2 days Ago By Dan Wiederer
Caleb Williams has one game left in his rookie season. When he takes the field Sunday at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers, he’ll become the first Chicago Bears quarterback since Jay Cutler in 2009 to start every game. Williams will look to deliver a strong performance that creates belief and momentum heading into the 2025 offseason.
He also will try to help the Bears break two ignominious losing streaks: a 10-game slide this season that began Oct. 27 at Washington and an 11-game skid against the rival Packers that dates to the 2019 season opener. To set the stage for Sunday’s finale, here’s the Week 18 submission to The Caleb Williams File.
A real eye test is coming soon for Williams. It will occur behind the scenes throughout the rest of the winter and deep into the spring as he attempts to zoom out on all the highs and lows of his rookie season . The goal will be to gain a better understanding of why he flourished during certain moments and faltered at other times.
That’s the recommendation of quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, who hopes Williams will immerse himself in film study as his offseason gets underway. And the library, Joseph suggested, should be categorized with Williams remaining open-minded and honest about what he sees. “(Let’s look at) all my completions — boom — and why I had those completions,” Joseph said.
“(Let’s look at) all my incompletions. And why was that? Was I late with my footwork? Did I not recognize something in the coverage? My sacks. Was that on me? Did a guy just miss (his block) or did I hold on to the ball too long? “With all those things, it’s being able to see it and then being able to continue to study it.
And then it’s also studying other quarterbacks and asking yourself, ‘Man, why is he so good?’ That’s where you learn. That’s where you grow. That’s where you get your wisdom and knowledge in the offseason and then you bring all that back to (organized team activities).
” No one still remaining at Halas Hall has spent more time around Williams over the last eight months than Joseph. That gives him a sharp perspective on where Williams is at the end of his rookie season and where he must go in Year 2 and beyond. First and foremost, Joseph has seen an innately driven quarterback with special arm talent and on-the-move playmaking artistry.
Most impressive, Joseph said, has been Williams’ “competitive drive and his mental ‘want to know’ as far as trying to grow mentally.” Bears quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph, left, watches as quarterback Caleb Williams warms up for a game against the Packers at Soldier Field on Nov. 17, 2024.
(John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) But along with what Joseph called a “hunger for knowledge and information,” Williams must continue learning how to navigate his growth process. That’s why Joseph echoed sentiments that interim coach Thomas Brown shared earlier in the week regarding Williams’ approach to learning and mastering the mental demands of the position.
Joseph’s biggest advice? “Compartmentalize,” he said. “Take small steps. Learn small things.
If it’s protections, really nail that. And then move on to the next thing. Coverages.
Then move to the next one. Maybe that’s different pressures from a defense, understanding how defenses fit, how they attack you as an offense or as a quarterback. “But don’t try to digest too much at one time.
Just take small buckets. The same way you have to play the game and keep the game small is the same way you have to study the game and learn.” There can be a danger for a knowledge-thirsty quarterback like Williams in trying to drink from the fire hose.
“But when you have a plan,” Joseph said, “it offsets that trap. Because you follow that plan and you’re disciplined with that plan. And it won’t let you get too far ahead.
” The Seahawks’ Uchenna Nwosu sacks Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on Dec. 26, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Quinn Harris/Getty Images) Of the seven sacks Williams took in last week’s 6-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, none bothered him more than a 14-yarder on first down on the final play of the third quarter.
Williams took the blame both immediately after the game and again Wednesday, upset with himself for both his presnap recognition and his postsnap reaction. To the former, Williams wishes he had flipped the protection with the threat of a blitz apparent to the left side of the Bears offensive line. That pressure came with left tackle Larry Borom left alone to handle both edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu and blitzing linebacker Tyrice Knight.
Borom was unable to block either. And with both Seahawks defenders having a free run at Williams, the Bears quarterback then missed his opportunity to throw the ball away. Instead, he retreated and was engulfed for a big loss.
Suddenly, the Bears faced second-and-24 and punted three snaps later. “Tried to make a play and took a sack,” Williams said. Chicago Bears Q&A: Would retaining GM Ryan Poles deter a top coaching candidate? Are Pete Carroll and Kliff Kingsbury legitimate options? Added Joseph: “When you know where you’re weak in the protection, you have to protect yourself first.
That’s one thing we always talk about. Once you break the huddle on a pass play, how do I protect myself first? So it’s getting him to grow in that area.” That’s one example of a weakness Williams will need to address going forward, learning how to protect himself better and minimize the damage of negative plays.
“It’s just the whole process of repetition and mistakes,” Joseph said. “You hate that it leads to sacks. He is a young quarterback who knows (those things).
But sometimes in the heat of the battle, it doesn’t trigger right away. “So it’s helping him to get to that point. And when you have a guy who knows it and sees it, he’s going to learn faster from it.
” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams runs from Packers linebacker Quay Walker on Nov. 17, 2024, at Soldier Field. (John J.
Kim/Chicago Tribune) It has been seven weeks since Williams last faced the Packers in one of his most encouraging performances all season. He completed 74.2% of his passes (a season high) and threw for 231 yards with a 95.
0 passer rating. Just as significantly, he turned nine rushing attempts into a season-high 70 yards, including five scrambles for 49 yards. Williams was at his best on the final drive, leading the Bears on a six-play, 42-yard march that positioned them for a game-deciding 46-yard field goal.
Included in that series was an off-script, 16-yard laser to Rome Odunze on third-and-19 plus another gem on fourth-and-3 with a 21-yard shot up the right sideline to Odunze. Alas, Cairo Santos’ kick as time expired was blocked by Karl Brooks to finish off a galling 20-19 loss, the Bears’ fourth consecutive defeat in what is now a 10-game skid. Williams should be encouraged by his production in that first meeting but also aware the Packers boast the NFL’s No.
6 rushing defense (100.4 yards per game) and rank eighth with 44 sacks. Pro Bowl safety Xavier McKinney ranks second in the league with seven interceptions.
Pro Bowl defensive end Rashan Gary leads the team with 61⁄2 sacks. The Bears, it should be noted, have topped 20 points only once during their losing streak. Greater production likely will be needed Sunday.
Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) sacks Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) Yards lost by Williams on 67 sacks this season.
Both numbers are NFL highs by a wide margin and representative of the Bears’ season-long struggles on offense. Breaking down Williams’ sacks, 21 have come on first down, 17 on second down, 28 on third down and one on fourth. In a majority of cases, the sacks have been drive killers.
Of the 58 possessions in which Williams has been sacked, 49 have resulted in no points. On 12 occasions, Williams has overcome a sack to produce a first down. But only four times have the Bears scored a touchdown on a drive in which they allowed a sack.
To Williams’ credit, he owned up to his culpability in many of those sacks. “The stupid connotation about my offensive line being bad is not the truth,” Williams said. “I’ve taken a good amount of sacks that have been my fault.
” Bears interim coach Thomas Brown congratulates quarterback Caleb Williams after a touchdown pass against the Vikings on Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) When Sunday’s game ends and Monday’s locker clean-out at Halas Hall is complete, Williams will retreat into a 2025 offseason full of mystery.
The Bears, of course, face the significant challenge of making a positive head coaching hire , one that ideally will position their young quarterback for a developmental breakthrough in his second season. But regardless of whom the organization brings in to oversee the team and its offense, Williams will need to take ownership of his personal growth with a targeted to-do list. In recent weeks, the coaching staff has offered prescriptions for small things Williams must focus on to get better in 2025.
Offensive coordinator Chris Beatty, for example, lauded Williams’ eagerness to learn while emphasizing that the rookie still is “learning how to learn.” “That’s what sometimes people understate when you’re talking about the learning curve for younger quarterbacks,” Beatty said last week. “It’s learning how to be a quarterback.
Learning how to study. Learning how to prepare for the game. It’s about, ‘What is your rhythm?’ as opposed to what somebody else’s rhythm is.
We can all look at it and say, ‘This veteran did it this way.’ He has to figure out what is his way.” Specifically? “There’s a daily rhythm,” Beatty continued, “as far as, ‘OK, what time do I get to the facility? What am I trying to do when I get there? If it’s a Monday, what am I doing? If it’s Wednesday, what am I doing prior to (practice for) normal downs? If it’s Thursday and third down .
..’ Those things are all about how you get prepared.
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” Beatty’s insight offered a reminder of how difficult the QB1 role can be and how many details are involved with getting an offense to run smoothly and productively. Brown highlighted the nuances involved with being sharp as an NFL quarterback — everything from learning how to handle the huddle to understanding the timing of motions to managing the presnap operation to growing a knowledge base for what defenses are showing or disguising. “Obviously we have certain calls for different looks,” Brown said.
“But it’s being able to continue to start really, really small. “If I was trying to start to learn a new language, I’m not going to pick up a book where it’s all already in French. I would start with the very basics of how to say basic words, how to (get across) certain language barriers and then being able to build from there.
” Williams likely will continue his development in 2025 under an entirely new coaching staff. But he should take the guidance of the current staff to heart. He acknowledged the aspirations he has for the months ahead.
“This is going to be a big offseason for me,” he said. “And I’m excited about it. I have things maturity-wise of playing the position that I’m excited about learning.
“Things are going to take time and I’m well aware of that and OK with that. But I’m definitely going to push myself to exhaustion mentally and physically this offseason to be able to withstand a long season.”.
