Bear Digest

Nick Wright's Stunning Super Prediction for Bears Season

It almost sounds as if Fox Sports 1 host is joining SNL's "Superfans" after hearing what he sees ahead in 2024 for the Chicago Bears.

Gene Chamberlain

Since the days of Mike "Da Coach" Ditka, Bears fans have long been labled as unrealistic homers. Nick Wright apparently thinks it's their time.
Since the days of Mike "Da Coach" Ditka, Bears fans have long been labled as unrealistic homers. Nick Wright apparently thinks it's their time. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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In some NFL circles, people have to be wondering if Nick Wright is secretly a member of Bill Swerski's famed “Superfans.”

In a discussion about the schedules and Caleb Williams, Wright said the unthinkable.

"I think Caleb could lead the Bears to the Super Bowl in his rookie season," Wright said.

Da Bears.

Wright didn't outright guarantee this. He did say he is "flirting" with the idea.

"I think a 7-2 start is absolutely on the board, and this is my bold prediction, forget guaranteeing the playoffs," he said, on First Things First.

The reason he's thinking this is success he saw other rookie quarterbacks have, including C.J. Stroud, combined with the improvement by the Bears in personnel on offense during the offseason and finally the relatively easy start to their schedule.

Wright acknowledged the possibility of slow starts by Williams because he had a poor end to his college career, which actually shouldn't mean much of anything.

"Instead, he has a tailor-made start to his career," Wright said. "Of the seven teams projected to have the worst record in football, he gets five of them in the first nine weeks.

"New England, Arizona, Washington, the Panthers and the Titans—that's five in the first nine games."

Rookies can be prone to mistakes even against poor NFL teams, though.

Wright wasn't deterred by this thought as he plowed ahead.

"We have seen rookie quarterbacks step in and be excellent and the the team be contenders," he said.

Wright pointed to Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, C.J. Stroud, Andrew Luck, RG III and Brock Purdy as examples.

"Brock Purdy was in the NFC championship game his rookie year," Wright said.

"So the idea that rookie quarterbacks don't ever step in and have success is belied by history," Wright concludes. "And this Bears team, I think, is a playoff team with just slightly below average quarterback play."

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No doubt some will wonde if, after taping, Wright put on his Bears letter jacket, grabbed a big stein of beer, ate a brat, and told Pat Arnold, Carl Wollarski, Todd O'Connor and Swerski that the Bears could only have a better Super Bowl shot if "Da Coach" returned to the sidelines.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.