fantasy-football – Third Down With Devin

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears have much to prove as they enter the playoffs

After 18 emotion-filled weeks, it is finally time for the NFL Playoffs, and for the city of Chicago, its 15-year playoff-win drought may finally come to an end. For the past decade, the Bears have struggled to find the right leaders to bring them back to relevance. Their past issues of lacking a true QB1 or a head coach that they can rely on to win football games are finally over, as Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson seem to be the answer they’ve been looking for.

As they prepare to host the Packers on Saturday night, which will no doubt be a difficult game with the return of quarterback Jordan Love looming, the Bears will need to lean heavily on the run game, as it has been winning them games all year. Ever since the breakout of Kyle Monangai, it has felt as though the Bears have had the best running back duo in the entire league. Although the passing game has had some electrifying moments, it has been the running game that has kept most of these games close. Coming from the Detroit Lions offense that has a dynamic duo at running back, Ben Johnson has much experience in winning football games with the ground-attack.

In the Bears’ case, they survive with the running game and win with the passing game. What I mean by that is that if the running backs perform up to their standards, Caleb Williams won’t have to be great until the fourth quarter. We have seen this repeatedly all year as Williams usually looks mediocre until the final few drives, where he turns into “iceman”. Of course, this works to an extent, because if the running game isn’t performing up to par, the Bears will have to pull off another miracle comeback against Green Bay. Although the Bears have pulled off so many improbable wins this season, they should not rely on it happening again, as it will be very difficult, considering they have much less playoff experience than the Packers.

If Ben Johnson continues to coach how he has this season, and the O-Line can create holes for the running backs, I believe the Bears will survive to the fourth quarter. Additionally, the defense has proven every week that they will force turnovers and give the offense strong field position. If all that goes how I expect it to, it will be up to Caleb Williams to prove that he actually can perform like a top quarterback in the biggest moment of his career.

The New York Giants need to make significant changes this offseason

The New York Giants are a disaster. Last week, they released quarterback Daniel Jones, who they had signed to a $160 million extension before the season. It was featured on their offseason edition of Hard Knocks, that the Giants could either re-sign Saquon Barkley to a relatively expensive salary for a running back, or they could re-sign Daniel Jones. They chose the latter and just 10 weeks into the season, they have had enough. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley, now a member of Giants division rival Philadelphia Eagles, is on pace for one of the greatest statistical seasons for a running back ever. Following releasing Jones, the Giants lost to the Buccaneers 30-7, and as a result their rookie star wide receiver, Malik Nabers, has had enough. I would not be surprised if he wants out by the end of the season.

If anything is clear, the Giants need a franchise quarterback as soon as possible. Although it would be ideal for them to increase their offensive line and defensive strength before investing in a quarterback, with young talent like Malik Nabers uneasy, their priority must be to draft a quarterback.

Now that any playoff hopes are thrown away, the Giants need to tank for the first overall draft pick, which they can use to select Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Although this upcoming draft is not very quarterback-strong, Sanders is the outlier as he has been elite throughout his entire collegiate career. Along with his skills, Sanders brings in confidence that the Giants organization lacks. Drafting Sanders would not only satisfy Malik Nabers, but it would also mean more wins for the Giants.

The other move that will be necessary to turn the franchise around is to fire head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen. Although Daboll won coach of the year in 2022, he is not competent enough to lead the team to be a playoff contender again. As a replacement, the Giants need to go all in on the Ben Johnson sweepstakes. Johnson is the current offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions and one of the most anticipated head coach candidates for some time. His offensive play calling along with potentially Shedeur Sanders and Malik Nabers could make for one of the strongest offenses in the NFL. For GM Joe Schoen, he is making moves too safely and avoiding any risky decisions that could be beneficial to the team.

It is important that the Giants make these decisions as soon as the regular season ends or the entire fanbase and organization will lose hope. Now that Daniel Jones is gone, that was the first move of many needed to bring the Giants back to being a contender.