The Chicago Bears suffered another horrendous defeat on Sunday, this time losing 19-3 to the New England Patriots at Soldier Field. The team's offense, which looked like it was clicking under Caleb Williams a few weeks ago, had its second consecutive disastrous outing and the young quarterback took an absolute beating. Williams was sacked nine times against the Pats and consequentially was able to complete only 53% of his passes for a grand total of 120 yards.
While the Bears are still fine record-wise sitting at 4-5 on the season, it's clear they cannot continue as is. Something has to change and that something has to be on offense; Chicago hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 8.
When discussing the decisions being made in the Bears' front office on Monday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter stated he thought the team may consider benching Williams for backup quarterback Tyler Bagent. Then head coach Matt Eberflus told media members that there "will be changes and adjustments made" and he'll be taking his time making whatever decision he feels best for the franchise.
This immediately sparked questions about whether he was referring to Williams. Eberflus quickly nipped that in the bud, stating outright to reporters that Williams's job is safe.
Matt Eberflus said the team will not change quarterbacks and Caleb Williams will remain the starter.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 11, 2024
At this point Williams has been sacked 38 times, which leads the NFL, and there is a case to be made that getting smacked around every week is more detrimental to his development than letting him take his lumps. But Chicago's problems go far deeper than his inability to operate behind a porous offensive line. Replacing him with the backup quarterback would not lead to a different outcome on the field. Off the field, there are potentially severe consequences that come with benching the No. 1 pick in the draft regardless of how justified it may or may not be.
Everything is going great in Chicago, as you can see. The Bears next host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bears' Matt Eberflus Clarifies Caleb Williams's Status as Starter After Ugly Loss.
