Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has endured a rough rookie season. It included the firings of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus, as well as the Bears’ nine-game losing streak, which saw them fall from 4-2 to 4-11.
Ahead of Chicago’s home game versus the 8-7 Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, Williams discussed how he wants to improve over his final two contests of the campaign.
“Fumbles that I’ve had for 2-3 weeks now, I think turnovers, they’re obviously a part of the game, but trying to eliminate those only helps our chances of winning,” Williams explained, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin shared. “Being able to just keep being efficient, the most that I can, and that doesn’t just mean when I throw the football. That’s with all the alerts, the time, the play clock, making sure cadence and things like that, helping offensive linemen out, whatever the case may be.”
Across his last three starts, Williams lost three of four fumbles. With that said, he tossed five touchdown passes and zero interceptions over those outings.
According to ESPN stats, Williams began Thursday ranked 26th in the NFL among qualified players with a 47.6 adjusted QBR and 20th with an 89.3 passer rating for the season. He’s lost five of eight fumbles and has thrown 19 touchdown passes with five picks.
Many NFL insiders and analysts expect the Bears to target Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their next head coach. That said, it was reported on Christmas Day that former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is interested in working with Williams.
For now, the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft will simply try to take steps in the right direction over the final two games of a season that hasn’t gone quite as he envisioned during the summer.
“Obviously, just being able to be productive on offense, getting better, Caleb being able to get more reps, seeing different things on defense and ultimately just being able to get better throughout the season [is important],” wide receiver Keenan Allen said about his QB1.
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Bears as four-point underdogs against the Seahawks.