The Chicago Bears’ promising 2024 season is rapidly disintegrating into one of lost opportunities and diminished hope. Chicago inexplicably dropped a 19-3 decision at home to the beleaguered New England Patriots, and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was left shaking his head on the sidelines.
A video emerged that appeared to show Williams reacting negatively to a discussion with Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Bears have lost three games in a row, and they have not scored a touchdown since their Week 6 35-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Much of the responsibility for Chicago’s offensive downturn has to fall on Williams, since he was the team’s No. 1 pick in last spring’s draft. The Bears have viewed him as a potential leader who could help the team become a regular playoff participant. While the Bears appeared to be headed in the right direction after the Jacksonville victory, the bottom has dropped out in the following three games and the team has fallen into the NFC North cellar with a 4-5 record.
Williams had a difficult time in the loss to the Patriots, as he could not find a rhythm thanks in large part to the pressure he was under from the New England defense. The quarterback completed 16 of 30 passes for just 120 yards. While he was able to avoid throwing any interceptions, his average of 4.0 yards per pass is simply not acceptable.
The Chicago offensive line was overwhelmed much of the game as Williams was sacked 9 times for 51 yards in losses.
Waldron and Eberflus have to share much of the responsibility for the struggling offense
The Bears brought in Waldron in the offseason to work with Williams and build a consistent offense. In addition to drafting Williams, the Bears also selected wideout Rome Odunze and added free agent Keenan Allen to go with returning starter D.J. Moore and tight end Cole Kmet. The expectations were that the Bears would become one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the league.
The Bears were featured on the HBO Hard Knocks series during the summer, and the majority of the episodes focused on Williams and head coach Matt Eberflus. The coach spent much of his time building up the quarterback and telling him how good he could be. However, there was little footage that showed Eberflus, Waldron or any other coaches working on the rookie’s technique and fixing flaws.
Williams certainly appeared dissatisfied with the state of the team and the offense in the loss to the Patriots. He tried to put a positive spin on the team’s ability to get to top form.
“We know how good we are, we know how good we can be,” Williams said. “And right now we’re not executing, we’re not hitting on cylinders and we have all the confidence in each other, to be honest with you.”
