Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears are rolling, and the quarterback feels a difference in the team’s play this year.
“I think it’s just a different year, different vibe,” Williams said on Wednesday, according to ESPN. “I think we’ve done a good job in some of those games; I would say that last year we didn’t do a good job in close games, tight games. I think we’ve won those games, and now we need to get to the point where we’re hitting on all cylinders as a team, all three phases of football, to be able to go out there and put up a lot of points and keep the other side with the least amount of points possible.”
After blowing a two-score, fourth-quarter lead at home to the Minnesota Vikings and getting thumped by the Detroit Lions (52-21) in the first two weeks of the season, Chicago has won five of its past six games, improving to 5-3.
Three of those wins have been one-score affairs, highlighted by a chaotic, 47-42 victory on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9 that saw the Bears blow a 14-point lead with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, but then win the game on a go-ahead, 58-yard touchdown strike from Williams to rookie tight end Colston Loveland with 17 seconds remaining.
Through eight games, Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and the 2022 Heisman Trophy Award winner, has totaled 1,916 passing yards, 12 passing touchdowns, four interceptions and a 93.5 passer rating, while completing 61.5% of his passes. He has also rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns. As a whole, Chicago is second in the NFL in rushing yards (144.4 per game), fourth in total yards (378.4 per game), sixth in points (26.9 per game) and 10th in passing yards (234.0 per game).
The other side of the ball has been more dicey for the Bears, though, as they’re 26th in opponent total yards (368.8 per game) and 29th in opponent points (28.4 per game).
First-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who said that he feels Williams is getting “better every week,” is impressed by his team’s mental toughness.
“This particular team in years past would find ways to lose games, and now we’re finding ways to win games,” Johnson said. “So I think they’re looking to change that narrative. Now that we’ve done that, we’ve got to continue to develop that killer instinct. We’re going to continue to get better there. But I think it’s a really good group.
“I can’t say enough good things about our locker room. We really have zero issues with discipline or anything of that nature. These guys just want to come out and play ball and win games and be there for their teammates. Usually, you’ve got some bad apples in there, but we really don’t. We have just a really strong locker room.”
Last season – in a campaign which saw the Bears go 5-12 and lose 10 consecutive games – Williams totaled 3,541 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and an 87.8 passer rating, while completing 62.5% of his passes; he rushed for 489 yards. Chicago was last in the NFL in total yards (284.6 per game) and tied for 28th in points (18.2 per game).
Williams and the Bears host the New York Giants on Sunday (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
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