Photo Credit: Daniel Bartel/Imagn Images
Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams continues to make strides, showcasing resilience and talent under interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. Despite a 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Williams’ performance highlighted his rapid development in the NFL.
Late-Game Heroics
With 1:47 left in the fourth quarter and the Bears trailing by 11, Brown delivered a simple message to Williams: “Go be Superman.” The rookie answered the call, orchestrating two clutch scoring drives to force overtime.
First, Williams led an eight-play, 40-yard drive, capping it with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen. He then connected with DJ Moore for a successful 2-point conversion, cutting the deficit to three.
After Cairo Santos’ onside kick recovery, Williams set up Santos’ 48-yard field goal, tying the game at 27-27.
Though the Bears faltered in overtime, with Williams taking a sack and a delay of game penalty, his poise under pressure left a strong impression.
“True grit,” Bears head coach Matt Ebeflus said. “Inspiring to the whole football team. Just really good execution.
“He’s growing in front of our eyes. Today was a really good growth for him to be able to go out there and execute the way he did with a 103 passer rating. Get those drives going at the end to put us in position to win the game.”
Record-Breaking Performance
Williams’ 340-yard outing set a new franchise rookie passing record, surpassing Mitchell Trubisky’s 2017 mark of 2,193 yards. With 2,356 passing yards through 11 games, Williams is on pace to finish the season with 3,641 yards—just shy of Erik Kramer’s single-season franchise record (3,838 yards in 1995).
The No. 1 overall pick completed 32 of 47 passes and threw two touchdowns, snapping a four-game drought without a passing score.
Improved Play Under Thomas Brown
Since Brown’s promotion to offensive coordinator in Week 11, Williams’ numbers have surged. His completion rate jumped from 61% to 71%, and his yards per attempt rose from 6.1 to 7.3. More importantly, he has faced less pressure, with his pressure rate dropping from 34% to 18%, while his decision-making time improved from 2.90 to 2.42 seconds per throw.
“He has a certain aura to him that he just allows you to play free,” Williams said. “He knows what he wants. You know he knows what he wants. Whether it’s checks, alerts, all of that, we still have a bunch of those, all these different things.
“I think like last game, throughout the whole game, talking to me, communicating to me. When it gets to two-minute, like today end of the game, before OT, now it’s time to go be Superman, do all those different things that I can do.”
Beating the Blitz
Facing one of the NFL’s top defenses, Williams excelled against Minnesota’s aggressive blitz packages. He posted a 103.1 passer rating, his highest against the blitz this season, and recorded his first multi-touchdown game under pressure.
“Williams did an amazing job [against the blitz],” right tackle Darnell Wright said. “He knows there’s certain plays where he’s hot and he knows he’s hot. If they bring eight and we have seven, he has to get the ball out. If they bring seven and we have six, he has to get the ball out.
“He did a good ass job this game, just knowing when he was hot, knowing when he had to get the ball out.”
Building Momentum
Though the Bears have dropped five straight games, including consecutive division losses to Green Bay and Minnesota, Williams’ progress provides hope. His leadership and confidence continue to resonate with teammates.
“His confidence is through the roof,” Moore said. “He’s understanding all the game plans through and through, so to see him go out there and just be able to play quarterback like he wants to is amazing to see.”
The Bears (4-7, 0-2 in NFC North) face another tough challenge on Thursday against the Detroit Lions.
Praise from the Opposition
After the game, Williams received words of encouragement from Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who sees great potential in the rookie.
“I’ve known Caleb for a long time, and I think the world of him,” O’Connell said. “He just continues to get better and better. You can see it when he starts creating off schedule and that change of direction and athleticism, and we had him dead to rights a couple times and he gets out and makes huge plays.
“It’s going to be a challenge. We’re going to have to play as consistently as possible and disciplined as possible against him as he continues to grow. I look forward to the challenge of competing against him because he’s going to be a really good player.”
Williams’ growth is evident, and with the season winding down, the rookie quarterback continues to prove he’s the future of the Bears.
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This report used information from ESPN.
