Caleb Williams' rookie season wasn't what he or the Bears wanted, but the ending showed promise
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Bears quarterback Caleb Williams grew up wanting to be Aaron Rodgers.
On Sunday, in Rodgers’ old stadium, he did what Rodgers used to do best.
Needing to drive the Bears into field-goal range with 48 seconds left to beat the rival Packers, Williams led them 47 yards before Cairo Santos made a 51-yard field goal as time expired for a 24-22 victory. The Bears snapped their 10-game losing streak and finished the season 5-12. They also ended an 11-game skid against the Packers.
Bears quarterbacks are measured by what they do against the Packers. In his first game at Lambeau Field, Williams measured up when it mattered.
‘‘It’s a wonderful stadium; I know Bears fans probably won’t want to hear that,’’ Williams said as Rodgers, clad in a green Jets uniform, played on a TV over his shoulder. ‘‘I grew up an Aaron Rodgers fan, and then being able to actually be here and come out with the win, being able to be here and play on this field, being able to be here and see the history between the Bears and Green Bay and come out with the win the way we did, it was great. It was awesome. Great moment. And can’t wait to keep growing and keep having more of those moments.’’
The Bears have a long way to go before they can expect to have more such moments. And even this victory came with an asterisk: Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love left with an elbow injury in the second quarter, and wide receiver Christian Watson was ruled out with a non-contact knee injury in the same quarter.
Williams spent most of the game throwing screens, completing 21 of 29 passes for only 148 yards and a 95.2 passer rating. The way the Bears won the game, however, offers some hope for the future.
Trailing by one, the Bears faced third-and-11 from their 49 with 15 seconds left. In the huddle, Williams looked to wide receiver DJ Moore — who had fumbled a screen pass with about two minutes left to set up the Packers’ go-ahead field goal — and told him what route he wanted. If the Packers pressed him, Moore would run a vertical route. If they played to Moore’s outside, Williams would throw a ‘‘glance’’ route — a five-step skinny post. He did the latter for 18 yards and ran to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball with two seconds left.
After a season’s worth of clock-management gaffes, the Bears finally got one right.
‘‘It was amazing,’’ Moore said. ‘‘He stayed calm, cool, collected and had us rolling.’’
Santos made the field goal to beat the same team that blocked his potential game-winner in November.
‘‘Everything I’ve gone through the weeks following that,’’ Santos said, ‘‘it gave me strength to be ready for a moment like this.’’
Williams was never the set-it-and-forget-it quarterback the Bears hoped he would be when they drafted him No. 1 overall and surrounded him with what they thought was unprecedented skill-position talent. Only two players in NFL history have been sacked more often than the 68 times Williams was this season. He was sacked only once Sunday, however. It came on the first play of the game, when he fumbled a shotgun snap.
Williams proved durable nonetheless, becoming the first Bears quarterback in 15 years to make every start. He threw for 3,541 yards — the fifth-most in franchise history — set a rookie record for most passes without an interception and finished the season having thrown only six picks. In NFL history, only three rookie quarterbacks who made at least 13 starts threw fewer.
Still, something felt missing. The Bears’ offense was so dysfunctional that coach Matt Eberflus fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after only nine games. Eberflus was fired after 12. Williams played for three offensive coordinators. That level of failure doesn’t happen without Williams being complicit in the Bears’ struggles.
Williams is by far the most attractive part of the Bears’ head-coaching vacancy. They will begin sending out interview requests Monday and will spend the next two weeks holding virtual meetings. They can’t meet in-person with coaches who work for NFL teams until Jan. 20.
Whomever the Bears hire will have to lay out a plan detailing how to make Williams better. He has a long way to go.
At the very least, though, the Bears can put on film of Williams’ final completion and dream.
‘‘He’s got a killer instinct,’’ interim coach Thomas Brown said. ‘‘He’s really probably better in those moments than he is in regular downs and distances. There’s a gap to be bridged when it comes to that. . . . He thrives in those moments.’’