The Bears don't want Caleb Williams to try to be Superman — but they're desperate for a boost
Marcedes Lewis made his NFL debut when Caleb Williams was 4.
When the 40-year-old tight end speaks, the Bears’ rookie quarterback listens.
“That’s one of the things that I said when we get in the huddle …” Lewis said. “Don’t feel like you’ve got to do it by yourself. We’re good enough in this locker room for nobody to have to be Superman.”
With the Bears reeling, though, a little Superman against the Rams on Sunday wouldn’t hurt.
The Bears know to be patient with Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. His struggles this season have been consistent, historically, with rookie quarterbacks not named C.J. Stroud. But eventually, he needs to be the reason they win.
The Bears built their roster this offseason so they wouldn’t have to lean on Williams to be extraordinary — he’d merely have to play point guard. A non-existent run game, though, means he needs to do more. As the 1-2 Bears barrel down the twin tracks of trying to make the playoffs while developing their rookie quarterback, Williams can help on both fronts with a signature drive.
He's had his chances. In each of the Bears’ first three games, they had the ball in the fourth quarter down by one score. In the opener, they lost one yard on three plays — when they took the lead, it was on a Tyrique Stevenson interception. In the Houston loss, Williams went 1-for-3 for 27 yards, one sack and a one-yard scramble. In Indianapolis last week, he was sacked on the first play, fumbled and all-but-sealed a Colts win.
Add them up, and the Bears have run nine plays for 14 yards down by one score in the fourth quarter. Williams has a 62.9 passer rating, two sacks and one fumble.
It’s not too early to expect more. When Sunday’s game ends, the Bears will be almost a quarter of the way through the season, a large enough sample size to expect tangible progress.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick, led by five in the fourth quarter Monday when he completed passes on third down and, later, fourth down to keep the drive alive. On third-and-seven from the 27, he threw a touchdown pass to receiver Terry McLaurin.
Embattled Bears coordinator Shane Waldron is supposed to be good at this — last year, two Seahwks quarterbacks led the Seahawks to five combined fourth-quarter comebacks.
“I’ve got to be better with not turning the ball over — and a lot more,” Williams said.
Just playing with a lead, the way Daniels did, would be an upgrade for Williams. The Bears have been ahead for 7:28 all season — the end of the season opener. That’s because of Williams’ own mistakes — the Bears have the third-most turnovers and sacks allowed in the NFL, with Williams responsible for all four interceptions and one of their two fumbles — but also the result of an offense that’s looked all season as if it was wearing a suit jacket two sizes too small.
The Bears’ ground game appears broken — among running backs with at least eight carries this season, D’Andre Swift ranks last in the NFL with 1.8 yards per carry and Khalil Herbert third-to-last with 2. The result: Williams was asked to throw 118 times — amazingly, the most in the NFL — through the first three weeks.
That figure is untenable, and as bad for Williams as it is the Bears.
“If I’ve got to throw the ball 50 times, I’ve got to throw the ball 50 times,” Williams said. “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.”
A man can dream.
“What I’m here to do is win games,” Williams said. “So we’ve ... got to get the offense going, got to get the run game going.”