LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) – Back to .500 entering Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, Caleb Williams said the majority of his progress this season has been simply getting back into the flow of the football.
“When we start and we run the football, when we start and there’s no huddle, or it goes from huddle, no huddle, it’s a bunch of different things,” Williams said . “[It’s about] finding that flow and maintaining that flow so everyone can keep up and everyone can feel good.
Williams came out of Week 4 as the first rookie quarterback selected with the first overall pick to win each of his first two career home starts in the common draft era.
The Crocodile Punter: Bears rookie Tory Taylor named NFC player of the week
The former Heisman Trophy winner finished 17 of 23 for 157 yards and a touchdown – a 9-yard pass to DJ Moore in the third quarter.
With a month of professional football under his belt, part of Williams’ development process will be putting the pieces of the puzzle together on how to win every week.
“For me, it’s about understanding what we need as a team right now, here, in the present moment,” Williams said. “Meaning no turnovers, protecting the football, then being smart with the football. Regardless of the score in the first half, or anything like that, all of our games came down to the wire , therefore, understanding that [is important].”
Williams did not commit a turnover and posted a 124.6 quarterback rating under pressure against the Los Angeles Rams, the best among all NFL quarterbacks in Week 4, despite being pressured 19 .1% more frequent than in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts. Williams was pressured on 11/26 dropbacks (42.3%) against the Rams and 13/56 dropbacks (23.2%) against the Colts.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus often refers to Williams’ improvements as “taking it to the next level,” but before preparing for the Panthers, Eberflus chose to use another term synonymous with growth and describe the positive progress of his rookie quarterback.
“It’s a matter of evolution, isn’t it?” said Eberflus. “[We] give him some [stuff] when we started and he, like I said, he always improved every time. This is where we are now and it has continued to progress. It’s the same with games. When you organize games, the first one was at home [and he] It was okay, right?
“Second [was] in the noise, right? Then we improved the noise and the next week we got more production. Then last week it was just an evolution of that: getting more production from the group, spreading the ball around like we’re supposed to, playing point guard like we talked about and playing clean football.
Bears Column: Lightning and thunder could bode well for the Bears offense
Before Sunday, the Bears had won seven straight home games, the longest home winning streak in the NFL. This is also their longest home winning streak since winning ten straight home games from 2005 to 2006.
Chicago won its last five home games during the 2023 NFL regular season against the Las Vegas Raiders, Panthers, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons, before winning its first two home games this year against the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles.
The Bears will earn their eighth straight home win Sunday against Carolina, with kickoff at Soldier Field set for noon CT.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For breaking news, weather, sports and streaming video, visit WGN-TV.
