It\u2019s remarkable how quickly NFL fans write off rookie quarterbacks. Not only has Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams bounced back from his early-season struggles, but he has done so under extraordinary circumstances\u2014losing both his head coach and offensive coordinator midseason. Despite the chaos, Williams has remained resilient, showing incredible growth and poise in the face of adversity. Now, he\u2019s on track to join an elite club of rookie quarterbacks that includes Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud.<\/p>\n
Caleb Williams is on pace to end his rookie campaign with 3,700 passing yards, 20 passing TDs, and 7 INTs. Not only will that be one of the best seasons for a quarterback in Bears history, but it’s also a feat only two other rookie quarterbacks have accomplished.<\/p>\n
The only other QBs in NFL history to post 3,700+ passing yards, 20+ passing TDs, and 10 or fewer INTs as a rookie<\/a> are Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud, who both made immediate impacts in the NFL:<\/p>\n Justin Herbert (2020)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n C.J. Stroud (2023)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Both are now considered top-10 quarterbacks in the league. Yet Williams continues to face unwarranted criticism despite excelling under challenging conditions\u2014including poor offensive line play and a lackluster coaching staff. He\u2019s even set a rookie record for the most consecutive passes without an interception,<\/a> showing his ability to play smart, efficient football.<\/p>\n With interim head coach Thomas Brown<\/a> now at the helm, the stage is set for Caleb Williams to unlock his full potential. At this point in the season, his development is the only thing that matters. CBS Sports Chris Trapasso had an excellent point about Williams’ resurgence with Shane Waldon no longer the offensive coordinator:<\/a><\/p>\n “Now, Williams did manage a three-game stretch under Waldron with 100-plus ratings, yet those contests came against\u00a0Rams,<\/a>\u00a0Panthers<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jaguars,<\/a> defenses currently ranked 21st, 32nd, and 30th, respectively, in\u00a0Expected Points Allowed per play<\/a>\u00a0in non-garbage time scenarios this season.<\/em><\/p>\n Compare that to his nearly cumulative 100 rating over the past three against the\u00a0Packers,<\/a>\u00a0Vikings,<\/a> and\u00a0Lions<\/a> — teams with defenses that rank 15th, second, and third in that very same statistic. Williams has upped his efficiency against stingier opponents, a clear-cut encouraging sign for his development and the competence of Brown as the staffer with play-calling responsibilities.”<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s newfound optimism surrounding the Bears<\/a> now that Waldron and Matt Eberflus<\/a> are out. With a more competent coaching staff, Williams has the opportunity to showcase his rare traits on the field. He has a serious chance of reaching the exclusive club with Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud this season, and the hope is he will also join them in receiving the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The Bears top priority should now be building around Williams and finding the right head coach to maximize his potential.<\/p>\n Main Image: Troy Taormina – USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite early struggles, Bears rookie sensation Caleb Williams is on pace to land a spot in an exclusive rookie quarterback club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4976,"featured_media":202901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,14,18],"tags":[10075,7642,7403,9350,7360,5579],"class_list":["post-202888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bears","category-texans","category-chargers","tag-caleb-williams","tag-chargers-featured","tag-chicago-bears-news","tag-cj-stroud","tag-houston-texans-news","tag-justin-herbert"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202888"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202934,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202888\/revisions\/202934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Breaking Barriers: Caleb Williams\u2019 Journey Toward an Exclusive Rookie QB Club<\/h3>\n