There were disconcerting early signs that the Chicago Bears might have been on track to screw up Caleb Williams’ development. This was especially the case after Williams took a beating during a brutal loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football.
Only a few weeks later, those concerns have all but dissipated entirely.
On Sunday, Williams was spectacular as the Bears looked to climb back above .500 against the Carolina Panthers. The rookie No. 1 pick completed 20-of-29 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns (while also rushing for 34 yards) in a performance where he was more or less in rhythm for the entire afternoon in a dominant 36-10 win.
Of particular note was the yardage total. With his second game of at least 300 passing yards this season, Williams is now the first-ever Bears rookie quarterback to throw for 300 yards twice.
Folks, the Bears have existed for over 100 years! He did this in five games. That’s wild!
Caleb Williams is the first Bears rookie quarterback to have multiple games with 300 passing yards in the modern era.
He's played 5 games.
— Brendan Sugrue (@BrendanSugrue) October 6, 2024
What this really illustrates, though, is how quickly Williams can start taking over every major Bears passing record. For a franchise with such a horrible history at quarterback, as long as Williams continues playing up to this potential, truly nothing is out of sight.
In the immediate purview, Williams is comfortably on pace to break:
- Mitchell Trubisky’s rookie passing yards record of 2,193 yards
- Charlie O’Rourke’s rookie passing touchdowns record of 11
And Williams could be in play for:
- Erik Kramer’s single-season passing yards record of 3,838 yards
- The first-ever Bears season of at least 30 touchdown passes
Remember that this doesn’t even include all the career Bears passing records, which won’t be all that hard to break, again, as long as Williams has an expected long and productive career.
Dare I say, in Williams, the Bears might finally have a real franchise quarterback living up to the hype. Who would’ve thought?
What a world. And what a crazy few weeks.