Caleb Williams has more than proved he's ready to compete in the toughest division in the NFL, the rest of his team just needs to catch up
The first 16 weeks of the 2024 season haven't been kind to Caleb Williams, but there's no denying the promising future the Chicago Bears' rookie quarterback will have.No one expected the year the Bears would have going into this season. The Bears, who were once playoff hopefuls just a few months ago, are now 4-11 […]
The first 16 weeks of the 2024 season haven't been kind to Caleb Williams, but there's no denying the promising future the Chicago Bears' rookie quarterback will have.
No one expected the year the Bears would have going into this season. The Bears, who were once playoff hopefuls just a few months ago, are now 4-11 on the season limping to the finish line riding a now nine-game losing streak.
But, what's happened in those nine games have been far from Williams' fault.
Entering Week 1, everyone knew the toughest part of the schedule would hit in Week 11, when the team faced it's first divisional matchup of the season. However, no one thought the team would reach that game on a three-game losing streak.
That brutal stretch finally arrived for the Bears and the losses continued to pile up, leading to the dismissal of the team's offensive coordinator and eventually the head coach as well. Despite all that, the confidence and performance of the Bears' rookie franchise quarterback never missed a beat.
"Obviously, [I see the growth]," Williams said after Sunday's loss. "Throughout this whole season, the growth that I would say I've had and the growth that we've had on offense, being able to fight through what's been going down for us of coaches being fired in the middle of the season and different coaches being promoted. I think the fight, we just got to do better with execution."
While Williams holds some blame in some of the offensive issues over this nine game losing streak, the execution shown from him has held up it's end of the bargain. In those nine games, Williams has thrown for 1,954 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions while leading his team in rushing yards in three of those nine games.
In the meantime, Williams has been forced to deal with bad offensive line play (that's allowed 60 sacks), 61 offensive penalties (which ranks second in the NFL), an inconsistent run game (that's averaging 96.75 yards per game), and communication/drop issues down the field with his pass catchers.
During Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions, Williams still managed to reach 3,269 passing yards for the season. The sixth-highest total EVER in a single-season in franchise history. For one of the oldest franchises in NFL history.
What Williams has been able to do against the NFC North specifically should give the team all the confidence the team needs in the young quarterback.
The NFC North has once again looked like one of the best divisions in football with the other three teams all sitting with double digit wins and holding playoff positions. The Bears Week 11 game against the Green Bay Packers was the first of five divisional games in a six game stretch.
In those five games, Williams threw for 270.4 yards/game while having 8 passing touchdowns and 0 interceptions. That's against three of the top defenses in football. The Bears were 0-5 in those divisional games being outscored 137-95. Three of those five losses were in one score games in which Williams had his team in position to win or tie on the final offensive drive.
Unfortunately for Williams, this is a results-driven league and a lot of the blame falls on the shoulders of the quarterback. That shouldn't be the case considering everything this guy has gone through and still been able to do on the field.
Williams is a special talent, special player, and special leader for the way he's handled this stretch of the season. He fully has the ability to compete with the other top dogs in this division, he just needs a little support from the future coaches and the other 52 players on the roster to one day turn the tide for the Bears in the NFC North.
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