Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is on the verge of landing in some rare air.
The bigger question around Williams right now isn’t whether he can avoid mistakes - that part has already become one of the defining traits of his game. Through 1,159 career pass attempts entering Week 2, he has thrown only 13 interceptions. Keep that rate anywhere close to 1.1 percent, and you’re talking about elite territory over the long haul.
He’s also built that number by being willing to get rid of the ball. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams led the league in throwaways in each of the last two seasons, piling up 82 in that span. Even in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, when he turned in an elite performance, PFF charted three throwaways for him.
That’s where the debate around Williams gets tricky. Critics may argue that some of those plays are simply inaccurate throws being treated as throwaways by analytics outlets, but the eye test doesn’t really back that up.
He’s shown a steady willingness not to force the issue, and that usually works in his favor. If anything, keeping possessions alive gives him more chances to make the kinds of plays other quarterbacks can’t.
Now he’s closing in on a statistical marker that only a couple of quarterbacks in NFL history have reached.
Entering Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, Williams has 49 career touchdown passes and those 13 interceptions. Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, only Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson have ever gotten to 50 career touchdown passes while staying at 15 or fewer interceptions. Williams needs just one touchdown pass before he throws three more interceptions to join them.
That possibility looks very real, and it could happen quickly Sunday at Soldier Field.
Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores is expected to make life as tough as possible for the Bears’ offense, but Williams has handled this matchup well so far. He has not thrown an interception in four games against the Vikings and Flores’ defense across 145 pass attempts, and Minnesota’s secondary also appeared vulnerable in Week 1.
Whether Ben Johnson, the Bears, or Williams himself are even aware of the company he’s about to join is worth watching. If Williams throws a touchdown pass Sunday, the reaction - whether from the stadium, the broadcast, or somewhere else - will tell the story.
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Bears Face One Huge Question In Maxx Crosby Buzz
Bleacher Reports recent trade buzz put Maxx Crosby in the Bears orbit, naming Chicago as a possible suitor alongside Dallas if the Raiders ever entertained moving the star edge rusher. The fit is easy to see from a Bears standpoint: Crosby would instantly change the conversation about a defense that has been looking for more disruption up front, and his presence would be the sort of addition that alters how opponents game-plan for an entire game.
For now, though, the conversation is mostly hypothetical. Crosby has recently reaffirmed his commitment to Las Vegas, and there are no indications that Chicago and the Raiders are engaged in any active trade talks. Still, the fact that his name is even attached to the Bears is enough to keep the idea simmering, because if the door ever cracked open, this would be the kind of move that could reshape the roster fast. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Already Have One NFC North Rival To Worry About
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Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay all have reasons to believe they can make this a real race, with coaching stability, quarterback play and overall performance shaping the order of the threat list. For Chicago, the margin is thin enough that one hot stretch from the wrong opponent could change the feel of the division fast, even if the Bears remain the standard for now. [Read more 🡒]
Bears May Be Getting The Caleb Williams Protection Boost They Needed
Ozzy Trapilos recovery has become one of the more encouraging developments around Halas Hall as the Bears move toward their divisional matchup with the Vikings. After entering the year with expectations that a patellar tendon injury would keep him out for most or all of last season, Trapilo was listed as a full participant on Chicagos final injury report, a sign he may be ready to rejoin the mix sooner than expected.
For a team trying to settle the left side of its offensive line, that matters. Braxton Jones handled left tackle in Week 1, but Trapilos return could give Chicago another option in front of Caleb Williams and potentially shift how the Bears piece together protection moving forward, especially as the schedule begins to tighten in a divisional stretch. [Read more 🡒]