More Lucky Than Good

For the best part of three quarters yesterday, Giants’ rookie quaterback Jaxson Dart had the Soldier Field faithful on edge. A raw, damp Sunday—Bears’ weather, or so we like to think—had no discernible effect on the 22-year old, who ran for two touchdowns and looked well on his way to handing the 5-3 Bears their fourth loss of the season, this one to a 2-7 team. Then Dart fumbled away the ball with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. If he didn’t suffer a concussion a few plays before that, he did then, and in came Russell Wilson to replace him. The Bears’ defense looked clueless against Dart, who threw for 242 yards and rushed for another 66. Those stats were food for a 17-7 lead, which eventually grew to 20-7 under Wilson before momentum shifted. Credit the Bears for waking up or blame Wilson for trying to play well beyond his expiration date. Either way, the Munsters scored two touchdown with under four minutes remaining to win, 24-20. And to think ex-GM Ryan Pace was hot for Wilson back in 2021. Bears’ second-year quarterback Caleb Williams threw for one touchdown and scored another to fuel the comeback. What struck me, though, was Williams’ inability to do much against one of the worst defenses in the league. In Williams’ defense, sort of, Dart kept him off the field for long stretches as he frustrated Bears’ defenders. Watch me run, guys. So, everything fell into place and the home team didn’t suffer an embarrassing upset. Yay. And Williams may have been better than his 20 completions and 220 yards gained suggest. For a change of pace, Bears’ receivers came down with a case of the dropsies, letting six catchable passes fall to the ground. Go figure. Basically, I can’t. This is a team that waits to the very end to beat bad teams and has yet to win against a good team. Well, the Eagles; Packers (twice); 49ers; and Lions await. Get back to me at the end of the season. Right now, enjoy.