Caleb Williams’ return from injury came with a major reward: NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 6.
The honor looks even bigger when you stack it against the numbers Williams put up. He finished 30-for-36 for 305 yards, one touchdown, no turnovers, and a 111.2 passer rating.
That works out to an 83.3% completion rate, which is the best of his NFL career. It’s a sharp contrast from the 58.1% he posted over the course of last season.
At this point, Williams also sits atop the league in completion percentage among qualified quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks, a place he’s never occupied before.
The Bears are stacking milestones around their quarterback, too. D’Andre Swift won player of the week after Chicago’s Week 1 shootout with the Carolina Panthers, giving the team two different player of the week selections through the first six weeks of the season. That had never happened in franchise history.
For Williams, this is the second time he’s earned the award. His first came after Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys last season. The only other Bears quarterback to win it twice is Jay Cutler.
The celebration won’t last long. Chicago has a short week ahead, and the New England Patriots are next on the schedule. They started slowly, but have since picked things up.
Ben Johnson has the Bears playing with a winning edge that Chicago hasn’t had in years, and Williams looks like the quarterback built to drive it. If this week was any indication, this may not be the last trophy he adds in 2026.
In Other News...
Bears Win Felt Huge But Two Problems Should Worry Fans
The Bears got the kind of win that can steady a locker room, outlasting the Patriots 30-24 in a game that featured contributions all over the field. Kyler Gordon made his presence felt on defense with a sack and several tackles, DAndre Swift gave the offense a physical edge on the ground, and Caleb Williams was sharp enough in the fourth quarter to help close it out.
Still, the victory did not erase the stuff that can haunt a team later. Chicago was loose enough in spots to create some early frustration, and Rome Odunzes day summed up the range of emotions nicely, with one rough moment offset by a late play when the Bears needed it most. The result counts the same in the standings, but the sloppier stretches are the part the coaching staff will keep circling back to. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Williams May Have Found What The Bears Needed Most
Caleb Williams is back from the hamstring injury, and through two starts he has given the Bears something they have been searching for all season: steadiness at quarterback. He has completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 613 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while looking more comfortable operating from the pocket and showing the kind of ball security Chicago has lacked too often.
What has stood out just as much is the way Williams has changed his game since returning. He has dialed back his running, a sensible adjustment as he works around the injury, and the result has been a cleaner, more controlled version of the offense. For a Bears team still trying to find its identity, the bigger question now is whether this more efficient approach is a short-term fix or the start of something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Win Showed Why Their Young Core Suddenly Feels Different
The Bears Week 7 win over the Patriots pushed them to 5-2, but the bigger takeaway was how many young players looked ready for the moment. Colston Loveland kept finding ways to matter, Dillon Thieneman added impact plays, and Kyler Gordon helped steady a defense that was still missing some familiar pieces. For a team that has spent plenty of time building toward this kind of depth, the victory felt like another reminder that the roster is starting to look different in a meaningful way.
Luther Burden was part of that shift too, providing one of the explosive plays that can change a game in a hurry, and the Bears got another important contribution from DMarco Jackson while he filled in for T.J. Edwards. Chicago did not just survive against New England with its established names carrying the load. It got real production from younger pieces across the lineup, which is the kind of development that can make a midseason win feel bigger than the standings suggest. [Read more 🡒]