Caleb Williams makes history against Lions, offense remains ‘confident as ever’ heading into playoffs
While Williams was frustrated about the loss when asked about the record after the game, right guard Jonah Jackson acknowledged Williams’ success this season, as well as the success of running back D’Andre Swift, who set a new career high in rushing yards with 1,047.
“It’s an honor to be a part of,” Jackson said. “We feel that we’re obliged to do it. Those are our guys, so any way we can give them accolades that they deserve, we’ll do that.”
Despite the offense’s slow start against Detroit, Williams once again sparked the unit in the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives within 10 minutes of each other to tie the game at 16-16 with 5:28 to play.
“He’s a competitor,” Jackson said of Williams. “He doesn’t like to lose. And in moments like that, you need a guy who’s able to thrive in crunch time. We’ve got to be better for him early on. We weren’t really able to get a drive going for him at the start of the game, but when it’s crunch time, we can rely on him big time.”
On the first touchdown drive, Williams completed passes of 10 yards and 13 yards to rookie receiver Luther Burden III before capping the 7-play, 65-yard possession with the touchdown pass to Walker.
“That’s normal Caleb,” Burden said. “He went out there, made plays, made the right throws.”
The ensuing TD drive consisted of 12 plays, seven of which were completions by Williams. In the middle of the drive, the former No. 1 overall pick completed four straight passes of 19 yards, 12 yards, eight yards and 27 yards. On first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Williams connected with tight end Colston Loveland in the end zone for the score before firing a pass on the run to tight end Cole Kmet for the two-point conversion.
