Welcome to season two, episode 19 of The Shawn Mackey Show. I’ve got to be honest—I’ve got a bit of a mess going on. Season one ran 25 episodes, and now we’re at episode 19 of season two. Consistency is really the only thing we’ve had going for us, so the goal is to keep this season at 25 episodes as well. That means sometimes we’re going to do double duty, and that’s exactly what this episode is. We didn’t do a standalone Bears vs. Packers episode, and we’re not doing a separate Browns episode either. This is a two-for-one.

The Packers game was heartbreaking all the way around. The Bears played like absolute garbage in the first half, then came alive in the second half, tied the game, and even had a chance to win it. That final pass to Cole Kmet is still painful. I’ve seen people say Caleb Williams just missed the throw, but I’m not convinced that’s the full story. If Kmet adjusts differently in the end zone, maybe that ball turns into a jump ball situation. In Caleb’s mind, he might be thinking, “I’ve got a massive tight end—let him go up and get it.”

That leads into the bigger conversation about Caleb Williams and his accuracy. Yes, he overthrows some balls. Yes, it shows up on film. But then you turn around and see him make throws that leave you asking, “How did he even do that?” The touchdown against the Browns, splitting two defenders to DJ Moore, is a perfect example. Caleb doesn’t throw a lot of interceptions, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio puts him in some impressive company. That tells me there may be a method to what looks like inconsistency.

It also makes me wonder if Bears fans even know what to look for in a franchise quarterback anymore. You look around the league—Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield—and those teams feel like they have their guy. But what have they actually won? If you have a quarterback for ten years and don’t win anything, is he a bust, or is the organization the problem for not putting the right pieces around him?

Against Green Bay, the Bears simply started too slow. Seventy-one yards in the entire first half isn’t going to cut it anywhere, especially at Lambeau. It honestly felt like the team walked into that stadium intimidated by the moment. Then, in the second half, they realized they belonged. They flipped the script, dominated stretches of the game, and still came up short. That’s why, for that Packers game, everyone gets the blame—coaching, offense, defense, special teams. No champs, no chumps.

The Browns game was different. Caleb Williams looked more accurate, especially over the middle. The Bears leaned heavily on the run game, almost to a fault, but when Caleb threw, he looked sharp. Some of those throws required receivers to make tough catches, but that’s part of what I’m seeing—Caleb is putting the ball where only his guy can get it. If the receiver can’t make the play, neither can the defender.

Defensively, I had some issues with the approach. Against a rookie quarterback like Shedeur Sanders, I would have brought pressure all day. Disguising coverages is great, but I would have made him beat me under constant heat. There were big plays given up, but Jaylon Johnson also made one of the most heads-up plays of the game with that end zone interception, staying in bounds for a touchback and completely flipping momentum.

DJ Moore got more involved and scored twice, which was great to see. D’Marco Jackson had a strong game with a sack and an interception. Caleb finished the first half 12-of-18 for 190 yards and a touchdown, and by the end of the game, he graded out with one of his best performances of the season. The Bears won, moved to 10–4, and climbed back to the number two seed in the NFC.

I’ll be honest—I’ve been struggling a bit with the show. I enjoy being behind the mic, but the growth hasn’t been what I hoped. Still, I’m going to keep doing this because I love talking sports. If you want to jump on the show, talk Bears, Cubs, or anything else, reach out. We’re going to keep building this thing, introducing new ideas, and continuing to break down Bears and Cubs seasons year-round.

That’s all I’ve got for today. Thanks for listening to The Shawn Mackey Show. I’m out. Peace.