“They Could Put You Behind the Great Wall of China”: Shannon Sharpe Decodes Caleb Williams’ 7-Sack Game Against the Seahawks

For the second straight week, Amazon’s Thursday Night Football crew witnessed no touchdowns. There were half as many field goals this go-round as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Chicago Bears 6-3.

Viewers were understandably bummed with the lack of offense, especially in fantasy championship week. However, no group was more disappointed than Bears fans. Quarterback Caleb Williams threw for just 122 yards and took seven sacks in the game. He also tossed the game-sealing interception after his coaching staff once again bungled the clock in the final minute of regulation.

You could see Williams’ frustration at how things unfolded. After the game, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson discussed Williams’ tendency to take sacks on Nightcap. Sharpe understands players in Williams’ mold will get sacked, but he wants him to improve at avoiding such setbacks.

“A lot of times, mobile quarterbacks get themselves in trouble feeling that they can escape everything… [but] he’s gonna have to do a better job because they can’t protect you all [that time]. They could put you behind the Great Wall of China. But at some point in time, you’re gonna have to find a way to get rid of the football and not take those unnecessary sacks.”

Williams has been sacked a league-high 67 times this season. Some of those can be attributed to his offensive line, but Williams’ propensity to extend plays often puts his linemen at a disadvantage. In Johnson’s mind, Chicago’s scheme also isn’t helping matters.

Chad Johnson: “You’ve gotta run the quick game”

When he was drafted, analysts proclaimed Caleb Williams was entering perhaps the best situation for a No. 1 pick in NFL history. It’s safe to say things haven’t turned out as projected. Chicago fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus in November and Williams has failed to eclipse 200 passing yards in three of his past four showings.

The bottom line? There’s nothing on the Bears’ offense being maximized right now. As difficult as it is to make adjust to so much turnover, Johnson believes Chicago has to utilize a faster passing attack to be successful.

“If the offensive coordinator and head coach know the offensive line is as bad as it is… you’ve gotta run the quick game… you’ve got to be able to get the ball out of Caleb’s hands as fast as possible. Help him… there’s so many different things you can do from a creative standpoint to not only help Caleb Williams, but help the offensive line… that they’re just not doing.”

The Bears’ biggest passing gain of the night did come on a screen to D’Andre Swift. That sort of action is what Johnson has been asking to see more of from Chicago.

Unfortunately, these changes have been too little too late to have an impact on the 2024 Bears. But carrying some positives like this into 2025 can only mean good things for Williams’ second-year development.