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How Chicago Bears QB is doing in his rookie season

Byadmin

Dec 27, 2024


A new era of Chicago Bears football began on April 25, 2024, when the Bears selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Now Williams is embarking on a crucial rookie season, trying to lean on a veteran team around him as he navigates the highs and lows that come with quarterback development in the NFL.

The Tribune is tracking Williams’ progress along the way, game by game, as he tries to cement himself as the future of the Bears franchise.

Week 1: Bears 24, Titans 17

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates while coming off the field after a victory over the Titans at Soldier Field on Sept. 8, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

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The 24-17 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans in the season opener felt “unbelievable,” Caleb Williams said. He became the first quarterback picked No. 1 in the draft to win in his NFL debut since David Carr in 2002 and the first Bears rookie QB to win the season opener since at least 1950.

Yet he also knew where he fell short.

“Just watching all the guys celebrate, understanding that I need to be better,” Williams said. “I will be better.”

The Bears offense netted 148 yards, went 2-for-13 on third down and didn’t score a touchdown. Williams completed 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards with a 55.7 passer rating and had five carries for 15 yards. He was sacked twice to help the Titans kill drives, including taking a 19-yard loss on the Bears’ second series.

There weren’t a ton of highlight-reel plays for Williams. He had only four passes of more than 10 yards, the longest a 13-yard gain by DJ Moore in the second quarter.

Week 2: Texans 19, Bears 13

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) heads for the locker room after a 19-13 loss to the Texans at NRG Stadium on Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

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The Bears offense and quarterback Caleb Williams came up short on a national stage at NRG Stadium in a 19-13 Texans victory.

Unlike Week 1, when the Bears defense and special teams scored touchdowns, the offense needed to carry the load — and didn’t come through. In a sloppy game that included 21 penalties between the teams, the Bears got in the end zone just once — their only offensive touchdown of the first two weeks.

The Bears had the ball and a chance to win with 1 minute, 37 seconds to play. Williams hit Rome Odunze with a 27-yard pass to get to the Bears 47-yard line. But Williams threw incomplete, was sacked for a loss of 8 yards, rushed for 1 yard and threw incomplete again on fourth down.

Williams completed 23 of 37 passes for 174 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and was sacked seven times. The Bears totaled 71 rushing yards, with Khalil Herbert scoring the only touchdown on a 2-yard run shortly before halftime.

Week 3: Colts 21, Bears 16

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) walks off the field after losing against the Indianapolis Colts 21-16 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

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Despite all of the ugliness, all of the mistakes that had preceded the moment, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took a snap with a chance to lead the winning drive with 6 minutes, 52 seconds to play against the Colts.

Six seconds later, Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu swiped the opportunity away.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound rookie from UCLA burst off the line of scrimmage and barreled around Bears tight end Cole Kmet. Williams said he could feel Latu coming, and he tried to step up in the pocket and make small movements. But he could see wide receiver Rome Odunze about to pop open behind the linebacker and prepared to throw.

With Kmet falling to the ground as he tried to stop it, Latu swatted at the arm of Williams, who fumbled. Colts nose tackle Grover Stewart pounced on the ball at the Bears 16-yard line. Four plays later, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for the deciding play in a 21-16 Colts victory.

The Bears offensive issues were the primary factor in their returning from Indianapolis 1-2 — from the strip-sack to Williams’ two interceptions to a painful first-half red-zone sequence in which the Bears ran 10 plays inside the 20 and four from the 4 or closer and didn’t score any points.

Week 4: Bears 24, Rams 18

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) celebrates his touchdown pass to DJ Moore (left) against the Los Angeles Rams in the third quarter on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

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Williams’ final line — 17 of 23 for 157 yards and one touchdown with five rushes for 12 yards — isn’t going to stand out at the end of the season. But the effort came in a victory, he played clean football and he avoided some of the pitfalls that put the offense in a hole in previous games.

Some of the subtle decisions Williams made included being more comfortable with outlet throws and checkdowns, curbing the urge to extend the play, looking for an escape hatch in the pocket and creating outside of the structure. But he looked more comfortable operating within the structure of the offense and living for the next down, which is a legitimate hurdle for a lot of young quarterbacks.

The downfield passing game remains a work in progress. DJ Moore had three catches for 22 yards and wide receivers totaled 12 targets, seven receptions and 51 yards.

Week 5: Bears 36, Panthers 10

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) celebrates as he heads to the locker room after a victory over the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field in Chicago on Oct. 6, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

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As the Bears wound up for their first-half knockout punch against a wounded and staggering Panthers team, DJ Moore found himself isolated to the left and drawing man coverage from cornerback Mike Jackson.

Caleb Williams used a pre-snap check to realign the Panthers defense. Most significantly, with three other dangerous Bears weapons spread to the right, safety Xavier Woods began cheating in that direction before the play began.

That gave Williams and Moore the window they wanted, the opportunity they had longed for.

Moore beat Jackson with an inside release and angled his deep route toward the post. Williams, after steering Woods with his eyes, came back to Moore with a golden opportunity. The young quarterback ripped a pretty deep ball through the afternoon’s unpredictable winds.

“It was just a dot,” Moore said. “We work on that in practice. And when he threw it, I was like, ‘Man, this is a touchdown.’ Because I knew I had crossed the corner’s face and there was nobody in the middle of the field. So I was like, ‘This is my ball or it’s nobody’s.’ And 99% of the time, it’s mine.”

Williams’ pass dropped perfectly into the back of the end zone where Moore went up in front of Jackson to haul it in, then bounced to his feet with fire in his eyes and that primal scream exploding from deep within.

Week 6: Bears 35, Jaguars 16 in London

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates as he heads to the locker room after a victory over the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Oct. 13, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a few words with himself on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium sideline.

DJ Moore was open streaking toward the left corner of the end zone in the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Williams didn’t put enough “juice” on the ball. It floated through the air a little bit more than he wanted, and that gave Jaguars safety Andre Cisco time to jump in front of Moore for an interception.

The reset button certainly was effective. Williams led the Bears to touchdowns on their next four drives on the way to a 35-16 blowout and their third straight win.

He was in command, efficient and — but for that interception — on point for much of the game as he completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns apiece to Cole Kmet and Allen, and a 124.4 passer rating. He also rushed for a career-high 56 yards. His four touchdowns were the most by a quarterback at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened in 2019.

Week 8: Commanders 18, Bears 15

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The Chicago Bears tip a Hail Mary pass that Washington Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown (85) caught for a touchdown to win the game on the final play of the fourth quarter on Oct. 27, 2024, at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

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Caleb Williams thought he did a good job of tuning out the hoopla leading up to the game, which was billed as a showdown between Williams and the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels, the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 NFL draft. It was also a homecoming for Williams, who grew up in Maryland and played high school football in Washington D.C.

But Williams and the Bears offense, which have struggled all season with slow starts, certainly didn’t look cool and collected prior to the fourth quarter. They went scoreless in the first half, and Williams completed just 4 of 13 passes for 36 yards and had seven carries for 36 yards in the first three quarters.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Williams’ rhythm and timing, which had flourished in the Bears’ previous three games, was off.

There were glaring missed opportunities. Williams gained 1 yard on third-and-2 in the second quarter, and his pass to DJ Moore on fourth-and-1 on the next drive went for no gain. Williams then took a 15-yard loss on a third-down sack late in the first half which pushed the Bears out of field-goal range. But the most notable error was a third-and-goal call from the 1-yard line with 6 minutes, 21 seconds to play.

Week 9: Cardinals 29, Bears 9

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams walks off the field after the loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

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Everything was pointing up for Caleb Williams coming out of London after he threw four touchdown passes in the blowout win. He was on a mini-heater in terms of being accurate, and coming out of the bye and in the last two games, it’s been a mess.

Williams completed 22 of 41 passes for 216 yards and was sacked six times — at one point on three consecutive offensive plays. The Cardinals figured out what the Bears were doing protection-wise and there were too many jailbreaks after that, especially when the Bears were trailing big in the fourth quarter. There were no answers. Not enough explosive plays.

Keenan Allen had a bad drop. Rome Odunze had a ball go off his hands. Williams missed some throws. He didn’t have a turnover, but it was a rocky outing and he’s 32 of 65 for 347 yards over his last two games.

The biggest concern postgame was Williams’ ankle, which got twisted up at the end of the game.

“I landed wrong and just kind of tweaked it. Then the last play, the dude grabbed my ankle and gator rolled,” he said. “I tried to get off of it because when you stay on it, that’s when bad stuff starts to happen and (it) breaks and all of that. So tried to just let my body go so I could fall and roll with him.

“I’m OK.”

Wiliams cited negative plays — and there were too many on the opening drive — as why the offense cannot begin clicking early.

Week 10: Patriots 19, Bears 3

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams leaves the field after the Chicago Bears lost to the New England Patriots 19-3 at Soldier Field on Nov. 10, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

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The Bears failed to score a touchdown for the eighth straight quarter, dating back to the fourth quarter against the Commanders. They had new season lows with 3 points and 142 yards, had just 69 net passing yards and went 1-for-14 on third down. And Williams was sacked nine times in 39 dropbacks, the most sacks for a Bears quarterback since Justin Fields infamously took nine sacks in his first career start against the Cleveland Browns in September 2021.

Tight end Cole Kmet, who finished the game with two catches for 13 yards on four targets, had a variety of descriptions for the stretch of performances — “a funk,” “a big rut” and simply “pretty bad.”

Not much was worse than Williams frequently getting flattened by Patriots defenders behind a patched-together offensive line. The Patriots entered the game with 16 sacks in nine games. On Sunday, seven different players recorded at least one sack, and those sacks came in a variety of ways. Some blew by Bears backup left tackle Larry Borom, right tackle Matt Pryor, left guard Doug Kramer and right guard Ryan Bates. Some went untouched on blitzes. Some found Williams as he struggled to find a target — or get rid of the ball — in time.

“That’s an everybody thing,” Eberflus said of the sacks. “That’s rhythm and timing of the quarterback. That’s protection of the offensive line. That’s route disciplines of the guys running the routes. It’s all that at the same time.”

Williams took two sacks that helped kill drives in the first quarter, including one for an 8-yard loss that pushed the Bears out of field-goal range on third-and-7 from the Patriots’ 31. Seven of the Patriots’ sacks came in the second half, including two back-to-back to destroy the opening drive of the third quarter. Back-to-back sacks also stalled the Bears’ final drive.

Week 11: Packers 20, Bears 19

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Bears place kicker Cairo Santos (8) kicks a 46-yard field goal attempt, which is blocked by Packers defensive end Karl Brooks (94), for a 20-19 loss at Soldier Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

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For a few heady moments, as the Bears sideline watched kicker Cairo Santos line up for his 46-yard field-goal attempt, it appeared that Caleb Williams might be the quarterback to finally break the streak.

Six years, 10 games. Two other Bears first-round pick quarterbacks. Three other Bears offensive coordinators. That’s what the life of the Bears losing streak to the Packers looked like when Williams authored his first entry into the rivalry in his 10th career start.

And there was Williams late in the fourth quarter, overcoming a disastrous start to a potential winning drive by completing three straight passes of 12 yards or more to help the Bears get to the Packers’ 28-yard line to set up Santos’ kick.

But then, in a blink, Williams was introduced to the heartbreak that has come with the rivalry. Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks pushed his way forward through the Bears line, leaped with his hand raised and blocked Santos’ kick.

The Packers escaped with a 20-19 victory. And instead of being celebrated as a hero, Williams watched Jordan Love rush the field in celebration of a win that is commonplace for Packers quarterbacks these days.

Afterward, Williams was matter-of-fact about his emotions at the end of the game.

“Not a loser. A situation to learn from,” Williams said, noting how the offense could have done more on its scoreless second-to-last drive to extend its lead.

Week 12: Vikings 30, Bears 27 (OT)

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams walks off the field after losing to the Minnesota Vikings in overtime 30-27 at Soldier Field on Nov. 24, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

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As the Bears began their penultimate drive, offensive coordinator Thomas Brown piped into Caleb Williams’ helmet headset with a familiar message.

It’s time, kid. Go be Superman.

With the Bears trailing by 11 points and less than 2 minutes remaining in another astoundingly sloppy performance, it felt like a huge ask for a 23-year-old rookie to rescue his team from its current freefall. But Williams, never one to shy away from a challenge, eagerly ducked into the phone booth.

During the next 1 minute and 47 seconds over a span of 10 offensive snaps, Williams somehow turned the Bears’ 27-16 deficit into an overtime opportunity. He led two scoring drives that sandwiched a recovered onsides kick and added a 2-point conversion throw.

The first of those scoring drives — eight plays and 40 yards — culminated with an extended-play 1-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Keenan Allen. The second required only one completion, an absolute laser over the middle to DJ Moore for 27 yards to set up Cairo Santos’ game-tying 48-yard field goal as time expired.

“You definitely think something special is about to happen,” Moore said. “When we got to overtime, you’re just thinking, ‘Man, we’re about to win the game.’”

But, alas, because these are the 2024 Bears and every setback seemingly has to come with a deep stab and a twist of the knife, Williams and his teammates won the overtime coin toss and had the ball with a chance to end the game but ultimately left Soldier Field with a jaw-dropping 30-27 loss. Because of course. It was the Bears’ fifth consecutive defeat and their third during this skid that came on the final play.

Week 13: Lions 23, Bears 20

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) yells to the sideline that his helmet communication system is not working in the final drive against the Lions on Nov. 28, 2024, at Ford Field in Detroit. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

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The Bears offense turned in a horrendous first half, totaling just 53 yards and not getting a first down until less than a minute left in the second quarter. It looked much better in the second half as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams led three touchdown drives.

But Williams and the offense failed to come through on the final drive, which began at the Bears 1-yard line.

Williams took a sack for a loss of 6 yards on second-and-20 from the Lions 35. There was still about 30 seconds left on the clock — and the Bears had one timeout remaining — but they got off only one more play, an incomplete pass to Rome Odunze.

Time ran out, and Bears players stood in the middle of the field stunned.

Week 14: 49ers 38, Bears 13

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams rubs his temples after getting sacked late in the fourth quarter against the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 8, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

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Yesterday

Caleb Williams kept his streak of pass attempts without an interception alive — pushing it to 255 — though he was lucky 49ers linebacker Dee Winters dropped what should have been a pick-six in the first quarter. Williams finished 17 of 23 for 134 yards, and besides the slow start, the Bears also failed to get anything going in terms of explosive plays.

The Bears have a serious issue here because not only can they not score early in games, they’re not even getting first downs to at least influence field position and rest their defense.

“If I had the answer, I would’ve already fixed it,” interim coach Thomas Brown said. “But I think again, just being able to understand how to sell ourselves into a game, being able to stay on the grass, convert on third downs and keep some drives going is going to be the biggest part of it. That will be a point of emphasis for us moving forward.”

Whatever adjustment was made at halftime helped. The Bears came out and went 70 yards on 16 plays to score on a 4-yard pass to Odunze. The drive took 9 minutes, 4 seconds, and it’s hard to muster a rally when you’re moving that slowly.

“The most important thing is first- and second-down efficiency, such as not taking sacks on first and second down,” Williams said. “Whatever the case may be, taking a sack goes into the category that obviously matters. In those situations, first and second down, you don’t want to take sacks. That makes third down the time to make the play, and we didn’t do that today.”

Sacks on third down were a killer too. Williams was sacked on third down on four consecutive possessions in the first half. He now has been sacked 56 times, the most ever for a Bears quarterback in a season, with four games to go.

Week 15: Vikings 30, Bears 12

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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams walks off the field after a loss to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Dec. 16, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

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The “Monday Night Football” broadcast played the clip twice, just to drive home the point.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had just taken a huge hit from Vikings outside linebacker Jihad Ward while throwing an incomplete pass to end a drive early in the fourth quarter.

Back on the Bears sideline, Williams briefly slumped over onto his side on the bench — in pain or exhaustion or some mix of both. He only paused there for a few seconds, but it was enough for social media to run with the image as a symbol of how wrong the Bears’ development of Williams’ rookie season has gone. And they speculated on the broadcast what it meant too.

“We were watching him on the sideline, he was grimacing and in an enormous amount of pain,” analyst Troy Aikman said on the broadcast. “As I watch him, you can tell he’s a defeated guy. He hasn’t been through anything like this at any point in his career, and what you worry about is a rookie quarterback losing confidence.”

Williams said following the Bears’ 30-12 loss to the Vikings he has some “bruises and contusions” after a night when he took three quarterback hits — but hard ones. He likened the toll this 58-sack season has taken on his body to being in a car crash.

But Williams dismissed the idea there has been a mental toll too.

Week 16: Lions 34, Bears 17

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Detroit Lions defensive end Josh Paschal celebrates after recovering a fumble as Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, right, walks off the field in the first quarter at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

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Early game woes that have plagued the Bears of late — they had gone three consecutive games without scoring in the first half — finally ended. Caleb Williams threw touchdown passes to Cole Kmet and Keenan Allen in the second quarter. But the Bears were down 20-0 before they got in the end zone as Williams and Rome Odunze botched the handoff on one play and Odunze fumbled for two quick turnovers.

Williams finished 26 of 40 for 334 yards and the two scores — the 45-yard shot down the sideline to Allen for a touchdown was a beauty — and extended his streak of pass attempts without an interception to 326, the sixth-longest single-season streak in NFL history.

Week 17: Seahawks 6, Bears 3

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Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen (27) intercepts a pass for Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) during the final seconds of the fourth quarter to give Seattle a 6-3 win over the Bears at Soldier Field Thursday Dec. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

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After Caleb Williams watched Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen leap into the air to grab his fourth-down pass late, the Bears quarterback stalked off toward the sideline, shaking his head. His mouth was set in a straight line as he yanked his helmet straps loose.

Williams generally has stayed remarkably composed throughout the Bears’ wild 10-game losing streak — a franchise-record-tying stretch that has been bleak enough to break any player’s spirit, much less a rookie quarterback trying to find his way in the NFL.

But as the seconds ticked down at Soldier Field and fans chanted “Sell the Team!” at the conclusion of a wet, 6-3 loss to the Seahawks that dropped the Bears to 4-12, Williams looked mad. And afterward at his postgame news conference, he voiced the emotions he felt in the final moments on the field.

“I was frustrated. Still frustrated. Probably will be frustrated till tomorrow, till after I get a chance to watch it,” Williams said. “I didn’t play well enough. I didn’t help put the team in a good position to win, a better position to win, and that’s what it is.”

Williams completed 16 of 28 passes for just 122 yards — his third-lowest total of the season — and a 53 passer rating. He had just 76 net passing yards because he took seven sacks for a loss of 46 yards.

Next up on the schedule

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