Caleb Williams admitted the frustration he’s feeling and how losing is affecting him. This is not how the talented quarterback or the Chicago Bears expected the season to go.
“You talk to yourself,” Williams said Wednesday. “You motivate yourself, you encourage yourself. You have positive affirmations that you say to yourself. With that, it makes the days better, it makes when you’re going through a tough patch, it makes those days a little bit easier rather than pulling yourself down, telling yourself you’re this and that.”
The Bears (4-10) began the season with hopes of making a playoff push after a busy offseason. They drafted Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, hoping the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner would become their franchise quarterback and solve their long-standing quarterback issues.
They also added six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and drafted Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick, giving them a strong group of wide receivers alongside star DJ Moore.
But instead of moving up in the NFC North, they’ve fallen to the bottom of the division with eight straight losses. Williams has struggled, especially in recent games, and things won’t get easier with Detroit (12-2) coming to Soldier Field on Sunday.
Even though the Lions have dealt with injuries and are coming off a loss to Buffalo that ended an 11-game winning streak, they are still tied for the top spot in the NFC. They haven’t lost two games in a row in over two years.
Williams, on the other hand, looked worn out both physically and mentally in Chicago’s 30-12 loss to Minnesota on Monday night. He threw for only 191 yards, after passing for just 134 the week before against San Francisco. He was sacked twice, bringing his total to 58 sacks, a league-leading and franchise-record number.
Williams has seen the Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and then let head coach Matt Eberflus go after Thanksgiving due to a string of bad late-game decisions. He already had as many losses in his rookie season as he had in an entire year at Oklahoma and two at Southern California.
Given all this, it’s easy to understand why he turns to positive affirmations. Still, it’s not all negative for Williams.
He has shown some good moments and has done well at protecting the ball. He has gone eight games and set an NFL rookie record with 286 passes without an interception—the longest streak by any Bears quarterback.
But in a city where former high draft picks Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields didn’t succeed, the punishment Williams is taking is raising more concerns. He rushed through his progressions and seemed off against Minnesota, just as he did the week before.
“Every player’s different, so I’m not sure exactly who you’re referring to in the past — you don’t have to tell me,” interim coach Thomas Brown said. “I do believe him when he says that he doesn’t see ghosts.”
One thing Williams does admit? He’s frustrated.
“Losing is one of those things that really affects me,” he said. “It’s tough. But I do have the understanding of where I’m at in my career and where I’ll be at. Having that understanding is important for me.”
