The Chicago Bears are on a three-game losing streak and struggling mightily, with QB Caleb Williams suffering the brunt of the fallout.
Steven Ruiz of “The Ringer” named Williams among his biggest “losers” of the week — not because the quarterback is struggling (although he is, and intensely so) but because of how everything else is falling apart around him.
“The pass protection has been bad, but Williams’s star-studded receiving corps isn’t playing well, either,” Ruiz wrote on Monday, November 11. “Meanwhile, Williams is exacerbating those issues by holding onto the ball too long and missing throws, but these are typical mistakes for a rookie quarterback. A good infrastructure would allow a young quarterback to work around these challenges without being punished too heavily. But Williams has been throttled by every good defense he’s faced. That’s a sign of bad coaching.”
Ruiz gave head coach Matt Eberflus credit for fielding a quality defense, which helped Chicago to a 4-2 start. However, he also contended that Eberflus is losing the locker room (if he hasn’t already lost it) over the current three-game slide.
“Eberflus’s defenses have performed well (just not in end-of-half situations), but his poor game management, bad situational play and questionable taste in offensive coordinators have canceled that out,” Ruiz wrote. “And if he hasn’t lost the locker room yet, we’re not far off from it happening.”
Matt Eberflus, Shane Waldron Could Be on Hot Seat in Chicago
Eberflus indicated after a 16-point loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, during which the Pats defense sacked Williams 9 times, that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron could lose play-calling duties.
NFL draft analyst Todd McShay took to social media to criticize the team’s coaching staff, implying that he sees major changes coming in the near future, which could involve Waldron, Eberflus or both.
“It’s hard to watch what’s going on in Chicago with Caleb,” McShay posted to X on November 10. “It’s even harder when you’re also watching [Jayden Daniels’] success in Washington and the development of [Denver Broncos QB] Bo Nix from Week 1 to now. And even some incremental improvements in [Drake] Maye. Bears organization needs to get the next hire right. Hell or high water.”
Bears Offensive Line Has Been Worst in NFL at Protecting QB Caleb Williams
Williams has now taken 38 sacks on the season, a number that leads the entire NFL.
Eberflus said on Sunday after the loss that Williams will remain the starting quarterback, but that everything else is on the table. Still, it’s difficult to see how coaching changes will all of the sudden get the offensive line healthy and blocking well.
And with the trade deadline having passed six days ago, there is little that Chicago’s front office can do at this point to improve the unit until next offseason. Of course, the team can make changes to its offensive line groupings, but limited options exist due to limited personnel on the roster.
