting room,” Gannon said. 

Green Bay DT Devonte Wyatt also had two sacks and a forced fumble in Week 5. Gannon is pleased with how he’s returned from a broken fibula and torn ankle ligaments in November of last year. 

“Heavy D’s putting a lot into himself, working on a couple things, but he is coming off a major injury. Whatever their level is before they get an injury, it’s not going to look like that right away. I do believe that. It’s not just going to be like, ‘Oh I’m back,’ even when it’s return to play and he’s ready to go and he’s getting snaps. Any of our guys, it takes a little bit of time to find their new norm after that type of an injury and that could a hamstring, knee, ankle, anything. So I’m very pleased with where he’s at and I think he’s ascending right now,” Gannon said.