Patriots' head coach sees a lot of potential in Caleb Williams despite struggles in Sunday's loss
The 2024 regular season has turned into an awfully frustrating one for the Chicago Bears after dropping a third straight game on Sunday vs. the New England Patriots.The bulk of the struggles came on offense where the Bears were held to three total points and 1-14 on third down while the defense held the Patriots […]
The 2024 regular season has turned into an awfully frustrating one for the Chicago Bears after dropping a third straight game on Sunday vs. the New England Patriots.
The bulk of the struggles came on offense where the Bears were held to three total points and 1-14 on third down while the defense held the Patriots to just 16 points during the game.
Despite the poor showing from the unit led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, Patriots' defensive-minded head coach Jerod Mayo still saw something special in the Bears' young franchise quarterback.
“I still believe that Caleb Williams will be a very good player in this league, but just like any rookie, he's going to go through his ups and downs," Mayo said after the game. "It doesn't matter what position you play. He'll be a special player. He's got to stick to it.”
Through the first 10 weeks of his rookie season, Williams has certainly dealt with his fair share of highs and lows, but Sunday's game was definitely the lowest point of Williams' career so far.
Williams went 16/30 passing for 120 yards and zero touchdowns in the loss and was sacked a career-high nine times by the Patriots' defense. However, every game is being viewed as a learning opportunity for the rising star and there's a lot to take away from a game like this.
"With it being my rookie season, and understanding that, definitely brings a lot of encouragement to me," Williams explained. "Obviously, the situation is very frustrating, because you want to go out there and execute. You want to go out there and help a defense that gets you the ball, or special teams that gets you the ball on the 50 or 40 yard line three times, four times in this game. It's tough, but to be able to get up each time and do it again and again and again, it provides me learning experiences."
It hasn't been the debut season many predicted to see from the first overall pick, but the flashes have been there and looked incredibly promising at times. It's just a matter of working through the mistakes, and most importantly learning from them. And not just personal mistakes, but team-wide issues as well.
"Caleb's strong. He's strong inside. He's strong outside. He's a strong individual, and he's been through adversity," Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus said. "And he knows how to do this. He knows how to get through adversity by pulling together."
Even through all the recent struggles, Williams is going to come out of this a better player in the long run and it seems like a lot of respected minds in the league are taking note of that for future meetings against Williams and the Bears.
