Despite dysfunction, Caleb Williams etching his name in Bears history

CHICAGO — Six days after missing an open Keenan Allen streaking toward the end zone in Minnesota, Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took advantage of a second chance at the same play.

Nearing halftime of Chicago’s Week 16 matchup with the Detroit Lions, Williams saw Allen throw a head fake and execute the same double move to create separation. This time, Williams didn’t hesitate. He lasered a pass that Allen caught in stride for a 45-yard touchdown.

It was one of Williams’ best throws of the season despite the Bears suffering their ninth straight loss. That has been the narrative of Williams’ season in general: individual growth set against the backdrop of team dysfunction and failure. Consider that despite the second-longest losing streak in franchise history, Williams has set an NFL record for the most passes (326) without an interception by a rookie QB, and if he continues on this pace, he’ll end up with third-most passing yards in Bears history.

“Keep swinging,” coach Thomas Brown said of Williams’ approach. “Shooters shoot, and he definitely shoots, which I appreciate. So I’m going to give him opportunities to shoot.”

Against the Lions, Williams recorded his fourth game with at least 300 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. It ties the mark set by Mitchell Trubisky in 2018 for the most such games in a single season by a Bears QB over the past 20 years.

Williams accomplished that after putting two first-half fumbles behind him to lead three scoring drives on a day when the Bears’ offense looked the best it had in weeks. Their 14 first-half points were the most since a Week 6 win over Jacksonville.

In recent weeks, Williams has accumulated the majority of his passing production while playing from behind. While Williams was quick to admit he doesn’t put much stock in his stats, the type of growth the rookie is exhibiting in a lost season isn’t lost on his teammates.

“You have moral wins, moral victories,” Allen said. “It’s good to score.

“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].”

Through 15 games, Williams has thrown for 3,271 yards, sixth most in a single season in franchise history. If he continues his season average of 218.1 passing yards over Chicago’s next two games against Seattle (8:15 p.m. ET Thursday, Prime Video) and Green Bay (Jan. 5), he’ll finish with roughly 3,707 yards.

Williams might not erase the Bears’ notoriety as the only NFL franchise to never have a 4,000-yard passer or a QB who passed for 30 touchdowns, but considering he has changed offensive coordinators and head coaches midseason while being sacked a league-high 60 times, his transition to the NFL has included unique obstacles.

“There’s no question that this guy is talented,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said last week. “I remember standing on the sideline last game [against the Bears on Nov. 28] and you can hear the ball whistle by you.

“He’s got quite a fastball, has some creativity to him, can extend plays and is accurate down the field as well.”

Johnson, who is one of the hottest names this coaching cycle, is expected to be pursued by the Bears. And the presence of Williams is perhaps the most attractive aspect of the job.

In fact, Williams has played some of his best football in front of Johnson. In two games against Detroit, Williams has 681 passing yards, five touchdown passes and no interceptions.

According to NFL Research, Williams has lost nine starts in which he hasn’t thrown an interception, which is the most such losses in a single season since 1950. His 326 passes without turning the ball over is 100 attempts more than the previous rookie streak held by the Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray (211). The New York Jets’ Aaron Rodgers has the overall record at 402.

There are specific areas where Williams has demonstrated the most growth. In Week 16, the rookie had his best game as a downfield passer, going 6-of-8 for 160 yards and a touchdown on throws of 15-plus air yards. He routinely got the ball into the hands of his playmakers, throwing a career-high 286 yards to his wide receivers. Allen (694 receiving yards), DJ Moore (826) and Rome Odunze (701) form the only group of wide receivers to be in the top 50 in receiving yards.

And with a heavy dose of play-action against the Lions, Brown’s playcalling has aided the quarterback in matching a career-high with 12 play-action pass attempts in which he threw for 109 yards and a touchdown.

All of that has added up to a season never experienced by a rookie quarterback in Chicago. And with two weeks remaining, Williams is taking aim at cleaning up the details. When asked for specific areas he has focused on improving before heading into the offseason, the quarterback zeroed in on several issues.

“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,” said Williams, who has lost four fumbles on the season. “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.”