{"id":208469,"date":"2025-01-06T11:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=208469"},"modified":"2025-01-06T00:38:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T05:38:19","slug":"caleb-williams-stats-will-create-hope-for-bears-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/06\/caleb-williams-stats-will-create-hope-for-bears-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Few Caleb Williams Stats Will Create Hope for Bears Fans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a season filled with pain and disappointment, it&#8217;s refreshing to see the Chicago Bears not only win but do so against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/packers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Green Bay Packers<\/a> in Lambeau Field. Amidst the chaos and change, Bears fans can finally feel optimistic about their team having a true franchise quarterback. Caleb Williams has proven that no matter how challenging the circumstances\u2014be it a shaky offensive line or constant coaching turnover\u2014he remains a dynamic force on the field. His standout performances, paired with some eye-catching stats, should ignite hope for the future.<\/p>\n<h2>How a Few Caleb Williams Stats Will Create Hope for Bears Fans<\/h2>\n<p>In football, the best ability is availability, and Caleb Williams delivered on that front. He became the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kfishbain\/status\/1875967419841405311\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first Bears quarterback to start every game in a season since Jay Cutler<\/a> in 2009, breaking a long streak where backup QBs inevitably saw playing time. Plus, Williams is also the first QB to beat the Packers in Lambeau Field since Cutler in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that Williams was the most sacked quarterback in the NFL (70), and still managed to start every game is nothing short of amazing. He had his struggles, but still showed out and had the best rookie season any Bears QB has ever had.<\/p>\n<h3>Defying the Odds: Caleb Williams Rookie Season in Perspective<\/h3>\n<p>If someone had predicted Caleb Williams would finish his rookie campaign with over 4,000 total yards, 20 touchdowns, and just six interceptions, most fans would have called it a dream scenario. He did just that. Notably, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kfishbain\/status\/1876041408446120447\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Williams tied former Bears QB Jim Harbaugh for the fewest interceptions in a season in franchise history<\/a>\u2014a testament to his talent and decision-making.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Caleb Williams finishes the season with<br \/>-4,036 total yards of offense<br \/>-3,551 passing yards<br \/>-485 rushing yards<br \/>-87.4 passer rating<br \/>-20 TD, 6 INT<br \/>-61.9 CMP%<\/p>\n<p>The Bears have their franchise QB. <\/p>\n<p>The future is BRIGHT <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yS7svP8jRL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/yS7svP8jRL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@JAYChi_Bears) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JAYChi_Bears\/status\/1876025986590069054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The hope for next season is that Williams plays with more confidence and focuses on improving his deep ball accuracy. While it&#8217;s impressive to hold the record for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/43128825\/nfl-caleb-williams-bears-rookie-quarterback\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most attempts without an interception as a rookie (326)<\/a>, it&#8217;s less impressive when the majority of those passes barely travel more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Ideally, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/23\/espn-drops-major-update-connecting-ben-johnson-to-the-chicago-bears\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">next Bears head coach<\/a> will emphasize a more aggressive downfield passing game and reduce the reliance on screen plays.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Caleb Williams pass chart vs. Packers in Week 18. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bears?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Bears<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/meUdDJBsjB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/meUdDJBsjB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Zack_Pearson\/status\/1876023519655682342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Caleb Williams vs. No. 1 Overall Picks<\/h3>\n<p>Despite facing his share of criticism, Caleb Williams delivered one of the most impressive rookie seasons ever by a quarterback. Among the 28 quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall since 1967, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JAYChi_Bears\/status\/1876002508700803237\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Williams ranks first in TD-to-INT ratio, fourth in completion percentage, and fourth in rushing yards per game.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/17\/why-the-bears-should-take-notes-from-kevin-oconnells-quarterback-philosophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">it&#8217;s up to the Bears to get the head coach hire right<\/a> and to address the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/23\/a-position-by-position-guide-to-revamping-the-bears-offensive-line\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">offensive line<\/a> this offseason. It&#8217;s hard to have hope that the Bears will get it right because they never do, but now that they have a franchise QB, the time to put all the cards on the table is now.<\/p>\n<h3>Clutch Factor<\/h3>\n<p>Time and again this season, Caleb Williams carried the Bears in crunch time, only for the team to fall short. His late-game heroics gave the Bears chances to beat the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/washington-commanders\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Commanders,<\/a> Packers at home, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/vikings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Vikings<\/a> at home, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/lions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lions<\/a> on Thanksgiving\u2014but they came up empty in all those matchups.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the Bears broke through, earning a victory with Williams once again stepping up in a critical moment. The crazy part is Williams got a good look at the Packers coverage and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sean_hammond\/status\/1876022694950682874\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">changed the play to pass to D.J. Moore<\/a> to set the Bears up in field goal position to win the game.<\/p>\n<p>The future looks bright with Williams leading the way, and it&#8217;s hard not to be excited about what&#8217;s to come next season.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Image: Jeff Hanisch &#8211; USA Today Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A couple of jaw-dropping Caleb Williams statistics are sure to ignite hope among Chicago Bears fans for a brighter future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4976,"featured_media":208532,"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],"tags":[32145,33008,10075,7403,31996],"class_list":["post-208469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bears","tag-2024-nfl-season","tag-2025-nfl-offseason","tag-caleb-williams","tag-chicago-bears-news","tag-nfl-rookies"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208469","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=208469"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208550,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208469\/revisions\/208550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}