Bears QB Caleb Williams hints his most trusted weapon could be back in action for the playoff game against the Packers
The Bears are hoping to have WR Rome Odunze back in action on Saturday.
The Chicago Bears offense did not play up to the standard in Week 18 before turning the page to the playoffs and sparked a lot of concern for how the unit will look in the postseason starting on Saturday.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s frustrations with the unit continued into Monday after Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions, a game in which the unit scored zero points through three quarters and had a three-and-out on three of the eight offensive possessions.
Johnson believes the unit can, and will play better, against the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round, a sentiment shared by quarterback Caleb Williams. A big boost toward making that possible could be the return of wide receiver Rome Odunze at a critical time.
Bears hoping to have WR Rome Odunze back in action against the Packers
“It’s going to be great,” Williams told reporters when asked about Odunze potentially returning. “I’m excited to have him back. We were talking a few weeks ago, when he went down before pregame [in Week 15], I texted him after the game and said ‘I got you, we’ll get to playoffs, we’ll handle business before you come back, but I need you back healthy and ready to go.’”
Odunze missed each of the team’s last five games due to a stress fracture in his foot, but the injury affected him well before his last game played in Week 13. The team’s second-year wide receiver first popped up on the injury report in Week 9 with a heel injury, but Johnson noted Odunze had been experiencing issues long before that.
“Apparently it’s been bothering him and I haven’t even known about it. It speaks to who he is,” Johnson said back in October. “He’s tough and he wants to go out there and perform regardless not being 100 percent… He looks like his normal self to me, right now. If it’s a pain management thing, he’s managing it really well.”
Odunze had a hot start to his second season with the Bears before dealing with the foot injury. From Weeks 1-8, Odunze totaled 31 receptions, 473 yards, and five touchdowns. He was the team’s most productive pass catcher and Williams’ go-to player in critical situations.
“The ones where Rome has been the primary, he’s been open quite a bit. It’s good to see that they do have that connection in that rapport,” Johnson added back in late October. “I think (Caleb’s) got that with the rest of the guys as well.”
And that last part is where things can get exciting on Saturday for this passing game.
Rome Odunze’s return can give Caleb Williams a full arsenal of weapons for the playoffs
With Odunze sidelined the last few weeks, the offense had to find other weapons to produce and become reliable targets.
Tight end Colston Loveland quickly became that guy and finished the season leading the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Over the last few weeks, rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III has come on strong as well, totaling 324 yards in his last four games. And then you have DJ Moore, the team’s top paid weapon who’s capable of some big-time plays as well.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to use that to our advantage because we’ve got a lot of weapons,” Johnson said on Monday. “Ryan [Poles’] has done a fantastic job of bringing this offense together from a personnel standpoint.
“I think you look at us and you probably don’t say ‘hey, we just want to take away this one particular player.’ You gotta defend the entire field. I think that’s the way we really wanted it. All of these guys know that they’ll have plays in this week to make an impact on this game. Caleb’s job is to help distribute that football so they all get an opportunity to do that.”
Saying Odunze is good to go, the Bears would have the full stable of weapons back on the field at Williams’ disposal to attack any defense they might go up against in the postseason, starting with the Packers defense on Saturday night.
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