Bears' Caleb Williams: Sacked nine times in ugly loss
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Williams completed 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards and added 15 rushing yards on two carries in Sunday's 19-3 loss to the Patriots.
While his production was awful, it's a mark in the rookie quarterback's favor that he didn't commit any turnovers on a day in which his injury-ravaged offensive line gave him no protection. Williams was brought down a stunning nine times by a New England defense that came into Sunday with only 16 sacks total on the season through its first nine contests. Over three games since Chicago's Week 7 bye, the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft has been sacked 18 times, and the Bears have lost all three. Unless starting tackles Braxton Jones (knee) and Darnell Wright (knee) get healthy in time, Williams could be running for his life again in Week 11 against Rashan Gary and the Packers.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Clear of ankle injury
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Williams (ankle) wasn't listed on the Bears' first Week 10 injury report posted Wednesday.
Williams injured his left ankle on the Bears' last play of this past Sunday's loss in Arizona, but he said afterward that he expected to be fine moving forward. His activity at Wednesday's practice confirmed as much, paving the way for him to continue leading Chicago's offense Sunday versus the Patriots.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Ankle injury not viewed as concern
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Williams twisted his left ankle on the Bears' final play in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals, but the quarterback said after the game that he'll be alright, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports. "I landed wrong and just kind of tweaked it and [on] the last play, the dude grabbed my ankle and gator rolled," Williams said.
Even though the Bears were trailing by 20 in the final minute of the contest, head coach Matt Eberflus said that he elected to keep Williams in the game to work on the efficiency of the team's two-minute drill. While that decision may look questionable in hindsight, the rookie signal-caller at least seems to have avoided a serious injury. Williams is scheduled to be evaluated Monday, but the expectation is that he'll be ready to go for Week 10 against the Patriots. Williams endured a tough outing against the Cardinals, getting sacked six times while completing 22 of 41 passes for 217 yards and no touchdowns.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Another poor showing
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Williams completed 22 of 41 passes for 217 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in Sunday's 29-9 loss to the Cardinals. He added four rushes for five yards.
Williams continued to face a lot of pressure -- he was sacked six times -- and struggled to connect with his wide receivers. Positively, he didn't turn the ball over, though he otherwise struggled to get the ball moving by averaging just 5.3 yards per attempt. Williams had only one completion of over 20 yards and failed to record a touchdown in his second straight contest and for the fourth time in eight games for his rookie campaign. Coach Matt Eberflus said after the game that Williams tweaked his ankle on the final drive, per Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com, so Williams' practice participation will bear monitoring ahead of Chicago's Week 10 home game against the Patriots.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Sleeper QBs
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Williams is taking advantage of the soft part of his schedule, and he scored a season-high 27.6 Fantasy points against Carolina in Week 5. He gets Jacksonville in Week 6 in London, and he should be considered a low-end starter in all leagues against the Jaguars, who are No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Three quarterbacks in a row (Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, and Joe Flacco) have all scored at least 27.5 Fantasy points against Jacksonville, and hopefully, Williams will continue that trend in Week 6.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Over 300 yards with two TDs in win
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Williams completed 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 36-10 win over the Panthers. He added five rushing attempts for 34 yards.
Williams accumulated 200 first-half passing yards, including touchdown passes of 34 and 30 yards to DJ Moore, as the Bears took a 27-7 lead into the locker room. The mobile rookie quarterback had a one-yard touchdown run nullified by a penalty in the third quarter, so he's still looking for his first career score on the ground, but Williams has tossed five passing TDs in his last three games after failing to produce one across his first two NFL starts. Williams will have a nice opportunity to keep rolling in Week 6, when the Bears face the 1-4 Jaguars in London.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Sleeper QBs
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Kyler Murray and Brock Purdy have abused the Rams defense in the past two games for a combined 558 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions, along with 15 carries for 100 yards. Williams just scored 21.3 Fantasy points in Week 3 at the Colts, and he should have the chance for another quality outing against the Rams at home. He's worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Sleeper QBs
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This will be Williams' best matchup to date after facing the Titans and Texans in the first two games of the season. Indianapolis will not pressure Williams as much as those two teams, and Williams has been sacked nine times already. The Colts kept Malik Willis in check in Week 2, but C.J. Stroud scored 22.7 Fantasy points against Indianapolis in Week 1. This should be Williams' first game with at least 20 Fantasy points, and I like him as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Rookie struggles continue
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Williams completed 23 of 37 pass attempts for 174 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in Sunday's 19-13 loss to the Texans. He was sacked seven times and added 44 rushing yards on five attempts.
Williams improved in some facets following his underwhelming debut against the Titans in Week 1. The first-overall pick from this year's draft matched upstart sophomore C.J. Stroud in terms of completions in the primetime loss, but the latter had far more success on a per-attempt basis. Williams was expected to go through growing pains as a first-year starter, but there have been minimal positives to point to through two games to justify starting him in standard fantasy formats. There should be better days ahead for Williams and a loaded Bears supporting cast, potentially starting with a Week 3 matchup against the 0-2 Colts.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Another preseason start on deck
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Coach Matt Eberflus said Thursday that Williams and all healthy starters will suit up for Saturday's preseason game against the Bengals, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.
Williams looked solid in his preseason debut against the Bills last week, when he led a pair of long drives that each resulted in field goals. He'll get another chance to demonstrate on-field chemistry with receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, plus running back D'Andre Swift and tight end Cole Kmet, at home against Cincinnati on Saturday.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Leads two long drives in NFL debut
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Williams completed four of seven passes for 95 yards and added a 13-yard run in Saturday's 33-6 preseason win over the Bills.
Williams led a pair of long drives in his highly anticipated NFL debut, but both of them stalled out in the red zone as the Bears settled for a pair of field goals. The rookie first overall pick had completions of 42 yards to running back D'Andre Swift and 26 yards to tight end Cole Kmet, but the wide receiver trio of DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze combined for only two catches, both by Moore. Williams will likely get a chance to clean up the red-zone struggles and build chemistry with his receivers in next Saturday's preseason game against the Bengals.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Won't play Thursday
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Williams is among the key Bears' starters not slated to play in Thursday's Hall of Fame Game, Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
With Williams not in line to see action in the team's preseason opener, Tyson Bagent will draw the start at QB versus Houston, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports. Williams' next opportunity to log exhibition snaps will occur Aug. 10, when Chicago faces Buffalo.
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Bears' Caleb Williams: Officially named starting QB
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Coach Matt Eberflus named Williams' the Bears' starting quarterback at rookie minicamp Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of April's draft, was always a lock to start Week 1 over Tyson Bagent or Brett Rypien, but the team has wasted no time making Williams' position official, with Friday being the first day of on-field workouts for rookies. That allows Williams to immediately begin familiarizing himself with Chicago's offensive scheme without having to worry about splitting any reps. He can start establishing chemistry with fellow top-10 selection Rome Odunze during rookie camp, while veterans DJ Moore and Keenan Allen -- who both worked out with Williams and Odunze during the pre-draft process -- stand to arrive at team facilities for the start of OTAs.
