Bears QB Williams acknowledges his frustration and the impact that losing is having on him

 

[December 19, 2024]  By ANDREW SELIGMAN

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Caleb Williams acknowledged the frustration he is experiencing and the impact all this losing is having on him.

It's not the way the prized quarterback or the Chicago Bears envisioned this season going.

“You talk to yourself,” Williams said Wednesday. “You motivate yourself, you encourage yourself. You have positive affirmations that you say to yourself. With that, it makes the days better, it makes when you’re going through a tough patch, it makes those days a little bit easier rather than pulling yourself down, telling yourself you’re this and that.”

The Bears (4-10) came into the season thinking they were poised to contend for a playoff spot after a busy offseason. They drafted Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, banking on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner to become their franchise quarterback and solidify a position that has haunted them throughout their history. They also acquired six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and drafted Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick, giving them a deep set of wide receivers to go with star DJ Moore.

But instead of climbing in the NFC North, they're buried at the bottom of the division with eight straight losses. Williams has looked particularly shaky the past few games, and if that wasn't bad enough, Detroit (12-2) comes to Soldier Field on Sunday.

Though the Lions have been hit hard by injuries and are coming off a loss to Buffalo that stopped a franchise-record 11-game winning streak, they still are tied for the top seed in the NFC. They haven't lost two straight in more than two years, either.

Williams, meanwhile, looked beaten both physically and mentally in Chicago's 30-12 loss at Minnesota on Monday night. He had just 191 yards after throwing for 134 the previous week at San Francisco and was sacked two more times, bringing his league-leading and franchise-record total to 58.

Williams has seen the Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and then let a coach go in season for the first time in franchise history when they booted Matt Eberflus the day after Thanksgiving following a string of bad late-game decisions. He already has as many losses as a pro as he did in one season at Oklahoma and two at Southern California.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Given all that, it's easy to see why he's turned to positive affirmations. Not that it's been all negative for Williams.

He has put together some promising stretches and done a good job protecting the ball. He has gone eight straight games and an NFL rookie-record 286 passes without an interception — the longest streak by any Bears quarterback.

But in a city where high draft picks Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields flamed out, the beating Williams is taking is setting off more alarms. He rushed through his progressions and was out of sync against Minnesota, just as he was the previous week.

“Every player’s different, so I’m not sure exactly who you’re referring to in the past — you don’t have to tell me,” interim coach Thomas Brown said. “I do believe him when he says that he doesn’t see ghosts.”

One thing Williams does acknowledge? He's frustrated.

“Losing is one of those things that really affects me," he said. "It’s tough. But I do have the understanding of where I’m at in my career and where I’ll be at. Having that understandment is important for me.”

NOTES: RB Roschon Johnson (concussion), who missed the past two games, would have been a full participant Wednesday had the team practiced rather than conduct a walkthrough.

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