Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears head into their bye week on a high note, having won three games in a row and holding a 4-2 record.
As the No. 1 overall draft pick, Williams is showing he could be the quarterback the Bears have needed for a long time. The team is looking more like a serious contender for the playoffs. This is a new situation for Chicago.
“I think we are in a good spot, I really do,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “I think we have got a lot of improvement to do. But I think we are in a good spot for the first six games, and we have to get our minds, bodies, and everything right to go on to these next six games, starting with the first one.”
The Bears have their best record after six games since 2020 when they were 5-1 before finishing 8-8. They recently defeated Jacksonville 35-16 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, matching their longest winning streak since the end of that season.
Chicago will aim to continue their success against Washington next week, where Williams will face Jayden Daniels in a matchup between the top two quarterbacks drafted this year.
Daniels currently has the edge with a league-best 75.3 completion percentage and a 107.1 passer rating, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
“The human side of it is you want your guy to just take off and roll, but everyone’s journey is going to be different,” general manager Ryan Poles said. “The important thing is for Caleb to understand that, as well, and run his race. He’s done that well.”
If they win against the Commanders, the Bears will achieve their first four-game winning streak since the 2018 NFC North championship season. They haven’t had a winning record since then, and their only playoff appearance during that time was in 2020.
In their third season under general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears seem to be making progress.
They have a strong defense ranked in the top 10, and their offense is becoming more balanced. Running back D’Andre Swift has also been making significant contributions in recent games.
However, the most encouraging sign for the Bears is the performance of quarterback Caleb Williams. “I really like his progress,” Poles said last week. “I love the work ethic and the time that he’s put into it, the toughness, the ability to bounce back from tough games.”
The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California has completed 60 of 81 passes for 687 yards in the last three games against the Los Angeles Rams, Carolina, and Jacksonville.
During this time, he has thrown seven touchdown passes and only one interception, compared to two touchdown passes and four interceptions in the first three games.
Williams threw for 226 yards and four touchdowns against Jacksonville and also rushed for 56 yards. He completed 23 of 29 passes with a 124.4 rating, which is close to his 126.2 rating from a 36-10 victory against Carolina the week before.
Before this, the highest rating by a Bears rookie since the AFL-NFL merger was Jim McMahon’s 121.1 against the Rams on December 26, 1982.
While it’s true that Williams faced some of the weaker defenses in the NFL during the last two games, he still appears more at ease reading defenses and is confidently attacking them.
He has been keeping plays alive with both his arm and legs, focusing downfield and making progressions even while on the move.
“These past couple games we’ve had, I think I’ve been seeing it well,” Williams said. “That starts throughout the whole week watching film, getting there in practice, talking to the coaches, players and things like that.
So, I think seeing it well. I think the comfort level of just like I’ve talked about before, getting back to playing football and where I need to be, eyes need to be, if I need to hold a safety, if I need to just hang on a route.”
Chicago has only made the playoffs three times since the 2006 Super Bowl season. After finishing with a combined record of 10-24 in the first two seasons under Poles and Eberflus, the Bears now find themselves in a better situation.
Their upcoming schedule looks easier, even though Washington is leading the NFC East. They will also face Arizona and New England before entering a tougher stretch starting with Green Bay in Week 11.
