Bears quarterback Caleb Williams spent his first month in the NFL alternating between showing brief flashes that made him the Heisman Trophy winner and a No. 1 overall pick and a rookie dealing with the NFL’s unforgiving learning curve.
Five weeks into his career, Williams played his best and most complete game in Sunday’s 36-10 win against Carolina.
Some caveats apply. The Panthers are a lowly 1-4, and their defense remains one of the worst against the pass in the NFL. And yet, Chicago rarely looked like anything resembling a contender in September, too, which put the strength of Williams’ controlled performance in perspective Sunday, as Williams completed 20 of his 29 passes for 296 yards, with two touchdowns and zero turnovers.
In his first four games, Williams completed 61% of his passes while being consistently sacked and unable to rely on a ground game that averaged 3.5 yards per carry, second-worst in the league. That average barely budged against the Panthers, but when Carolina had to account for D’Andre Swift’s early productivity as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield, it opened up throws for Williams in play-action.
