• Caleb Williams has turned it on the past two weeks: His 83.4 PFF overall grade over the span ranks third overall and first among rookie quarterbacks.
• Williams made big throw after big throw against the Vikings: The Bears ultimately fell in overtime, but Williams' five big-time throws are a sign that he has what it takes to turn around Chicago's franchise.
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
Caleb Williams and the Bears suffered another heartbreaking loss in Week 12, but It’s not all doom and gloom in Chicago.
The bright spot coming out of that game is that Williams looks every bit the part of a first overall pick.
Highest-Graded Quarterbacks When Blitzed in Week 12
Williams finished the game with a 74.8 PFF overall grade, the third-highest mark of his career. His five big-time throws were tied for the most in Week 12 and the third most in a single game this season. It’s the second week in a row that Williams has impressed. His 83.4 PFF overall grade over the past two weeks ranks third overall and first among rookie quarterbacks.
It’s no secret that the Bears ‘offense struggled early in the season. But the decision to make a change at offensive coordinator, with Thomas Brown now filling that role, has sparked not only Williams but this entire offense.
Caleb Williams is a playmaker. You live with the rough sacks because he is capable of making amazing out-of-structure plays.
L(and I can't emphasize this enough)mao pic.twitter.com/seuDv3IgH6
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 26, 2024
Brian Flores’ Vikings defense causes chaos along the offensive line, and he’s great at scheming free routes to the quarterback for his pass-rushers. The Vikings get that free rusher in the play above. Typically, a quarterback needs to be “hot,” meaning they are responsible for beating that free rusher with a quick pass. That “hot” route looks to be hitting running back D'Andre Swift in the flat. However, for better or worse, Williams always believes he can make the free rusher miss and create a bigger play. He does so on this play, and then it comes down to an incredible athlete making an incredible throw for a huge gain.
The Bears' offensive strategy was clearly to attack the middle of the field. On throws in between the numbers, Williams was 22-of-27 for 194 yards and an 82.1 PFF passing grade.
Caleb ripping a seam route with great ball placement pic.twitter.com/m82KTXu3Ca
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 26, 2024
The Vikings once again show their heavy pressure look where it's unclear who is blitzing and who is dropping out. A good way to counter that is with throws over the middle of the field because the players dropping into coverage from the line of scrimmage have a lot of ground to cover. The Bears are simply running three vertical routes, and with the farside safety bailing to a deep half, Williams knows he can layer the ball over the bailing underneath defenders. He has to beat the backside safety, and his perfect ball placement accomplishes that and protects his receiver.
Chicago wasn't only attacking when the Vikings showed their heavy-pressure looks. It was happening throughout the game.
Caleb ripping a seam route with great ball placement (x2) pic.twitter.com/KQymANTALA
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 26, 2024
A pre-snap motion makes the Vikings show their hand early as they rotate to a single high coverage. They end up dropping back into a Cover 3 zone, and Williams makes them pay by attacking the seam, which is a weak spot in Cover 3. Both receivers to the top of the screen are running quick double-moves and getting vertical. Caleb does a great job of moving the underneath defenders with his eyes and then hits the seam right behind them in a quickly collapsing window. Once again, he places this ball in a perfect spot to protect his receiver.
After recovering an onside kick, the Bears continue to attack the middle of the field to get them into field goal range and force overtime.
Caleb was dominating the middle of the field all game and finished with this gem to get into field goal range pic.twitter.com/LDpA5ESq97
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 26, 2024
The Vikings are once again dropping into a Cover 3 look, this time from a three-deep safety look, and the Bears are running three in-breaking routes. Williams reads this out perfectly, getting through each option and then settling on the backside in-breaker. He shows incredible anticipation throwing this the second the deep safety breaks on the second in-breaking route. The anticipation is great, but he still has to make the throw. Williams layers the ball perfectly in between two levels of the defense.
This season has ultimately been a disappointment for the Bears, but developing Caleb Williams into a franchise quarterback is the goal — whether or not that results in immediate wins. After some rough moments, Williams has started to turn it around and play at the level that everyone expected from the first overall pick.
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