Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was neither spectacular nor victorious last week against the Packers, but his steady performance was tremendously reassuring after watching him in freefall for three games in a row.
Pulling out of that spiral was crucial as Williams tries to get his career off the ground and eventually lead the Bears to something better than what they’ve been stuck in the last several seasons. Completing 74.2% of his passes, totaling 301 yards passing and rushing and posting a 95.0 passer rating in a loss was hardly parade-worthy, but it reestablished his footing.
That’s how virtually everyone around him saw it, anyway. Williams, though, downplayed it in terms of being a confidence boost.
“I wouldn’t say it did anything for me mentally,” he said. “After the third game, I realized that I can play and I feel good playing. Regardless of the interceptions at the beginning of the season, I was seeing the field well, and that still stands today.
“There’s going to be rough times, rough patches over the long, healthy career that I hopefully have, and that’s not going to change my mindset.”
For everyone else, it was a relief.
In order to make games like the one against the Packers unremarkable, Williams must stack up more like it — and better ones. He gets that. Every time he has made progress, he has been very measured in his perspective about that being merely a starting point.
The whole season is that, really, especially after the Bears plunged out of the playoff race with four consecutive losses. The most important thing, by far, about the last seven games is Williams setting his trajectory for 2025 and beyond.
The first half of the season, loaded with most of the Bears’ weaker opponents, was NFL 101. The advanced classes are in the second half, and none are tougher to pass than what he’ll encounter Sunday at home against the Vikings. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a dizzying opponent known for dialing up the most covert and confusing blitzes in the league.
Williams will get two shots at the Vikings, first Sunday and then Dec. 16 in Minneapolis. The Bears’ chances of winning either game hinge on how quickly he catches on to Flores.
It’s also a huge part of his big-picture development, and coach Matt Eberflus said this is “a great game” for Williams — with the help of new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown — to demonstrate his ability to adapt from play-to-play “just because of the variation that you get” from Flores in defensive fronts and personnel.
Williams’ remaining seven games are against decent-to-great defenses and teams in the top half of the NFL in pressuring quarterbacks, so any steps forward will be hard-earned and legitimate.
The Vikings are fourth in points allowed, first in pressure and second in takeaways. Then Williams will turn around on a short week to visit the Lions on Thanksgiving, and they’re fifth in points allowed, 10th in pressure and fifth in takeaways. Both are top-eight in opponent passer rating and third-down defense, too.
Good progress for Williams also should include maximizing his connection with wide receiver Rome Odunze, a fellow rookie and an essential partner going forward. Odunze, the No. 9 pick this year, got a team-high 10 targets against the Packers — “My guy,” Williams called him — and caught six balls for 65 yards. That included back-to-back catches on third and fourth down with the game on the line.
“We’re just in the beginning phase of this thing,” said Odunze, who leads the team with 479 yards receiving. “I have big aspirations and [being] one of the best quarterback-wide-receiver duos is at the top of my goal sheet… We’ve got to go to big things.”
Realistically, those “big things” probably won’t add up to a shocking playoff run. But every gain by Williams the rest of the season is massive for his future.