LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It took Caleb Williams a number of seconds to seek out the appropriate phrases to explain the sensation of being winless over the previous 60 days.
“It’s … attention-grabbing, is the best way I put it,” Williams mentioned. “I’ve by no means had a streak like this of dropping.”
The Chicago Bears have misplaced seven straight video games, most lately by a 38-13 demolition by the hands of the San Francisco 49ers in Thomas Brown’s first recreation as interim head coach.
But these losses haven’t been the results of the Bears’ rookie quarterback tossing a bunch of interceptions. In reality, the Bears are the one workforce to go on a seven-game dropping streak with out committing a number of turnovers in any of their losses since 1933, when turnovers had been first tracked, in response to ESPN Research.
This is not the primary lengthy stretch of losses for the Bears over the previous three seasons. The Bears misplaced 14 straight — a franchise document — from Week 8 of the 2022 season by way of Week 4 of the next 12 months. Dating again to highschool, essentially the most consecutive losses Williams has undured got here throughout a three-game dropping streak that ended his collegiate profession at USC in 2023.
“So I ask questions,” Wiliams mentioned. “I do perceive that that is, one, my first time being part of one thing like this, of dropping and this streak going, so I ask inquiries to the blokes which will have misplaced a bunch of video games in a row like this or had dropping seasons. I ask them questions as a result of the extra data that I’ve prepares me for the longer term if this ever comes near one thing like this once more.”
In what has devolved right into a misplaced season for the Bears (4-9), hope is not misplaced relating to Williams’ improvement, notably after Chicago made Brown its offensive coordinator after firing Shane Waldron on Nov. 12. In one quarter of the season, from Weeks 11 to 14, Williams confirmed he can get again to demonstrating marginal development the best way he did throughout Chicago’s 4-2 begin (he was the primary QB chosen No. 1 to win 4 of his first six begins).
Overall, Williams has turn out to be a greater quarterback since Brown took over playcalling duties. Since Week 11, Williams has seen will increase in QBR (from 40 to 70), completion share (61% to 66%), yards per try (6.1 to six.9), touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-5 to 7-0), whereas his off-target share went from 23% to 18%.
Williams’ final interception got here throughout the Bears’ final win, towards Jacksonville in Week 6. Since then, the quarterback has thrown 255 consecutive move makes an attempt with out an interception, the longest streak by a rookie in NFL historical past and the longest such streak by any Bears quarterback up to now 45 seasons
Brown sees a number of components that led Williams to realize that feat.
“I might say that [he is throwing a lot of passes] and likewise he is not enjoying scared,” Brown mentioned. “He’s ripping some footballs into tight home windows. I feel it is most likely much more spectacular. It’s not like he is sitting again there not taking a possibility. [He’s] taking probabilities down the sector.
“We all the time discuss looking for methods to be aggressive, not reckless. There is a effective line between the 2 of them. I feel his development relating to understanding the offense operation-wise, but in addition simply let it rip, has been constructive for us.”
A pattern that has coincided with Williams’ progress below Brown over the previous 4 video games has been Chicago’s elevated use of movement. Through Week 10 with Waldron calling the offense, the Bears ranked twenty fifth in use of pre-snap movement (49%). With Brown calling performs, Chicago ranks thirteenth since Week 11 (59%).
It’s a transfer that has benefited the offense with an uptick in yards per try (6.0 with out movement to six.6 with movement) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-to-4 to 7-to-1), and Williams’ off-target share dropped by 5%.
But as Williams scouts his personal progress, the quarterback pointed to a number of areas he needs to deal with over the ultimate quarter of his rookie marketing campaign.
“There’s small errors that — perhaps the snap level of sure motions and issues like that — that I can get higher at,” Williams mentioned. “That means so much to a protection if we’re having quick movement the place we snap it, it means so much to the opposite aspect of the ball. Being detailed, being on level, you possibly can all the time get higher and develop from there.”
Williams has been sacked 56 instances this season, which is tied with Tim Couch (1999) for the third most by a rookie quarterback since 1963, when QB sacks had been first tracked. David Carr nonetheless owns the document for essentially the most taken (76) in 2002, adopted by Bryce Young’s 62 in 2023.
After three straight video games towards Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit adopted by a visit to San Francisco, Chicago begins its second spherical of divisional play Monday towards the Vikings (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Williams turned in a robust efficiency towards the Vikings’ strain in Week 12, recording his first multi-touchdown recreation towards the blitz (9-of-12 for 128 yards, 2 TDs) and his quickest time to throw to that time (2.42 seconds).
As Chicago mounted a livid comeback in an eventual 30-27 loss, Williams led two scoring drive within the fourth quarter to pressure extra time. In the additional interval, the rookie took a sack on second down that halted the Bears’ momentum for good.
In Chicago’s loss to the 49ers final week, Williams was sacked 5 instances on third down. Of all of the areas the place Brown seeks to assist Williams enhance in his ultimate 4 video games, avoiding sacks on late downs, late in video games and in essential conditions is close to the highest.
“One, it is clearly a identified passing down,” Brown mentioned. “It modifications what you do from a defensive standpoint. It’s more durable relating to not with the ability to combine it up between run and play-action keeper. They know it is move. Obviously the D-line might be extra lively relating to that.
“Myself attempting to all the time discover options and solutions, clearly relating to relying on [down and distance], there aren’t any fast fixes to attempting to get 15, 16 yards at a time. It’s type of a steadiness of the 2 of these.”
The Vikings are fourth within the league with 40 sacks, so the problem can be important.
