The Chicago Bears were defeated on Sunday by the Indianapolis Colts by a final score of 21-16, in a game that many fans and analysts believed would be an easy win for Chicago. The struggles by the Bears’ offense were again at the forefront of the second loss of the season, as issues with the rushing attack and offensive line continue. Despite the growing issues on offense, especially with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, there have been significant strides in development made by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who may be just a game or two away from breaking out.
Caleb Williams displayed several promising qualities against the Colts
If there was a lone bright spot in the loss to the Colts on Sunday, it could be how Caleb Williams took a significant step forward in his development as a quarterback, despite three turnovers tied to him. The first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft passed for over 363 yards in just his third career game and had his first multi-touchdown contest too. Through the first three weeks of his rookie season, it appears that Williams is already ahead in his development as there were several positives from his performance against Indianapolis.
A very promising sign for Williams through the first three games of the season is that, even though there continues to be dysfunction with play-calling by Waldron, Chicago’s quarterback appears to have an understanding of the playbook. In the loss to the Colts, the Bears’ signal-caller had 52 pass attempts, completing 33 of them. Throughout the game, Caleb Williams didn’t look confused at all on where to go with the ball as he was getting the football out quickly, with decisive throws.
It was the decisiveness and knowledge of where to go with the ball that seems to bring some calmness to the weaknesses that Caleb Williams has displayed so far, which has been his deep ball accuracy. The rookie quarterback has overthrown several wide-open targets on deep ball attempts the last two games, but even that is a positive as he is already identifying the open man downfield. Although he is missing, the deep ball accuracy will improve with more reps and timing, as he connected on two +25-yard throws to fellow rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze vs the Colts.
Even though Williams threw for 363 yards, he could have easily thrown for well over 400 yards as he missed two +35-yard throws to Odunze and DeAndre Carter, as the overthrow to his fellow rookie would have resulted in a touchdown. Although the overthrows can be maddening, Chicago’s rookie continues to place the ball where only his wide receivers would have a chance at catching the ball, and not the defenders. Despite throwing four interceptions in the last two games, the throws by Caleb Williams haven’t been too confusing as there have been Bears’ pass-catchers in the area of where the ball is being thrown as defenders are just making plays on the ball.
There is a likely chance the interceptions go down as the season progresses as Williams appears to be spreading the ball around more evenly, and not locking onto one target repeatedly over and over again. In the loss to the Colts, Caleb Williams had four pass-catchers record four or more receptions, including 100 yards receiving from Odunze and 10 receptions from tight end Cole Kmet. If the rookie can continue to spread the football around, it will become a pass defense nightmare for opposing teams on choosing which Bears’ receiver to provide extra coverage too, allowing for others to have massive opportunities on offense.
Caleb Williams’ breakout game could come in the next few weeks with the defensive struggles of Chicago’s upcoming opponents
Looking ahead on the schedule, a Caleb Williams’ breakout game could be coming in the next several weeks, given who the Bears’ opponents will be. Chicago will host the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers at home the next two weeks before traveling to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 13th. With the issues running the ball weighing the offense down, Waldron may lean towards throwing the ball more with Caleb Williams’ development building and the potential return of wide receiver Keenan Allen from injury soon.
The Rams pass defense has struggled the first three games of the 2024 season, as they have allowed more and more passing yards by opposing quarterbacks. Although Los Angeles’ defensive unit has been slowed by multiple injuries, they have been unable to consistently generate pass-rush pressure as they have only three sacks through the first three weeks. Against the Cardinals, the Rams allowed three passing touchdowns of 20 yards or longer.
Although the Panthers pulled a shocking 36-22 over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, their defense has struggled for the most part through the early part of the 2024 season. Carolina’s defense has allowed over 200 yards passing in each of their three games, while allowing over 22 points or more in each contest. Opposing teams’ passing yards could have of been higher, but because of the large scoring margins in the first two contests, opposing offenses ran the ball heavily in the second half, which could be different for Caleb Williams.
There is a likely chance that over the next few weeks that Caleb Williams passes for over 300 yards again and potential records his first career three touchdown passing day, given the state of the upcoming opponents’ defenses. Although there remain several troubling issues with the Bears’ offensive line and rushing offense, those issues can be corrected a bit if the unit has a strong passing attack. Despite a slow start to his rookie campaign, it appears that WIlliams is on the verge of breaking out and displaying the elite-level talent Chicago drafted him for.
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