Caleb Williams has been bad so far, but it's too early for Bears fans to panic about it

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.

The trolls are circling the wagons on the Caleb Williams era in Chicago.

Tweets about how his off-schedule plays might’ve worked in the Pac-12 but won’t work in the NFL. You’ve probably seen others saying this isn’t much different from the Justin Fields era so far — Williams probably didn’t help much after making that same exasperated face Fields used to on the bench during his most miserable moments.

Look, I get it. Williams hasn’t thrown a touchdown yet. His 53.0 passer rating stinks. There’s a lot of thrill in his game with all of his daring escapes from the pocket and incredible arsenal of throws, but there doesn’t seem to be much substance to it so far. Plays like this interception have been the story of his seasons so far. It hasn’t been great.

With that said, I don’t think it’s time to panic. Not quite yet, anyway.

Williams’ poor outing against the Texans shouldn’t be a referendum on his play. We should honestly applaud him for doing what he could to keep the Bears in the game for as long as he could while running for his life.

Williams was sacked seven times against the Texans on Sunday night. Chicago’s offensive line is just … not great right now. That’s putting it lightly.

Robert Zeglinski has more thoughts on how bad the protection for Williams was against Houston.

“The Bears’ offensive evening was especially grim for Williams. Yes, he surpassed 170 passing yards (yay?), but the Texans pressured him an eye-opening 36 times (!) on 49 dropbacks. And let me tell you, it was clear that the relentless pressure — does the Bears’ offensive line know what a stunt is? — rattled Williams. Chicago now has just one offensive touchdown in eight quarters of football in 2024. Williams has yet to throw a touchdown pass and has less than 300 cumulative passing yards on the season.”

The Texans are a legitimate Super Bowl-contending team. They’re supposed to be this good. But there’s no world where a quarterback can play well after being pressured 36 times in a single game. It’s impossible.

So, Bears fans, if there’s anything to panic about at this point in the season, it’s the offensive line — not Williams.

If anything, Williams’ health deserves your concern far more than his actual QB play.  Because I don’t know if he’ll last playing like this.

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Never change, A’ja Wilson

A’ja Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a single season, which is a remarkable accomplishment. That goes without saying. It’s another feather in the cap of one of the greatest seasons we’ve ever seen in basketball — WNBA or otherwise.

Wilson could’ve come into the locker room after breaking the record and thumped her chest about how dominant she’s been and what she deserves and how people have slighted her along the way.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she was moved to tears while thanking her teammates for simply being who they are.

A’ja Wilson gives an emotional speech to the Aces after making history with her 1000-point regular season record

(via @LVAces)pic.twitter.com/yrijmCs0sF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 16, 2024

“I am so appreciative. I don’t get any of this without my guards feeding me the basketball. But I hope y’all know how much I love y’all. Each and every last one of y’all. Y’all will never understand how much y’all mean to me. Because there’s days when I hate being A’ja Wilson — I hate it. But when I come into work and I see y’all smiling and I see y’all happy? That [expletive] makes me who I am. And I am so grateful to have teammates like y’all.” 

What a moment. Everyone is saying that this is what leadership looks like and, certainly, it is.

But, more than that, this is what genuine friendship looks like. And it’s such a beautiful thing.

Arch Manning is the real deal

The saying goes that you’re never supposed to lose your job to injury, but if Arch Manning keeps playing for Texas the way he did over the weekend? Quinn Ewers might be out of luck.

Manning put up four touchdowns through the air on Saturday to go along with a monster 67-yard touchdown run, exhibiting speed that no previous Manning could ever dream of.

It’s not unreasonable to think that Manning could remain the Longhorns starter this season. He’s already supplanted Ewers in Heisman odds after the senior went down with an oblique strain. Blake Schuster has more here:

After each highlight reel play, Manning’s Heisman Trophy odds kept getting shorter and shorter. That wouldn’t be too noteworthy except for one small detail: Quinn Ewers became the clear Heisman favorite only six days ago.

Before Saturday, Manning’s odds were 150-1 at BetMGM. Essentially same as they had been since the betting market opened. Ewers was at +475.

By Saturday night, Ewers had dropped back to +2000. One spot ahead of him was Manning at +1500, the seventh-best odds on the board.”

Part of that is because of Ewers’ injury, sure. But Manning is also just really good. And, as Blake writes, we don’t know Ewers’ status moving forward.

The QB situation in Texas is a sticky one. But I’m sure Steve Sarkisian wouldn’t trade places with anyone in the world right now.

Quick hits: It’s time to panic about the Ravens … Caitlin Clark’s new scoring record … and more

— In this week’s awards column, Zeglinski says it’s probably time to panic a bit about Lamar Jackson and the Ravens after an 0-2 start.

— Here’s Meg Hall on Caitlin Clark breaking the rookie scoring record in the most Caitlin Clark way possible

— This might be Tom Brady’s best moment as a broadcaster so far. Here’s Charles Curtis with more.

— Isaiah Pacheco being out for the Chiefs means that it’s Carson Steele’s time to shine.

— Here’s Charles with he NL and AL Wild Card standings so far. October is coming.

— Here’s Caroline Darney with Eugene Levy’s perfect joke about The Bear somehow being considered a comedy at the Emmys.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic Monday.

-Sykes