Week 10 had all the makings of a get-right game for the Chicago Bears:
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- They were back home for the first time in a month (Week 6).
- They were facing a franchise with a losing record (New England Patriots; 2-7).
- The opponent was starting a rookie quarterback (Drake Maye) against them.
Sportsbooks and analysts alike expected Chicago to end a two-game losing skid on Sunday. Instead, the Bears were humiliated on their own turf, posting only 142 total yards of offense in a 19-3 defeat.
Chicago was a 6.5-point favorite, yet couldn’t manage to score top that amount in the contest. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams completed just 53.3% (16/30) of his passes for 120 yards and – as the final margin indicates – zero touchdowns. His struggles versus the Patriots prompted a blunt but honest assessment of his rookie campaign from Dr. Jesse Morse of The Injury Expertz.
Caleb Williams
He’s been disappointing in my opinion so far.
He was the overall #1 pick and hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Yes it’s only 9 games but he currently averaging
198 passing yards per game
19.7 completions per game
1 passing TD/game
0.55…— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) November 10, 2024
The Bears (4-5) now reside two full games behind the Green Bay Packers for third place in the NFC North. If the Detroit Lions (7-1) beat the Houston Texans (6-3) on Sunday Night Football, Chicago would sit four games back of the Lions for the division’s top spot.
Could Caleb Williams play better down the stretch?
Through the first six weeks of the 2024 campaign, the NFC North was touted as the NFL’s best division. The hype was understandable, as all four of its franchises had winning records at the time. Three of them still do. The Bears are the one team that doesn’t.
This is very problematic for Chicago’s rest-of-season outlook. Williams and Co. have yet to play a divisional contest. Their remaining slate thus consists of seven opponents with winning records:
- Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers (6-3)
- Week 12 vs. Minnesota Vikings (7-2)
- Week 13: at Detroit Lions (7-1; Thanksgiving Day)
- Week 14: at San Francisco 49ers (5-4)
- Week 15: at Minnesota Vikings (7-2; Monday Night Football)
- Week 16: vs. Detroit Lions (7-1)
- Week 17: vs. Seattle Seahawks (4-5; Thursday Night Football)
- Week 18: at Green Bay Packers (6-3)
To describe the stretch as brutal would be an understatement. And according to Pro Football Network, today’s sour result dropped the Bears’ playoff odds to a paltry 1.12%. Barring a miracle, they won’t be playing after Week 18. This means their focus over the next two months revolves entirely around building Williams’ confidence for the future.
Unfortunately, doing so won’t be easy. All of Williams’ remaining opponents, except one, are top-16 units in points allowed per game (Seattle is 23rd). Each of Chicago’s division rivals ranks top 13 in the category.
As Morse mentioned, Williams’ issues aren’t entirely his fault. But the Bears already missed the chance to surround him with an offensive-oriented staff this year. At this point, they have to make it through the season with his confidence intact. Otherwise, they’ll never be able to escape “league laughingstock” status.
