The Atlanta Falcons are heading into a critical game this week against the Chicago Bears, and after squandering an opportunity last week against the Baltimore Ravens against a backup quarterback, they appear unlikely to get the same luck this week.

Atlanta surrendered a fourth quarter lead going up against Tyler Huntley after being spared having to face Lamar Jackson, but as the Bears come to town, their QB situation is murky as well. Caleb Williams -- who looked like an MVP candidate early in the year before getting injured -- has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, but he looks to be coming back very soon.

By all accounts, it appears Williams is likely to make his grand return this week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and will be hungry to get his season back on track.

"Trending in the right direction is a good way to put it," NFL insider Mike Garafolo reported on NFL Network this week regarding Williams' chances of playing this week, which has coincided with reports from other insiders.

Garafolo did clarify the fact that hamstrings are difficult to predict and there always could be tweaks or something of that nature as Williams tries to make it through a full week of practice, but that he is indeed on the right track to play this week.

On one hand, this would obviously give Atlanta a perhaps significantly worse chance of actually winning the game, however it would also make for a more accurate measuring stick of where this team is at. The Falcons want to get where the Bears are, and in order to do that, they need to get a look at exactly what the standard is in the NFC.

It's not to say Atlanta cannot beat Chicago with Williams, quite the contrary in fact. This is an any given Sunday kind of league, and a home game for the Falcons should be seen as an opportunity against a Super Bowl contender to send a message to the rest of the league.

With a loss potentially dropping Atlanta two games below .500 though, there is legitimate urgency to get in the win column by any means necessary. If Williams does indeed come back this week like all signs are pointing to, that path gets a little bit more narrow.

Time will tell if the Falcons are up to the challenge or not.