The weight of the Chicago Bears franchise doesn’t – and shouldn’t – fall entirely on the shoulders of starting quarterback Caleb Williams.
At least according to one Chicago legend.
After a sluggish first month, Williams has started to pick up his play in recent weeksGetty
Charles Tillman, aka ‘Peanut’ Tillman, is in London alongside the franchise he played 12 seasons for and who are back in the UK for the NFL’s second line game of 2024.
With Williams starting to flex the muscles that made him the first overall pick, Tillman believes there’s still a little work to do for the franchise fighting their way through a fierce NFC North.
The creator of the iconic ‘peanut punch’, Tillman spoke exclusively to talkSPORT on what he believes is going to make this iteration of the Bears successful.
Spoiler, he’s not buying into the belief that it all starts and ends with Williams.
“Everyone keeps talking about Caleb, but I don’t think it’s just Caleb,” Tillman said. “He’s just a spoke in the wheel. He’s just one piece to the puzzle.
” I think they just need to be more consistent within their offense. They showed that last week when they played Carolina. He threw for, what, three or four touchdowns. Offense looked great.
“The running game looked great. The passing game looked great. The blocking game. Offensively, they were the complete package. And they just have to stick with that recipe, that motto.
“They just need to stick with that right there. Whatever they did Sunday, they need to kind of keep that going for them to be successful.
“And hopefully, maybe I’m biased because I play for Chicago, but I’m hoping they can pack whatever they did to Carolina, pack that up, bring it over here across the pond, and put it on Jacksonville Sunday.”
The 3-2 Bears will face the 1-4 Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
It is the Bears third time playing in London and first since 2019.
Williams and the Bears head to London on a two-game win streakGetty
After a slow start to the year, Williams has found his rhythm over the last couple of weeks, with wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers.
The Bears and Williams have shown signs of growth and improvement which is all that matters to Tillman.
When asked what he will consider a successful season for the Bears, his answer was simple.
“Growth. I think growth,” Tillman said.
“My view of the Bears at the end of the season is did they grow? Are they a better team this year than they were last year?
“They’re a young team and Flus is building something with this organization and with these players and they’re buying into what he’s selling and I like it.”
Tillman knows what it takes to win in the city of Chicago, helping the Bears reach Super Bowl XLI almost 20 years ago.
And he knows you can’t just snap your fingers and find instant success. Not in this league.
“It’s just time, you know, champions aren’t made overnight. It takes time to build an organization, to grow an organization, to grow a team. And what I’ve seen personally, I like it.
“I just want to see growth.”
Through five weeks into the season, Williams and the Bears have done just that.
The key will be if they can keep building on their recent performances and continue to grow.
We will find out Sunday.
talkSPORT is your home of the NFL on UK radio, join us on talkSPORT2 from 1pm for live coverage of the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Chicago Bears from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
