Bears QB Caleb Williams must use 4-interception game vs. Buccaneers to to keep growing

With quarterback Caleb Williams back on the field the past month, it’s been clear the Bears go as he goes.

When he’s sharp, as he mostly has been, the offense can thrive against anyone. When he’s not, like in his brutal performance Sunday, it’s nearly impossible to stop spiraling.

The Bears were on their way to blowing out the woeful Buccaneers until Williams started throwing interceptions. He veered off track and took the offense with him in a game that was so ugly that Bears coach Ben Johnson said he was “grateful” to win 27-24 on Cairo Santos’ last-second field goal.

They plunged after taking an early 14-0 lead, and Williams finished with a career-high four interceptions as he completed 22 of 37 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns for a 61.5 passer rating.

Williams likely would disagree, but he appeared to get carried away by how unstoppable he had been lately. He carved up the Falcons, Patriots and Seahawks like he was playing a video game and might’ve been overconfident when it came to tight windows, off-balanced throws and general freewheeling.

“The four interceptions, there are a couple where [he] didn’t see the coverage quite as well as we would’ve liked,” coach Ben Johnson said Monday. “There’s a couple where we’re making attempts to avoid disaster and we didn’t [burn] it and [live] on for the next play.”

Johnson also repeatedly credited Bucs coach Todd Bowles and his fourth-ranked defense and said, “There will be [mistakes] for us to put in our memory bank and draw from next time we go against a team like that.”

Williams opened 11-of-16 passing for 150 yards with two touchdowns for a 138.0 passer rating and had the Bears on the verge of a three-score lead before the interceptions started.

On second-and-goal from the Bucs’ 21-yard line, Williams threw what he called a “greedy” pass to Rome Odunze in the end zone rather than hit Luther Burden open underneath, and safety Tykee Smith raced in front of Odunze for the interception.

That began a freefall for Williams and the offense. Williams followed his strong start by completing just 11 of 21 passes for 129 yards and four interceptions, and the Bears’ two dominant drives to start the game faded as they managed two field goals in 12 possessions after that.

The Bears missed a chance to bury the Bucs by halftime, then went the entire third quarter without picking up a first down. The rushing attack fizzled, too, and running backs D’Andre Swift and Salvon Ahmed combined to average 2.8 yards per carry.

“We got out of rhythm as an offense,” Johnson said.

The Bucs pulled within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and tied it with three minutes left.

Williams had a rough night, but context is everything. This wasn’t the cause for alarm it would’ve been at any point in his first two seasons.

Whereas predecessor Justin Fields’ five-turnover game against the Bucs in 2021 fit a pattern, Williams’ dud against them Sunday was an outlier — especially this season.

Before Sunday, Williams had thrown interceptions on just 1.1% of passes for his career. Aaron Rodgers was at 1.2% in his prime. Williams has earned enough credibility that the occasional poor performance doesn’t raise questions about whether he’s the Bears’ future.

And, zeroing back in on Sunday itself, he was essential to the winning drive. Williams got tremendous help from his defense, including a pick-six by Jaylon Johnson, but the Bears wouldn’t have won without his 38-yard pass to tight end Colston Loveland with 40 seconds left.

Teams have to take the good with the bad when young quarterbacks are developing, and Williams has shown promise, but he’s not a finished product yet. By no means does he get a free pass for Sunday, but he’s put forth a lot more good than bad.