Caleb Williams’ Latest Win Put Him With Some Elite Company
Like most rookies, Caleb Williams needed some time to get on track. He wasn’t much of a factor in the season opener against Tennessee and endured a beating against Houston in week two. However, the #1 overall pick started punching back around the time of the game in Indianapolis. He finished with 363 yards passing and two touchdowns, only marred by three turnovers. Since then, he has had three touchdown passes, no turnovers, and back-to-back wins at home against NFC opponents.
The Chicago Bears are a perfect 3-0 at home this season, and their rookie quarterback has played a central role in most of that streak. According to the NFL Research Department, Williams is only the fourth quarterback since 1950 to accomplish this feat. The other three were Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, and Tua Tagovailoa. That is pretty interesting company. Ryan and Wilson went on to have Hall of Fame-caliber careers. Tagovailoa went to the Pro Bowl last year. Maybe it is a great sign of what the future holds.
Caleb Williams is learning how to play like a pro.
People haven’t quite grasped that yet. Jayden Daniels has been phenomenal in Washington. However, they’ve accomplished that by running an offense highly similar to the one he had at LSU. Chicago chose to push Williams more towards a traditional offense with lots of plays that feature second and third reads. They feel it is in his best interest to learn this for the long term. The best quarterbacks have always been able to do it. Based on the latest evidence, he is mastering it quickly.
The biggest key for Caleb Williams was always whether he could learn to play from the pocket. Everybody knew he had special qualities as a scrambler and improviser. To become truly special, he needed to show he could beat defenses by distributing the ball on classic drop-backs, trusting his protection, and finding the open man. His idols, Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford have done that brilliantly for many years. Now, he is starting to do the same.