Can This Bears Quarterback Make Team History?
The Chicago Bears have struggled for a long time on the offensive side of the ball. Despite being an old and historic franchise, they stand out on the poor side of statistical history. The Bears are the only team in the NFL that has not had a quarterback pass for 4,000 yards in a single season. In addition to that, they are alone as the only franchise to never have a 30+ touchdown passer in a single season. However, there is some optimism under new head coach Ben Johnson and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.
In his rookie season this past year, Williams performed well. He had a 62.5% completion percentage, 3,541 yards, 20 passing touchdowns, and only six interceptions. These stats are even more impressive when considering the situation of multiple offensive coordinators and head coaches throughout the season. When comparing these to the marks the Bears have never seen, Williams may seem closer than many would consider to breaking those records. He is less than 500 yards and 10 touchdowns away. While there are plenty of positives, many of the negatives from Williams' rookie season, such as the coaching and poor offensive line play, have been addressed as well.
As previously mentioned, Ben Johnson brings a lot of optimism to this offense. The Bears added to the weapons room to make the offense closer to the potential the Lions had under Johnson. This was mainly done through the draft with talented rookies Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland. In addition to these two, they have returning starters DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet. The Bears are now set to have some of their most talented wide receivers and tight ends that they have had in a long time.
In addition to all of this talent on offense, the offensive line was also completely remade. The overhaul of talent is sure to help give Williams more time to throw. It is at least set to be an improvement from his 68 sacks taken this past year. With the talent of Williams and the rest of the offense, there is sure to be improvement from last year. Only time will tell if all of these moves are enough for the Bears to finally break through these records that have long evaded them.
