It has nothing to do with Caleb Williams’ fingernails.

It has everything to do with the increasingly unavoidable fact that the best quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft was selected after Williams, and the Chicago Bears’ No. 1 pick lost to another ‘rookie’ on Monday Night Football.
Caleb Williams training camp struggles causing concern for Bears fans after Ben Johnson’s telling admission
Williams was solid in Week 1 of a new campaign.

He also lost to the better QB, started 0-1 in the loaded NFC North, and exited his football home of Soldier Field to echoing boos.

NFL analyst ripped Williams before the draft

“The one thing that is clear — he (Williams) is not special,” Merril Hoge said before the 2024 draft.

“He is not something unique like a Patrick Mahomes. And I hope the Bears don’t think, ‘Let’s try to make up for our mistake when we passed on Patrick Mahomes, and go get the Patrick Mahomes.’

“The kid is not Patrick Mahomes. He’s not even remotely close to that.”

Those words irked some when Hoge issued them, as the former ESPN analyst and Pittsburgh Steelers running back weighed in on Williams’ pre-draft status.

Eighteen games later, Williams is on his second NFL head coach and 5-13 as a starter.

New Bears HC Ben Johnson appeared to become frustrated on the sideline as he watched Williams’ crew blow a 17-6 third-quarter lead.

Frustrations return in Chicago

“We made too many mistakes there late in the game, myself included,” Johnson said.

“There were a number of things I could have done better, there were a number of things a lot of guys could have done better.”

Chicago was penalized 12 times for 127 yards.

That’s much more on a rookie head coach than a second-year QB.

But Williams was drafted over Jayden Daniels (No. 2, Washington Commanders), Drake Maye (No. 3, New England Patriots), Michael Penix Jr. (No. 8, Atlanta Falcons), McCarthy (No. 10, Vikings) and Bo Nix (No. 12, Denver Broncos) to be the franchise QB that the Bears have never had.

A season later, Daniels is the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Nix is coming off a playoff run under Sean Payton, and Penix is a promising new arm for the Falcons.

Williams was a question mark coming out of USC, and his final season with the Trojans was uneven.

Since then, it’s been revealed that Williams and his father weren’t big on joining Chicago in the first place.

“I don’t want my son playing for the Bears,” the elder Williams told agents in 2024.

Early returns are concerning for Bears fans

Williams’ team-high 58 rushing yards on just six carries highlighted his dual-threat talent.

He’s only 23-years-old, and has 16 games left this season to prove that Chicago got it right at No. 1.

But Daniels is clearly better at this point in NFL history, McCarthy was an inspiring winner on Monday Night Football, and Nix is 11-7 as a starter.

It doesn’t matter if Williams cries or paints his fingernails in the pros.

He was chosen first to be a lasting answer in Chicago.

No longer a rookie

Caleb Williams on Monday Night Football

Passing: 21-of-35
Yards: 210
Rushing: 6 carries for 58 yards
Touchdowns: 2
Interceptions: 0
Passer rating: 86.6
QB rating: 63.8
Result: Vikings won 27-24
Overall record as starter: 5-13
Draft: No. 1 overall by Chicago in 2024 out of USC

After another Bears loss, it’s easy to question if Williams was the fourth- or fifth-best QB in the 2024 draft.

It’s also worth wondering again if Justin Fields was wronged in Chicago.

With the Lions, Cowboys, Raiders, Commanders, Ravens and Bengals waiting on the Bears’ upcoming schedule, it won’t get any easier.

The boos could just be beginning for Williams — or he will convince Bears fans that he truly is the future.

He’ll never be Mahomes, and Chicago has gone 40 years without winning the Super Bowl.

It’s time for Williams to start winning games like a real No. 1 pick.