Bears' Caleb Williams, Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. on track to play in Week 6 clash

Previous reports revealed that Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Atlanta Falcons QB1 Michael Penix Jr. were on track to start for their clubs when 2-3 Atlanta hosts 3-2 Chicago this coming Sunday. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, that remained the case. 

Caleb Williams gets "full participant" practice designation

Per Courtney Cronin of ESPN, Bears head coach Ben Johnson confirmed that Williams will be a full participant on Wednesday's estimated injury report. While Chicago's first full practice of the week won't take place until Thursday, Wednesday's news indicates that Johnson believes his first-choice starter will be able to go at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium this coming weekend. 

The Bears have been without Williams since he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain on Sept. 20. While Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent led Chicago to two straight victories following the Williams injury, Keenum and Bagent largely looked like backups during the Bears' 31-7 loss at the rival Green Bay Packers this past Sunday.

As noted by CHGO Sports, Johnson said that Williams' status for the Falcons game is "still fluid." Nevertheless, it sounds like the Bears are confident that Williams will make his return in Atlanta. 

Will everything go "according to plan" for Falcons, Michael Penix Jr. this week? 

As for Penix, he suffered a rib injury late in regulation of Atlanta's game against the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday night. That injury prevented him from playing in the contest's overtime period, but Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that Penix would practice on Wednesday.

According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, Stefanski added that Penix will start against the Bears "as long as everything goes according to plan" through the weekend. 

"I am not going to get into specifics," Stefanski added about Penix, "but he's feeling better."

Penix missed the Falcons' first two games of this season while recovering from the surgery he needed last fall to repair a partially torn ACL. He then led Atlanta to back-to-back wins before the Baltimore game. 

Shortly after the news about Williams and Penix broke, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Falcons as 2.5-point home underdogs against the Bears.