The Chicago Bears made the last move they could make before firing current head coach Matt Eberflus. They sacrificed his offensive coordinator Shane Waldron instead. Waldron took the blame for a three-game losing streak that effectively vacated Chicago’s hope of a quick turnaround in its latest rebuild.
In his stead came interim coordinator Thomas Brown. Brown entered a no-win situation with a team unraveling under a head coach without a future. He seemingly gave young franchise quarterback Caleb Williams a mandate; get rid of the ball early or get the heck out of there, we’re not dancing our way to sacks any more.
apparently Thomas Brown's first act as Bears OC was to tell Caleb Williams to run as soon as he's uncomfortable and, hell yeah, it's working pretty well pic.twitter.com/CVDUQQz4QD
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 17, 2024
Williams’ shaved his average time in the pocket down considerably, dropping from 2.9 seconds from snap to pass in Weeks 1 through 10 to just 2.1 seconds in the first half against the Green Bay Packers. This was a big deal; Williams thrived in a fast-action offense. He delivered clutch throws on time and accurately. Despite entering Sunday’s game as a 5.5-point home underdog, he was one blocked Cairo Santos field goal away from getting the Bears a much-needed win.
This was the best game Williams had played in over a month. It’s proof the Bears have a player capable of being the franchise quarterback they so desperately need — they just need to maximize his talent in a way they couldn’t with high profile rookies like Justin Fields or Mitchell Trubisky before him.
After one half, Williams had 145 yards of total offense. Chicago as a team had gained just 142 total yards through the entirety of Week 10’s 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots. 60 of those yards came on the ground — a career high after just 30 minutes of play. When his pockets shrank, he made a concerted effort to drive forward rather than dance where a loss was almost guaranteed.
Sometimes that led to big gains on the ground. Others, clean strikes to open targets downfield.
this one didn't count because DJ Moore's motion moved toward the line, but nice to see Caleb Williams step up and deliver an on-target strike here, even if it looks ugly pic.twitter.com/WchdSSnMdr
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 17, 2024
His impressive play wasn’t limited to quick hits and drive-extending scrambles. He showcased the vision and touch that made him a Heisman Trophy winner in situations where his legs limited the Packers’ willingness to blitz. When given a clean pocket, Williams looked great.
Caleb Williams: clean pocket, perfect throw for 25 yards pic.twitter.com/RqtcS34Y68
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 17, 2024
One week after being sacked 10 times by a bottom-five pass rush, Williams was sacked thrice against a Green Bay team whose 6.7 percent sack rate is right in the middle of the pack among NFL defenses this year. The lone sack before Chicago’s scuttled game-winning drive was the result of a very Bears miscommunication where they seemed to forget Brenton Cox Jr. existed.
The Packers blitzed on obvious passing downs and failed to crack a quarterback who looked broken just seven days earlier. Williams completed 10 of 12 passes on third or fourth down for 112 yards. He ran four times for 40 more yards to pick up four more vital first downs. He did stuff like this:
Caleb Williams, good again pic.twitter.com/Iz0gAB3XFW
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) November 17, 2024
to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, there are special traits to his game that give him a higher upside than Fields or Trubisky before him.
He was also given a boost by a run game that found traction in fits and starts. Williams’s versatility played a role, but D’Andre Swift averaged more than five yards per carry. This created a little extra leverage in play-action situations — a spot where Williams failed to thrive under Waldron.
If that holds true, it’s going to open up new pages in Brown’s playbook. It’s a viable technique to create the time for downfield routes to develop in a way we didn’t see Sunday. Only three of Williams’s 23 completions traveled more than 12 yards downfield, but I’ll be damned if I don’t want to see how this back-shoulder connection with fellow rookie Rome Odunze develops with proper space in the pocket.
Caleb to Rome on 4th and 3. Ice cold.
📺: #GBvsCHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/uwrkhQzgGV— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Williams wasn’t perfect. His “my guy or no one at all” launched a third-and-goal target to Odunze into the stands and forced a field goal attempt. A deep shot to his streaking rookie teammate was just slightly too flat, caroming off the young gun’s outstretched fingertips. His deep shots required juuuuuust a touch more finesse.
But the quarterback who showed up in Week 11 did enough to win. He let last week’s disappointing loss to the Patriots stay in the past, eschewing the bad habits that have derailed other talented rookies in similarly grim situations.
That’s exactly what he needs to do to survive the Eberflus era. The Bears, in all likelihood, do not have their 2025 head coach on the sideline right now. But they’ve got their 2025 quarterback there, and that’s a great place for the next coach to start.
