The Chicago Bears still haven’t graduated to the win-a-game-because-of-your-quarterback level of football.
Sunday, they had an all-too-familiar win-a-game-in-spite-of-your-quarterback afternoon at Soldier Field.
Caleb Williams had his worst game of the season, but the Bears handled the Saints 26-14. That says a lot about what head coach Ben Johnson is building, Dennis Allen’s defense and the run game.
To his credit, Williams did make some clutch throws, but his passer rating (61.7) was his lowest since Week 17 of last season (53.0 against Seattle). He also didn’t throw a touchdown pass for the first time since that game. He has completed less than 60 percent of his passes in three consecutive games since winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
“There are things that weren’t hitting today, and you just have those days sometimes,” Williams said Sunday. “(When) we get this figured out on my side, we’ll be putting up a lot of points and (will) be very dangerous.”
Williams hasn’t played his best football consistently, yet the Bears have won four in a row. But the defense isn’t going to force four takeaways every week and the run game isn’t going to go for 222 yards every week. The No. 1 pick in the draft is supposed to have his moments where he carries the team. That should come.
Heading into back-to-back road games against AFC North foes, what can Williams learn from the win against the Saints? After all, it’s always easier to make corrections after a win. We’ll use some screenshots with the All-22 angle, and the disclaimer that these are still images — we don’t know the assignments and progressions or what it’s like to be the quarterback in those exact moments.
The most glaring issue on Sunday was Williams seemingly struggling to know when to take off and run, and still needing work on his on-the-run accuracy.
“I missed about five or six on the run, which is extremely frustrating for me, especially just how my nature has been for the past couple years of my career,” Williams said. “It’s just being able to understand in those situations that even if I’m not hitting … how a QB run in those situations where maybe the defense calls a good call or a perfect call, the QB takes off and gets positive yards, I think I’ve done a good job with that so far this year. I think today I did not.”
Early in the second quarter, the Bears had a third-and-8 from the Saints’ 21-yard line. New Orleans’ coverage was pretty sound as Williams reached the top of his drop.
He eluded the pressure, danced around and rolled to his right. There might have been an instance for him to take off, but he also didn’t have much help from his pass catchers in the “scramble drill” mode, and he ended up throwing this away.
Later in the second quarter, on first down in the red zone, Williams did seem to have options for quick throws, but there was interior pressure, and he eventually spun out.
When he did, it looked like there could have been a window to run up the middle. It might not have been a long gain, and it’s easy for me to say, but we’ve certainly seen him take off in these instances.
He eventually made his way outside the pocket to his left, showing that rare footwork to manipulate the pocket. He still might have been able to run but threw to Olamide Zaccheaus, who was well covered. The ball could have been picked off.
Late in the first half, the Bears got the ball with great field position, three timeouts and a chance to go up four scores. Despite the strong rushing performance, Johnson dialed up throws — unlike a similar situation against Dallas in Week 3 when he called runs to open the drive.
On the first play, Williams faced pressure from defensive end Chase Young on his blind side.
While rolling to his left, there was definitely plenty of green in front of him, but he also had wide receiver Rome Odunze working to the sideline for a solid gain. His throw was well off the mark.
On the next snap, Williams again made magic happen by avoiding a sack and working his way up in the pocket. The still image shows us an opportunity to hit running back D’Andre Swift for what would have been a long gain. Easier said than done. Saints defensive end Carl Granderson may have prevented Williams from wanting to take off.
Williams did throw a good ball to Odunze, who got his hands on it, but veteran safety Justin Reid stuck his hand in there and prevented the catch.
“There were a few of them to Rome, I believe, before halftime, of that scramble mentality. And I think Rome could have caught one or two of them himself,” Johnson said. “And I think there was another one that Caleb could have had better ball placement.”
The Bears went three-and-out, and the Saints went 90 yards to score before halftime.
“I didn’t think I did a good job calling plays in that sequence,” Johnson said Monday. “I’m very, very aware of not wanting to give the ball back to the opponent with enough time for a rebuttal drive. I don’t think I did the defense any favors with those play calls.”
He credited the Saints’ coverage but also reiterated his message to the offense that resulted from the team’s bye-week self-scout — once they get a first down, things get rolling.
“That was one right there where I feel like if we had just found a way to get that first first down, we would’ve had a little momentum to get that thing going and get some points,” he said.
Early in the fourth quarter, Williams had another scramble drill. This time, he didn’t have any room to run. He waved to his receivers, and Luther Burden did come back to the ball on the right sideline, but Williams’ pass fell short.
It turned into a two-pronged issue for Williams. He wasn’t accurate on his throws while on the move, and he also didn’t take the yards as a runner like he usually does. There weren’t many checkdowns, either.
Outside the pocket this season, Williams is averaging only 3.3 yards per attempt while completing 17 of 40 passes (42.5 percent). Per TruMedia, he was 4-for-6 passing outside the pocket. He’s 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) in the three games since.
“We just went over those a little while ago, and there’s a few of those that we could have back and maybe make a little bit different decision than what we did in the moment,” Johnson said. “That’s part of what makes him special as a player, and so you don’t want to neuter him. You don’t. That’s a dangerous road to go down, because he’s got this natural ability to feel the pocket and know when to escape and extend.”
Johnson said they need to work on when “that Superman cape comes out” versus when Williams should run or throw the ball away.
According to TruMedia, Williams was credited with zero scrambles for the first time since Week 4 of 2024. He had only one in Washington, but it was a 4-yard run on third-and-4.
The scrambling was key in Las Vegas. He had two scrambles for 18 yards on the Bears’ game-winning drive.
Chicago isn’t unfamiliar with subpar quarterback performances. What sets Williams apart is that the throws he did make are all reminders of his potential. Like a third-down out route to tight end Colston Loveland.
Or his longest throw of the day, a 22-yarder off play action to Burden, which included a nice play design that had center Drew Dalman spin around to block the edge — similar to an explosive play to Burden against the Commanders. Here was Williams’ pocket.
And then Williams took advantage of the scheme and rifled it to Burden for the big gain.
This Sunday, despite being on the road against a perennial playoff team, Williams should have opportunities to get back on track. The Ravens are 26th in completion percentage allowed (68.5), 30th in opponent passer rating (108.4) and they’re tied for last in the league with only eight sacks.
As with all things offense, it’s not all on the quarterback, but it starts with the quarterback. Williams and the Bears are grateful they’re winning during a stretch where the passing game isn’t there. And, as he said, imagine what it will look like when he does get rolling, especially when he gets on the move.
“When we start hitting on those cylinders where we start having some of these explosive plays, especially when the play breaks and it turns into our second play, it’s going to be real devastating to the other side,” Williams said. “We’re going to figure it out. I’m going to figure it out.”
