24-Hour Rule: The Bears win and Caleb Williams is the real deal

Out of caution, I followed the 24-hour rule before analyzing yesterday's win too deeply. And yet… I'm still just as excited as I was yesterday when the game ended.

What a win, what an overall performanceand what We have a quarterback! It's great to start the bye week with so much momentum, but let's also keep this train going by talking about yesterday's win in London.

Bears vs. Jaguars takeaways

I think if we do anything negative, it was another slow start. The Bears have gotten away with coming out of the gates slow and sloppy in recent weeks, but that's not ideal. While those slow starts didn't last long, they won't be able to afford wasted early possessions against teams as good as Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay. It's time to sort this out, but I'd like to see this settled against Washington and New England.

Having such an advanced quarterback is WILD. Don't get me wrong, I know there will still be growing pains. Divisional play will be quite testing for Caleb Williams, and there will undoubtedly be some bad moments. But what we're seeing, albeit against bad defenses, is something we've never seen from a Bears quarterback (except for a few impressions from Jay Cutler). Caleb sees the field as well as any Bears quarterback I can remember. He is patient in the pocket, going through his reads, anticipating and opening up receivers. He's getting better every week. The first touchdown against Keenan Allen was unreal. He will still have a few bumps in the road, but we have a special talent on our hands.

I loved how Eberflus and Waldron let Caleb Williams stay aggressive and throw the ball farther after the losing INT against DJ Moore. It feels like INT like this has ultimately led to a much more conservative game plan in years past. That was far from the case on Sunday, and Caleb recovered immediately and never looked back. It's very impressive to just erase the mistake and move on.

It was nice to see Keenan Allen at full strength yesterday and I think we saw how important he is to Caleb and to this offense as a whole. He always seemed to be open on third down and was Mr. Reliable for Chicago's quarterback the entire game. It felt like Allen was a big presence in the first game, and I'm sure part of that had to do with him starting to get fully healthy. When he's in the lineup he's an absolute weapon and after games like this he'll only open up more opportunities for DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.

Cole Kmet seems to be getting better as the games go on. I'm not sure why it feels like he's a bit of a slow starter, but he had his best game of the season on Sunday against Jacksonville. He's a red zone weapon, he's hard to defeat, and he can take a long snap! Honestly, I think the play that impressed me the most was the one where he stayed inside to block, Caleb was forced to roll out, and Kmet improvised, breaking away for a route and making a catch for a first down made.

I can't say enough about D'Andre Swift's turnaround. He runs more purposefully, punches holes (instead of dancing through them), and is difficult to bring down once he's in space. He's never going to be the best between the tackles, but the combination of him and Roschon Johnson has been really good over the last few weeks and they complement each other really well.

The offensive line may not have been as good as it was against Carolina, and I think there are some pass pro issues that need to be addressed. But here too they played well enough to win. They'll never be the best offensive line in the NFL, but they're starting to look like what we expected at the start of the season – that is, a middle-of-the-pack group that won't hurt you that much. I also think it helps them a lot that the same group has been competing over the last few weeks, and a big reason why they're taking part is the chemistry they're developing.

Credit for this goes to Shane Waldron. He has adapted to his staff and adapted his game planning and game instruction to the wishes of his players. Coaches can be stubborn and try to tell employees what their fit should be. Waldron didn't do that. He has adapted to his group and a lot of what he does he adapts to his players. The best coaches figure out how to maximize their personnel's potential, and Waldron has started doing that. It helps when you have a quarterback like Caleb who can do so much. But still, credit where it's due.

I can't say enough about this defense. Two starting DBs missing, Kyler Gordon going down in the middle of the game, it just didn't matter. This group plays at such a high level. They fly around the field, get the job done and believe in what their teammates/coaches are doing. All three levels of the defense – the D-line, the linebackers and the secondary – are playing great football and embracing the next-man-up mentality. I've had my issues with Matt Eberflus as a head coach, but it's impossible to say he doesn't do a really good job with his side of the football.

I'm still tempering my expectations for the rest of the season. The Bears have played three bad defenses in a row. However, they smoked the last two games they played in, which is what good teams do to bad ones. But the second half of the schedule will be ruthless. Six division games and a date with the Niners are still waiting. If Chicago weathers the storm in the second half of the season and is “In The Hunt” for the rest of the season, I will be a happy fan. 10 wins would be a great year.