CHICAGO — With 39 seconds to go in the first half, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams shouted what he saw to teammate Keenan Allen.
The Detroit Lions looked like they were going to be in a Cover 2 defense. Allen, the six-time Pro Bowl receiver, ran a double move. It’s a route, Williams said, the two have practiced many times. Detroit cornerback Terrion Arnold bit, and Allen blew past him.
“The corner kind of played it a little aggressive,” Allen said. “Had an out and was able to beat him inside. Perfect ball. Was able to catch it and run.”
Right tackle Darnell Wright kept Williams’ front side clean as the rookie threw a perfect pass to Allen between Arnold and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. Allen did the rest en route to a 45-yard touchdown, the longest for Williams this season.
That’s a DIME for 6 😮💨#ProBowlVote + @CALEBcsw #ProBowlVote + @Keenan13Allen pic.twitter.com/R8asEtINIW
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 22, 2024
And all it did was cut the Lions’ lead to 27-14 on the way to a 34-17 loss.
Once again, we’re left parsing the stats and throws for a Bears rookie quarterback in a lopsided loss, trying to decide: Does it matter?
When it’s fourth-and-1 in the third quarter and Williams floats a jump ball to Rome Odunze for a 30-yard gain when the deficit is 20 points, is that growth?
In the fourth quarter, when Williams hit Allen on three consecutive throws for 42 yards while the Lions were up 34-17, is that a silver lining or a moment to clutch ahead of 2025?
Say it with us: ROMEEEEE ODUUUUUNZE
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/nJskUTJ9YG
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 22, 2024
“I think he played well,” Allen said. “Being resilient, just playing the whole game, getting better throughout the game. I thought the offense tried to do a good job of staying on the field, making some plays happen. Would definitely have loved to score more than we did.”
Williams and the Bears have now lost nine in a row. His streak without an interception is also nine games. No quarterback had ever gone that many games in a row without a pick and not won.
The Bears’ win-loss record is what Williams cares most about, but he can still see progress.
“Obviously, you can see the growth and if we are talking about myself — even from last game, some of the routes and … things like that,” he said. “Just believing in the guys and believing in the concepts that are being called. And then throughout this whole season, the growth that I would say I’ve had and then the growth that we’ve had on offense and being able to fight through all of what’s been going down for us.”
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Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes, including the game-winner to topple the Eagles. That makes it a little harder to say, “Hey, the accuracy of that slant on fourth down while trailing by two scores against Lions backups is why the Bears are set up well for the future.”
One of the things about playing quarterback, and playing in the NFL, is it’s hard to fake it. It’s OK for both things to be true. Williams played better Sunday than he did last Monday night. He made some big-time, NFL throws in tight windows. Whether it came against Lions backups or the ’85 Bears, his precision was on display during five consecutive drives with multiple first downs.
Tight end Cole Kmet, ever the realist, isn’t interested in moral victories. He’s now been a part of the two longest losing streaks in franchise history — 2022 and present.
“I’m kind of done doing that. I’ve been through this now,” he said. “Two years ago, you’re trying to find positives through things. It’s hard for me to be real and find positives when you lose 34-17.”
Still, Kmet understands that while the macro remains a problem, the micro of making sure Williams is improving is valuable, even in a stretch like this.
“It’s important for younger guys to take steps up and it’s cool to see Caleb being able to do that,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s 34-17. Just not good enough.”
On the first play of the game, instead of the usual handoff to running back D’Andre Swift, Williams threw to Allen, but the pass was behind the receiver and fell incomplete. Three plays later, the Bears punted on their opening drive for the 11th time in 15 games. They had a scoreless first quarter again, the 11th time and fourth in a row.
Unlike the last two games, Williams led scoring drives in the first half. The Bears did end that drought.
Williams passed for 334 yards, his fourth 300-yard game this season, tying a franchise record. He became the first Bear since Mitch Trubisky in 2019 to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He’s now sixth in team history for passing yards in a season.
The Bears turned it over twice in a game for the first time since Week 3. Williams took responsibility for one of those, a fumbled exchange between Odunze and him.
“Going versus a team like that, you can’t have those moments,” Williams said. “Whether it was the fumble, the first fumble between Rome and I. Me putting it away right in the middle so it’s not near his hip so he can clamp down on it.”
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But Williams isn’t to blame for Odunze losing the ball at the end of a 19-yard catch, or losing both his left tackle and left guard to injuries. The Bears committed 10 penalties and have 61 on offense this season, the third most in the NFL and most for the team since 2004.
He’s had to navigate a fired play caller and a fired head coach. He’s experiencing losing unlike even some of the worst Bears teams of all time. And he’s still out there in the fourth quarter, running around and trying to make a play.
What difference does it all make? Williams has two games left against teams with something to play for. The Bears haven’t held a lead since Nov. 24. They haven’t been within a touchdown after halftime since Thanksgiving.
It can be argued that Williams’ last meaningful snap with the game in the balance was the final play of the Matt Eberflus era.
Have we still seen enough throws that can matter, though? Williams has a lot to improve, and he can look to the opposite sideline for inspiration. Jared Goff’s rookie season was a disaster. It also included an in-season firing. The next year, with coach Sean McVay, he went 11-4 and was in the Pro Bowl.
As the Bears’ front office embarks on a coaching search, their biggest selling point is Williams. We’ve seen young Bears quarterbacks make impressive plays in meaningless games at the end of lost seasons. Williams’ throws look different. You don’t have to watch his throws over and over again to convince yourself of it.
What “it” is, though, is still uncertain. The Bears sure hope that every highlight is a sign that, for once, quarterback isn’t the team’s question mark.
(Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
