Greg Olsen Explains Biggest “Issue” in Bears’ Super Bowl Hopes, Compares Caleb Williams to Rodgers
Greg Olsen is high on the Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams.
The Bears were arguably the most surprising team of the 2025 season, coming within a play of advancing to the NFC Championship after going 5-12 during the 2024 season. Their improvement was in large part due to Caleb Williams’ growth in his second season combined with the hiring of Ben Johnson as the franchise’s new head coach.
Chicago won’t be sneaking up on teams this time around and it doesn’t help that they play in one of the toughest divisions in football in the NFC North. The division had three playoff teams during the 2024 season and all four teams finished with at least a .500 record during the 2025 season.
Because the Bears play in the NFC North, Olsen isn’t quite ready to crown them as one of the favorites to take the next step into being a Super Bowl team.
“I think one of the biggest issues for them is not even going to be their own fault, I think just competing in the NFC North in general,” said Olsen in a one-on-one interview with R.org. “When you start talking about playoff teams and home playoff games and winning the division and ultimately winning the Super Bowl, a lot of those conversations also are yes, how good is your team and how prepared are you? But who are the teams around you? Six games on your calendar, six games on your schedule a year, are going to be your teams in your division.”
Olsen once again hammers home how playing in one of the toughest divisions in football could impede a Super Bowl-caliber team from reaching their potential.
“If I’m playing in the NFC West, in the NFC North, my season looks a little bit different,” Olsen detailed. “Where are the easy games? You got two against Green Bay, you got two against Detroit and you got two against Minnesota. Where are my easy ones? Where are my easy wins? If the idea is I’m going to get home playoff games and then I’m subsequently going to ride that to the Super Bowl. I think the nature of just the divisions, kind of ebbs and flows have a big determination of what teams can make real runs and what team can get home playoff games.”
Williams Comparisons
When it pertains to Williams, it’s clear that the former No. 1 overall pick is now among the best quarterbacks in the league. The 24-year-old threw 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions while also breaking the single-season franchise record for passing yards (3,942).
He led the Bears to their first playoff win since 2010 after they trailed by 15 points against the Green Bay Packers entering the final quarter. Williams nearly led the Bears to an upset win over the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round before they fell in overtime.
“As far as quarterback style, it’s a great question,” said Olsen of Williams.
“You think about a guy that’s almost better off platform than he is in rhythm, he’s better. He’ll make a more accurate throw running to his left cross body, 30 yard dig on the side, 30-yard scramble drill on the sideline. Then maybe he will take in one hitch, taking a five step drop one hitch and throwing a dig across the middle in rhythm. It’s a very interesting play style.”
Favre and Rodgers Mixed Into One
When asked to make a player comparison for Williams, Olsen can see two former Packers quarterbacks in him in Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
“Yeah, a little Brett Favre,” said Olsen of Williams. “Probably the only issue with the Brett Favre comparison is one thing that Caleb Williams has really improved and done a nice job is he doesn’t really turn the ball over. His ability to not turn the ball over, we saw a big improvement there. That was always kind of the Favre thing. You took the good, but there was also a lot of picks and bad throws mixed in.
“But it’s probably a good comparison, I think of like a young Aaron Rodgers, maybe not as accurate,” said Olsen. “Maybe not as accurate of a passer. But people forget young Aaron Rodgers, his ability to operate outside of the pocket, throws on the run, scramble drill, especially down in the red zone. He’s arguably one of the best of all time. So some similar characteristics there in style. Obviously, he’s got a long way to go as a passer from an accuracy standpoint to be compared to Aaron Rodgers. But just from an athletic throw off rhythm platform, I think those are two guys that come to mind.”