The Chicago Bears made an emphatic statement in Week 1, and Tom Brady took notice.
Speaking on NFL on FOX, the seven-time Super Bowl champion unveiled his early-season power rankings, placing Chicago at No. 2 overall, trailing only the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
It’s a bold vote of confidence for a Bears team that dismantled the Carolina Panthers in dominant fashion to open the season, and Brady didn’t hold back when explaining why.
“The Caleb Williams MVP watch is underway. Bears are number 2. They put 59 on Carolina in Week 1.” From there, Brady’s rankings continued with the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3, the Baltimore Ravens at No. 4, and the Buffalo Bills at No. 5.
Rounding out his top ten were the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 6, the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 7, the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 8, the Detroit Lions at No. 9, and the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 10.
Tom Brady Wants to See Defense, But Won’t Complain About More Points
While Tom Brady was clearly impressed by the Bears’ offensive firepower, he wasn’t afraid to needle the team about the other side of the ball.
Ben Johnson has clearly built the offense to put up points, but Brady pointed out that the defense needs to hold up on their end.
“Ben Johnson wants the highest scoring offense ever, but we need to see a little defense from this team when they get back to Chicago,” Brady said.
Then, in typical Brady fashion, he pivoted with a laugh, essentially shrugging off his own critique. “Or just, you know what, screw it. Keep scoring 59. I’m an offensive guy. Either way works.”
Obviously the Bears won’t be able to drop 59 points a game, but the defense is a major concern. Perhaps general manager Ryan Poles could look to make a major trade at the deadline for a star pass rusher?
Caleb Williams Comments on Facing Vikings Defense in Week 2
The Minnesota Vikings defense should be a bigger test for the Bears’ offense than the Panthers defense, and Caleb Williams spoke on the challenge of facing Minnesota’s defense led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
“This week is not fun during the week, but when you get to game day and you get out there, all the reps throughout the week, all the film and things like that, to be able to get out there and compete versus their defense, which they have great players over there, but also the scheme is one of a kind. As a competitor, as a challenger, it does get you going a little bit early in the week. It’s exciting, and we’ve got a really big challenge ahead of us.”
The praise isn’t one-sided either. Flores called Williams a superstar, saying, “We’re going to have to do a great job really across the board. …Try to put ourselves in a position to handle the run game, handle the pass game, handle the quarterback, you know, who’s an up-and-coming superstar. Not even up-and-coming; he is a superstar in our league.”
The Bears face off against the Vikings on Sunday, September 20th at 1 PM Eastern Time.
Tom Brady Makes Bold Announcement Regarding Bears After Week 1