With a 4-3 start, their best since 2020, the Bears have their best record yet with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. While Bears fans are regaining hope, others question whether Williams is the real deal.
There is a tough competition for Rookie of the Year between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, quarterback for the Washington Commanders. When the Commanders beat the Bears, the two quarterbacks had a head-to-head matchup, but Daniels and the Commanders came out on top.
This season Williams has shown potential in their three game win streak when he threw for 687 passing yards, seven touchdowns, one pick, and a 74% completion rate. In two games he threw for more than 300 yards and in one he completed four passing touchdowns.
However, Daniels has had only one game with 300 plus passing yards and no game with four plus touchdowns. Now it’s clear that Daniels has a better offensive line than Williams, as he has been sacked 22 times and Daniels has only been sacked 17 times. The Bears’s offensive line is 5th in most sacks given up in the league while the Commanders are 16th.
The Bears offensive line needs some upgrades if Williams is going to play up to his potential coming out of college. The Bears may need to go out and trade for another lineman. Some options might be Jacksonville’s guard Brandon Scherff, or guards Wyatt Tellier or Joel Bitanio from Cleveland. In addition, in the game against the Commanders, the Bears starting left tackle Braxton Jones and left guard Teven Jankins both left the game with knee injuries. Both are currently week to week.
Sure the Bears offense has been decent this year, but the only thing keeping them at a winning record is their defense. According to Football Reference The Bears defense has allowed only 11 touchdowns this year, the second least in the NFL, and are fourth in points-per-game against at 17.0. The defense also has the seventh most takeaways with 13.
The Bears have an above average defense, but if they did want to make an upgrade to their defensive side, it should be the pass rush as they rank 12th in sacks at 20. Now there are other players that the Bears could trade for on the defensive side like the Raiders’, edge-rusher, Max Crosby, or the Browns’ edge-rusher, Myles Garrett, but the cost for them would be significant.
Another impressive statistic for the Bears is that they have the best RedZone defense and the sixth best third down defense. Against the Commanders, the Bears were able to hold them to four field goals after being in the RedZone four times. In the end, the Bears fell short of winning the game after Daniels threw a 52 yard pass, tipped by the Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson into the hands of Commanders receiver Noah Brown.
With Williams having one of the toughest schedules remaining, and Daniels having one of the easiest, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out. Additionally, Broncos’s quarterback, Bo Nix, also has the potential to win Rookie of the Year. The Rookie of the Year is still up for grabs. Viewers will have to stay tuned to see if Williams is the real deal.