Caleb Williams headed towards a historic rookie season |
We are only five weeks into the NFL season, so talking about a player having their best game as a pro seems weird, but it needs to be discussed with Caleb Williams. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick, Williams had a ton of pressure on him from the moment he arrived in Chicago, and for the most part, he has handled that pressure.
Given the track record of QBs in Chicago, you could make the case that Williams has more talent than any of them, and if the Bears could figure out a way to maximize his abilities, he could be in for a great career. Five weeks into his career, fans have seen the Bad Williams from weeks one and two and the good Williams from weeks three and five. You also have the in-between Williams from week four, but the overall consensus is that he is improving from one game to the next, which is all you can ask for as a fan. However, it's time to look back at this weekend's game against the Carolina Panthers and ask the serious question about whether or not this was his best game to date as a pro. Not only did he throw for 300-plus yards for the second time in two weeks, but he did so, going 20-29 passing, which is better than 66% of his throws. With two touchdowns and no interceptions, he continues to do a better job of taking care of the ball, as he has now gone multiple games in a row without throwing a pick. These are the types of games the Bears envisioned when they drafted Williams and put together this offense. Although things will continue to be a work in progress, it's impressive to see how fast Williams has adjusted to the NFL game and how much improvement he has made in such a short time. Diving further into this start against the Panthers, this was the first time all season that Williams was in command of the offense right from the beginning and did a great job controlling the game. You must also look at his accomplishments in the multiple 300-yard passing games in five weeks. It took Mitch Trubisky 16 games to accomplish that, while Justin Fields only hit the 300-yard plateau once during his entire Bears tenure. Williams has already shown excellent leadership skills this season and is proving to everyone that he has what it takes to be a special player in this league. He is the best quarterback the Bears have had in what feels like forever, and five games into his career, his rookie season is setting up to be a historic season for one of the most storied franchises in the game. Williams has continued to improve from one week to the next, and he is starting to process the game much quicker, allowing him to go through his reads more consistently. When that happens, he makes the right throws and protects the football while also cutting down on the running, which makes him prone to taking the big hit. Those are all critical ingredients of learning the NFL game, and sometimes, it takes quarterbacks a season or more to slow the game down to a pace they like it to be. Williams has done that in just five weeks, and last week against the Panthers showed how much he has slowed things down in such a short time. He isn't forcing the ball as much as he was early in the season. He is making the right reads and decisions and, most importantly, taking care of the football. If you needed further proof that this team not only believes in Williams but trusts him with this offense, Sunday should be all the proof you needed. The Bears not only trusted him, but they are starting to let him be him, and the results have been incredible in the past few games.
