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This terrifying scenario could ruin the Chicago Bears' 2025 season

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 10:46 AM ET

Chicago Bears fans have had this nightmare before. You know the one. After months of hope, excitement, and optimism, a highly-drafted first-round quarterback crashes and burns in the graveyard of failed Bears QBs before him.

It happened with Mitch Trubisky, and it happened with Justin Fields.

Caleb Williams, the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, feels like he can finally be the one who breaks Chicago's quarterback curse, but that nagging bug in the pit of every fan's stomach won't truly go away until he proves, on the field and under the tutelage of Ben Johnson, that the Bears finally have a franchise QB.

Still, that doomsday feeling remains, and in a recent breakdown of every team's 2025 nightmare scenario, the Bears' was all about Williams.

"Continuing struggles from Caleb Williams despite significant upgrades to his supporting cast would be hugely problematic for Chicago," Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon wrote.

Ya think?

Problematic isn't a strong enough word for Bears fans if this scenario plays out in 2025. It would be disastrous. It would be catastrophic, devastating, apocalyptic.

You get the point.

In fact, if Caleb Williams fails, it would be a fatal blow to Johnson's attempt at turning the Chicago Bears' offense around. There would be no coming back from it, at least not until yet another highly-drafted quarterback, who'd be the next beacon of hope, joins the roster and tries to break the wheel.

It's fair to suggest no NFL player has more pressure on him than Williams in 2025. It's part of the deal whenever a QB is the first pick in the NFL Draft, but it's magnified by the Bears' history of failure at the position, combined with the hype that surrounded Williams as a generational quarterback who would succeed regardless of his surroundings.

Williams did fine as a rookie. I'd argue he was awesome. But the Chicago Bears only won five games, their head coach was fired, all while his 2024 draftmate, Jayden Daniels, became an instant NFL superstar. If the Bears are going to turn the corner, it's Williams who must become that superstar.

So, yeah, it would be a nightmare if Williams fails in 2025. I just wouldn't bet on that happening, even with over 100 years of Chicago Bears history working against him.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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