The drawing for Caleb WilliamsThe second half will stare at him from the opposite side on Sunday.

Midway through his first full season as a starter last year, Packers quarterback Jordan Love ranked near the bottom of the league in passing stats – 33^rd in completion percentage, 26^Th in passer rating — on a team with a losing record looking toward the playoffs. The pressure to replace Aaron Rodgers made his struggles a national story.

Then he turned it around. Something clicked. Quarterback growth isn’t linear, and Love soon looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

From Weeks 10-18 last season, he ranked second in the league in passing yards, sixth in completion percentage and fourth in passer rating. Only one quarterback threw for more touchdowns.

The Packers went 6-2 in their last eight games, including a season finale win against Bears to take a place in the playoffs. Love, who was in the final year of his contract, signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension that set the record for the most money ever given to an NFL player.

That kind of improvement in the second half of the season sounds like a Ryan Pole fever dream. If Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, were to improve on the way Love did in the second half, he would provide hope at the end of what looks like another lost season. A giant leap — perhaps paired with an unlikely playoff berth — may be the only formula that saves Matt Eberflu’s job.

Not that the Bears would draw the comparison with their rivals out loud. Asked Thursday if Love’s second half in 2023 was an example the Bears could point to Williams, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph smiled.

“I point to Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears,” Joseph said. “What can we do to make sure we get him going in the right direction. That’s our focus. … Because he’s different. He’s not Jordan.”

However, Williams’ performance in his rookie season is similar to what Love did in the first half of last year. After 10 weeks he is ranked 23rd^rd in passing yards, 28^Th in passing grade and 32^n.d in completion percentage.

However, the similarities between the two have their limits:

Love spent three seasons behind Rodgers before being named the starter at age 25. Williams, who turns 23 on Monday, was named the starter before ever playing a snap for the team.

Williams has since been subordinated by the regular circus at Halas Hall. The Bears are riding a three-game losing streak that began with the Commanders running a Hail Mary while Tyrique Stevenson was busy waving to fans. The Bears have averaged nine points per game since then. The offense felt so broken — it averaged 9 points per game over the past three games — that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired Tuesday and replaced by passing coordinator Thomas Brown.

For the Bears, the hire was a Hail Mary — excuse the triggering flashback — to try to get Williams back on track.

“I think he’s doing very well,” Brown said. . . . I think when it comes to his natural ability from throwing the football, is clear and obvious.”

However, his performance has been lacking.

Williams and his teammates had been frustrated with Waldron and the offense for months. The first glimpse came after Week 3, when 40-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis wanted the coordinator to work the players harder. Receiver Keenan Allen said Wednesday that Waldron was too nice, and is heading back to training camp.

“I’ve had texts or calls or people coming up to me, with this situation that just happened, saying, ‘We’ve got your back, we’re with you’ … and ‘Let’s go.'” Williams said. “That kind of mindset and attitude has been what it’s been the last few days.”

The Packers’ structure and culture have been calm by comparison. Matt LaFleur, the Packers’ head coach since 2019, has been the only play-caller Love has ever known.

Finally, there is the difference in play style. Williams has thrown an interception since Sept. 23, while Love leads the league with 10 interceptions and two pick-sixes.

That’s the baffling addition to Love’s second-half surge last year — he’s struggled so far this season. Playing 6 ½ games due to injury, Love is 20^Th in passing grade and 22^n.d in passing yards this season.

“I’m trying to get back to that level (from the second half of last year) and raise that bar even higher and play even better,” Love told reporters this week. “There are things in the first half of the season that you want to focus on, clean up and get better at. I’m always trying to improve my game and definitely want to be better than I was in the first half of the season going forward.”

Love and Williams have never met. Asked if he wants to develop a rivalry with the Bears quarterback, he considered.

“The Packers-Bears rivalry and the history of that rivalry is something that’s a little more special than that,” he said.

In evaluating Love last week, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said something that should give Bears fans hope.

“I’ve always thought it’s 20-26 games before guys really settle into what they’re doing,” he said.

Match 10 comes on Sunday. It’s unlike any Williams has played in during his NFL career — after a week where he could say the same.

“It’s an important game for us, not only because it’s divisional but obviously it’s the Packers,” he said. “We have to deal with it that way – and I have to deal with the situation I’m in.”