Caleb Williams went down Sunday, and for a moment, Chicago Bears fans were staring at another Derrick Rose-type nightmare.
Williams was scrambling toward the goal line against the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth quarter when he suddenly collapsed without being touched – He grabbed at his right leg and immediately screamed in pain before being helped off the field and taken to the locker room on a cart.
The way Williams went down immediately raised fears of an Achilles injury, which would have been devastating for the Bears. It also brought back memories of Rose, who tore his ACL on a similar non-contact play during the Bulls‘ 2012 playoff run.
Fortunately for Chicago, this story seems like it might have a much better ending…
Adam Schefter reported that Williams suffered a hamstring injury rather than an Achilles injury. The severity of the hamstring issue remains unclear, but the initial diagnosis gave the Bears a major reason to exhale after what looked like a potentially disastrous injury.
Bears fans know exactly why that was scary
Derrick Rose’s injury happened in almost the same kind of setting.
In Game 1 of the Bulls’ 2012 playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Rose drove toward the basket, planted and went down without contact… He had torn the ACL in his left knee.
The mood inside the building changed immediately. NBA.com later described it as “worried, somber, dire.”
Rose was 23 years old and coming off an MVP season as the Bulls had championship aspirations until that one non-contact play changed everything.
So when Caleb Williams went down Sunday, it is easy to understand why Chicago fans immediately thought about Rose.
One Chicago Bears fan account, Die-Hard Chicago, captured the reaction on social media, writing that the scene brought back the same feelings from when Rose went down. The comparison ends there, though.
Williams did not tear his Achilles. He did not tear his ACL. The Bears quarterback suffered a hamstring injury, according to Schefter, and there is no indication at this point that he is facing anything remotely comparable to the injury that derailed Rose’s career. That’s the good news Chicago needed.
This time, the news wasn’t nearly as bad
Caleb Williams finished Sunday’s game with 138 passing yards and 42 rushing yards before leaving in the fourth quarter – Tyson Bagent replaced him and completed 5 of 9 passes for 54 yards in the Bears’ 9-3 loss.
Now the Chicago Bears have to wait to find out how serious the hamstring injury actually is. That will determine everything.
Chicago has a Monday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles coming up, so the team has eight days to evaluate Williams and figure out whether he can play. If he can’t, Bagent becomes the next man up.
But at least the Bears aren’t dealing with the nightmare scenario that initially seemed possible when Williams went down. That’s the biggest takeaway from Sunday.
For a few seconds, Chicago fans saw Williams hit the turf and had every reason to worry. The image immediately brought back memories of Derrick Rose and the gut punch that followed his ACL injury.
Then came the update. Hamstring. Not Achilles. For the Bears, that’s a pretty significant difference.
Caleb Williams Injury Gives Bears Fans a Painful Derrick Rose Flashback