Just before the Bears’ bye week, it seemed like Caleb Williams had started to turn things around. It looked like everything was finally coming together for the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
But now, things aren’t looking as good, and that’s a big problem for the Bears as they head into a tough stretch of games.
On Sunday, in a 19-3 loss to the struggling New England Patriots, Williams played behind a makeshift offensive line. He was sacked nine times and only threw for 120 yards. The Bears went 1 for 14 on third down and finished with just 142 total yards in their third straight loss.
“We have to do a better job, starting with us, starting with myself, at situational ball, negative plays and things like that,” Williams said. “When you’re good at not having negative plays, when you’re good at executing, when you’re good at executing situational ball, you’re a tough team to beat.”
Chicago (4-5) failed to score a touchdown for the second game in a row, marking the first time since December 2004 that the team has gone two straight games without a touchdown. In their three-game losing streak, the Bears have only scored 27 points.
To try to fix the offensive struggles, coach Matt Eberflus said that everything is being looked at, including possibly having someone other than offensive coordinator Shane Waldron call the plays.
“We’ve got to take a good hard look at everything that we’re doing,” Eberflus said.
Williams, who will turn 23 on Nov. 18, has now lost his first matchups against the two quarterbacks selected right after him in the draft. The Bears lost 18-15 at Washington on Oct. 27 on a last-second Hail Mary by Jayden Daniels, and then Williams lost to New England and Drake Maye in this game.
Before this losing streak, the Bears had won three games in a row. During that stretch, Williams completed 74% of his passes for 687 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception. He had his best game in a 35-16 win over Jacksonville, throwing four touchdown passes.
After the Bears’ win over the Jaguars on Oct. 13, the team had its bye week. But it seems like Williams and the offense lost their rhythm during the break.
“We’ve got to, as a collective offense, do a better job of sustaining drives, and those type of things will come if we’re more efficient on offense,” tight end Cole Kmet said.
Over the past three games, Williams has completed only 50.5% of his passes for 468 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also been sacked 18 times.
“Caleb’s strong. He’s strong inside. He’s strong outside. He’s a strong individual,” Eberflus said. “And he’s been through adversity. And he knows how to do this, he knows how to get through adversity by pulling together.”
The Bears are dealing with several injuries along the offensive line. They played without Braxton Jones (knee), Kiran Amegadjie (calf), and Darnell Wright (knee). Nate Davis was also out due to back tightness, and Teven Jenkins left in the first half with an ankle injury.
With all the injuries and a tough schedule ahead, Chicago has a rough road ahead. Next Sunday, they’ll host Green Bay, and then they’ll play two games against Detroit and Minnesota. They also have a trip to San Francisco and a home game against Seattle remaining.
“I think us, as an offense, you know, we do have to find it right now here in this instance just because we’re going, we’re getting close to, and it starts this week, playing teams like Green Bay and Detroit and Vikings and all of that,” Williams said.
