Caleb Williams will play hero for Bears’ lost offense, but that wasn’t the plan originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — During his time at USC, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was a one-man band. With the Trojans having a leaky offensive line and the appearance of a 10-man defense, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner was the lead vocalist, drummer, bassist, and songwriter that made the Trojans sing.
That weight led to Williams being forced to play a lot of hero ball, which resulted in highlight-worthy plays and decisions that draft analysts and scouts worried would develop into bad habits in the NFL if Williams landed in a similar situation.
That wasn’t supposed to be the case in Chicago.
The Bears drafted Williams and spent the offseason building out the supporting cast around him. Running back D’Andre Swift, wide receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, and tight end Gerald Everet were supposed to solidify an arsenal that would make Williams’ life easy as he got his feet wet in the NFL. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, lauded as a great teacher and versatile play-caller, was supposed to help take the weight off Williams early on by letting the Bears lean on the run game and not asking Williams to be the entire offense.
Through three games, nothing has gone according to plan for the Bears’ offense.
The Bears can’t run the ball. They rank 30th in Expected Points Added per rush and 31st in rushing success rate. Their offense is dead last in DVOA, and they have asked Williams to drop back over 50 times in each of their last two games while being unable to provide adequate pass protection.
“I threw the ball 52 times? Jeez,” Wiliams said after the Bears’ 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.
The “take the pressure off” Williams plan appears to have gone out the window without a viable run game.
On the season, Swift is averaging 1.8 yards per carry. He is averaging less than 2 yards per carry both before and after contact. That means the blocking has been bad, and he’s not making people miss. Without any semblance of a ground game, the Bears have had to put things on Williams’ shoulders in each of the last two games.
While Williams didn’t arrive in Chicago expecting to be Superman right off the bat, he’s willing to carry the Bears if that’s what’s required.
“No, I don’t fight any feelings of that,” Williams said Wednesday when asked if he has to fight the urge to play hero for a one-dimensional offense. “I’m more of a guy, and I said this, I was talking to Shane this morning … I was like, If I’ve got to throw the ball 50 times, I’ve got to throw the ball 50 times. But if we’re in a flow, we’re running the ball, we’re getting four yards a pop on the play, let’s keep handing the ball off to our running backs and let them be special.
“So like I said on Sunday after the game, whatever it takes to win the game is what I’m going to do and what I’m happy to do. It’s what I’m here to do is win games, so we’ve got it going, got to get the offense going, got to get the run game going, I’ve got to be better with not turning the ball over and a lot more. We’re going to be better.”
Williams showed growth during the Bears’ loss to the Colts.
But the Bears’ passing game didn’t really click until they were down two scores, and the Colts were focused on not giving up explosives. When the Bears trailed by two scores Sunday, Williams went 15-for-19 for 133 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 130.9. During the rest of the game, he went 18-for-33 for 230 yards, two interceptions, a fumble, and a rating of 51.3.
He’s a rookie just three games into his career. The scheme isn’t helping him, the line is leaky, and there’s an APB out for the run game. Sunday’s performance should be seen as a positive, with a lot of things to clean up. Williams knows he can’t turn the ball over and put the Bears’ defense in a tough spot. The accuracy on throws over 10 yards down the field must continue to improve. The operation and communication need to crisp up.
There’s reason to believe all that will come once Williams settles in and gets the expected help from the pillars of the Bears’ development plan that haven’t held up their end of the bargain to this point.
But for now, Williams might have to throw on his cape and rescue a 1-2 Bears team that is in danger of flopping after an offseason of excitement.
He’s willing to do it and has the talent to carry a Bears offense currently wandering through the wilderness. But the Bears can’t ask him to do that for long. After all, that wasn’t supposed to be the plan.
