In the minutes following the Bears’ 6-3 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday night, quarterback Caleb Williams laid out what his expectations were for his rookie season.
“Just being able to, from start to finish, to be able to be consistent all season,” he said. “Obviously, [the opponents’] job on the defensive side is to be able to provide the inconsistencies in things like that. But find ways just to be consistent and play good football, consistent football when the ball is in my hand.”
Williams hasn’t done that, but he still has a chance to cross off at least one accomplishent. Next week against the Packers, he can become the first Bears quarterback to start every game in a 17-game season and the first to start every game in a season of any length since Jay Cutler did it in 2009.
The question is, should Williams should be allowed to do so? The season is so lost, the Bears’ offense so miserable, that it no longer seems like a good idea.
Yes, the Bears (4-12) have emphasized the value of Williams getting as many snaps as possible all season long, dismissing the notion of benching him at any point during their losing streak, now 10 games and counting. But haven’t we seen enough of a broken offense? In 12 NFL games this season, a team has managed less than 180 yards. Amazingly, the Bears have done it four times — against the Patriots, Titans, 49ers and Seahawks. In 26 games, a starting quarterback has thrown for fewer than 125 yards and no touchdowns. Williams has done it three times. No one else has done it more than twice.
There’s not much to extrapolate for Williams next season, either. He’s playing under an offensive play-caller, interim coach Thomas Brown, who likely won’t be part of the organization next season. On Thursday, Williams played behind four starting offensive linemen who aren’t under contract for 2025 — every-one but right tackle Darnell Wright. Two of them — left tackle Larry Borom and left guard Jake Curhan, both injury replacements — allowed a combined five pressures. Curhan was flagged for holding on a touchdown play and a false start on a fourth-and-one.
Williams was sacked seven times and could have avoided at least four by throwing the ball away. His season sack total is up to 67, the most by any player since 2005. If the Packers sack him nine times next week — and the Bears have let that happen once already this season, against the Patriots — he’ll tie David Carr as a Texans rookie in 2002 for the most sacks ever taken.
“Any time you take multiple hits throughout a season or throughout a game, I mean, they add up, obviously,” Williams said. “Just as with anybody, if you get hit more often, more often than not, you start to feel those a little bit more. . . . When you take a bunch of hits or anything like that, whatever position you are, recovery and all that is super important. And [we’ve] got one more game. Got to go out and recover and get ready for the next game.”
Any notion of continuity rings hollow, however, when overhauls of the coaching staff and roster are set to begin the minute the Packers game ends.
If the Bears were playing any other team, perhaps sitting Williams would be more likely. The McCaskeys hate losing to the Packers and have done it a lot, with the Packers having won 11 straight rivalry games.
The best argument for Williams playing might be what would happen if he didn’t. For all of the Bears’ struggles, perhaps the greatest indignity would be snapping their losing streak with backup Tyson Bagent under center and not their No. 1 overall pick.