How Bears QB Caleb Williams has ‘learned and caught up to speed in the NFL’

Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment of a season-long series on a breakout star from the past week of NFL action. The Week 5 winner: Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams

Winds played a factor in Sunday’s game between the Bears and Panthers in Chicago. They were so strong that Caleb Williams described them as “weird.” 

Welcome to the Windy City.

During TV timeouts, the Bears quarterback would spray a water bottle to figure out how aggressive they were and what direction they were blowing, so he could adjust accordingly. 

The wind impacted his first throw of the game — a target to Keenan Allen, who ran a speed out. A gust blew the ball behind the veteran receiver, resulting in a near interception. 

“I don’t think I’ve had too many issues of dealing with that,” Williams said postgame, “but it was definitely a factor of understanding the wind and things like that.”

The No. 1 overall pick embraced it, though — and turned in the best and most efficient performance of his career to this point. 

Williams completed 68.9% of his passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and a 126.2 passer rating in the Bears’ 36-10 rout of the Panthers. He became the first Bears rookie to have at least 300 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and no picks in a game, according to NFL research. 

Chicago (3-2) had more than 400 yards of offense for the first time this season. 

“We need to keep building, keep going,” Williams said. “Definitely not settled on this.” 

But the performance was the latest testament to his rapid improvement. 

Over the first 10 quarters of the season, the former Heisman Trophy winner completed just 57% of his throws for 5.2 yards per attempt, an 0-3 passing touchdowns to interception ratio and a 57.6 passer rating. But over the past 10 quarters, he’s up to a 70.1% completion rate, 7.9 yards per attempt, a 5-1 passing touchdowns to interception ratio and a 109.8 passer rating, according to Next Gen Stats.  

Williams’ growth is…

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Publish date : 2024-10-08 19:52:50

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