An eight-game losing streak has rookie quarterback Caleb Williams battered physically and mentally.
The No. 1 overall pick was sacked twice more in Monday night's 30-12 road loss in Minnesota, taking his tally on the year to 58, third-most by a rookie since 1970. He's been sacked multiple times in 13 of 14 games.
Then there is the losing. The eight-game skid is tied for the second-longest streak within a season in franchise history. The Bears have sunk from 4-2 at their Week 7 bye to 4-10, securing their fourth consecutive season with 10-plus losses.
Williams, who looked frustrated and in pain on the bench early in the fourth quarter after taking a big shot on a fourth-down prayer, is trying to find the light through the fog of losing.
"It's been frustrating and encouraging," Williams said, . "I would say the frustrating part is obviously we're on a -- how many games now, eight? -- yeah, eight-game losing streak. Like I've said before, it's new to me. I haven't experienced anything like this. That's the frustrating part. The encouraging part is how much we fight as a team.
"The encouraging part is us as a team ... being able to go through all of what's happened this year. Me not playing well at the beginning of the season and feeling like I was seeing it well and then being able to find ways to keep growing, keep progressing through those times that I was frustrated. Coaches getting fired and all of this stuff going on, 4-10 right now. Being able to wake up, be consistent, do that every day with how it's been going is encouraging for me. It's encouraging for this team and we've got to keep going. It's been encouraging but also frustrating for myself."
Whether it's from all the hits, coaching, simply being a rookie or a moribund combination, Williams continues to be slow on the trigger, missing open targets when he does have time to throw. Monday night, he faced pressure on 42.9 percent of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. Some of that is on the offensive line, with rookie Kiran Amegadjie getting beat several times in his first start in place of Braxton Jones. Some of it is on Williams, who struggles to find easy answers and invites pressure by holding onto the pigskin.
The Bears were particularly bad on third downs Monday night, going 1-of-12. Williams went 2-of-7 passing for 34 yards with two sacks, a fumble, and two scrambles on the key down. He was pressured on 8 of 11 third-down dropbacks (73 percent), the highest rate faced on third down this season.
Williams said that mentally, he's fine but noted that the hits are stacking up.
"Let's put it in this context," Williams said. "Say you get in three car accidents in a month, you're going to feel it. That's what a hit is in football. ... Getting hit, especially when you can't deliver a hit to somebody as in like run the ball, you take those over an amount of time and it builds up."
The losing is building up as the Bears can't get out of their own way. The firing of Matt Eberflus didn't stem the tide of mental issues. Under Thomas Brown, the Bears are 0-2, with each loss by 18-plus points. Monday night's biggest bungle was a touchdown getting wiped off the board because backup offensive lineman Doug Kramer forgot to report as eligible when he lined up in a fullback position before a D'Andre Swift 1-yard TD run. The penalty wiped out the score and the Bears ultimately settled for a field goal instead of cutting the Vikings' lead in half midway through the third quarter.
"100 percent on me," Kramer said. "Forgot to report. Ran on the field, clock was running down, got in the huddle and ran the play. It's an unacceptable mistake. Obviously, I apologized to all my teammates, everyone on the offense. Things like that can't happen."
They seem to happen regularly with the 2024 Chicago Bears.
