Declan Doyle highlights Caleb Williams' cool, routine approach to his historic playoff debut against the Packers, aiming for playoff routine over playoff pressure.
Saturday night's playoff game with the Green Bay Packers will be historic for the Chicago Bears for several reasons.
For one, it will be the first time the Bears have even been in the postseason since 2020. It's also the first time the Bears have hosted a playoff game since 2018.
The Packers and Bears have played each other twice in the playoffs historically. The last time was the 2010 NFC Championship Game. Green Bay won 21-14 and went to the Super Bowl.
Before then, it was the 1941 playoffs, and the Bears won that matchup convincingly, 33-14.
Besides that, the game is going to be the playoff debut for quarterback Caleb Williams. Williams faces the Packers for the third time this season. He has an overall record of 2-2 against Green Bay in his career.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was asked about Williams' mindset heading into the massive game this week. Doyle noted that the quarterback is approaching the game no differently than he would any other game at a recent press conference.
"He's been outstanding," Doyle said. "The biggest thing is that it doesn't change because it's a playoff atmosphere, because things ramp up. You don't want everything to be different. You want it to be routine. You want it to be, 'Hey, this is, you know, we've been building to this point.' He's been locked in, and we're excited to see him play."
Williams has 3,942 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He recently broke the franchise record for single-season passing yards in the 19-16 loss to the Detroit Lions. He needed 109 passing yards to pass Erik Kramer's record from 1995 (3,838), and finished with 212.
Williams needed to throw three more passing touchdowns to become the record holder for single-season passing touchdowns, but ended the game with two.
The quarterback has earned the nickname "Iceman" for his ability to be calm and collected in the biggest moments. We'll get to see how he holds up in a playoff atmosphere for the first time in his career.
Luckily, it will be at home under the lights of Soldier Field.
Williams may also be getting one of his offensive weapons back for the game. Rome Odunze has been out with a foot injury since Week 13, but has been limited at practice this week. We'll find out more about his status when the final injury report drops on Thursday.
Williams and the Bears begin their playoff journey at 7 p.m. CT on Prime Video, or Fox 32 for local Chicago viewers.