The Chicago Bears are entering December on the highest of highs, kickstarting Week 14 as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. There's a lot of football that's left to be played in the regular season, and if the Bears want to be a legit threat in the postseason, they are going to need quarterback Caleb Williams to step up.
Although the Bears have won five straight games, they've been able to get these victories due to their stellar ground attack. But for them to beat the better teams down the line, Williams and the passing game need to get better.
Bears Will Need Caleb Williams to Elevate His Play Down the Stretch
Head coach Ben Johnson spoke to members of the media on Monday about the shaky passing attack, but he didn't put all the fault on Williams. Instead, he made it clear that everyone needs to step up, but they aren't content with how things have gone (h/t @danwiederer):
"Everybody has a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up. It's not where it needs to be. We're winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. And none of us are pleased with that."Ben Johnson, Bears HC
Johnson continued to talk about what's been going wrong. He pointed out that the QB needs to throw it to the primary receiver when they are open, while also saying the pass catchers need to be more precise with their route depth and steps.
Another cause of concern is that Williams has completed less than 60% of his passes in eight of his last nine games. It was also highlighted by NFL researcher John Todd that Williams has eight wins with a sub-60 completion percentage, while no other NFL player has more than three. Even if the Bears have been surviving so far, that isn't a long-term recipe for success.
An interesting nugget is that in the last 20 seasons, the only other players to have 8-plus such wins in that manner have reached the Super Bowl (Cam Newton 2015, Eli Manning 2007, and Rex Grossman 2006). This fact will get the attention of the fans positively, but like Johnson has pointed out, the passing attack needs to improve. The Bears can't rely on historical trends to win the Lombardi Trophy.
The Bears have been able to run the ball very efficiently, but when the games get tighter, teams will load up the box to shut down the run if they don't like the passing attack can beat them. Granted, the weather played a factor in the passing game against the Eagles, but Williams still needs to find a way to navigate it.
The games are only going to get tougher from here on out, and for the Bears to have the best chance possible, Williams will need to elevate his play.