Even in another loss in a lost season, Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams shows his adaptation to the NFL
CHICAGO - After the Detroit Lions bowled through the Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams was asked about some of the individual moments he created himself.
There were multiple stellar throws to Keenan Allen, one of which went for a 45-yard touchdown, fourth-down conversions to keep drives alive and full drives where he just moved the ball down the field.
Instead of talking about those moments leading to growth, Williams pointed to the things the Bears didn't do right.
"We did a lot of things good, but we also did a lot of things bad to put our defense in bad situations," Williams said. "Putting even ourselves in bad situations on second and longs and third and longs."
This has been the case for most of the season. Williams doesn't want to stay thinking about what he did right, especially after a loss. But, Williams keeps showing how well he's adapting to the NFL game.
Take these numbers, for example.
With his 334 passing yards against Detroit, Caleb Williams has thrown 3,271 passing yards as a rookie. This ranks 6th all time on the Bears' single-season list. He's also the first Bears rookie to throw for 3,000 yards in a single season.
With 570 more yards, Williams will hold the Bears franchise record for passing yards in a single season. There are two games left. It's well within reach if he throws like he did on Sunday vs. Detroit.
Williams also had his fourth-career 300-yard passing game. That's tied for the most in a single season by any Bears quarterback. Williams also holds the first, second, third and fourth-most passing yards by a Bears rookie in a single-game since 1970.
Most significantly, Williams has now thrown the ball 326 times without an interception. That's the seventh-longest streak in NFL history without throwing a pick. The only streaks longer than what Williams has now are:
6. 2018 Derek Carr: 332
5. 2024 Justin Herbert: 357
4. 2010-2011 Tom Brady: 358
3. 2022-2023 Jared Goff: 383
2. 2022 Tom Brady: 399
1. 2018 Aaron Rodgers: 402
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Williams has also thrown seven touchdowns against zero interceptions against NFC North teams.
The rookie did all this in the same season where his head coach was fired, the Bears fired his primary play-caller, promoted the replacement playcaller to interim head coach and has had 21 different offensive combinations.
Williams is rewriting the Chicago Bears' history books. His teammates see that, too.
"Being resilient, just playing the whole game, getting better throughout the whole game," Bears receiver Keenan Allen said of Williams' performance on Sunday.
It's part of how cerebral Williams is.
Ask him to dissect a play, and he'll start from what he saw at the very beginning. He'll start from when he walked to the line of scrimmage after getting the offense the play call and began reading the defense until the ball was snapped.
It's also why he believes every snap is valuable, even in a blow-out loss. He's not playing for garbage time.
Williams has been playing to understand the situation. When he experiences it, he understands it. When he understands it, he can properly attack it in the future.
This is what makes him such a valuable asset to the future of the
"There's so many different situations that happen throughout games that you can learn from, and that I've learned from this year," Williams said. "I think every snap for myself and for this team is valuable."
It's easy to point to this being a lost season for the Bears. Stats and numbers don't win games unless they translate to points.
But, for a team that's in dire need of bright spots, Williams proving he's the quarterback of the future for the Bears is a step that can't be understated.