By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday for his performance in the team’s 31-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
Williams returned from a three-game absence caused by a hamstring injury and completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers, posting a 111.2 passer rating, according to the team’s website.
His 83.3 completion percentage was the highest in a game in Bears history by a quarterback with at least 30 attempts. Williams completed his first 12 passes of the game, the longest streak of his career, and engineered touchdown drives on the Bears’ first two possessions.
Williams went 10 of 10 for 122 yards and one touchdown in staking the Bears to an early 14-0 lead they never relinquished, according to chicagobears.com. His 14-yard scoring pass to tight end Colston Loveland on the opening drive made him just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for 50 career touchdowns before throwing 15 interceptions, joining Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.
From a clean pocket, Williams completed 24 of 24 passes for 248 yards, the most attempts without an incompletion from a clean pocket in a game by an NFL quarterback since at least 2018, according to Next Gen Stats.
This is the second NFC Player of the Week honor for Williams, who also won the award in Week 3 of last season after posting a 142.6 passer rating in a victory over the Dallas Cowboys. His two awards tie Jay Cutler for the most by a Bears quarterback. No Bears signal-caller has won the award more than twice.
With running back D’Andre Swift having earned the honor in Week 1, the Bears have two NFC Offensive Player of the Week winners in the first six weeks of a season for the first time in franchise history, according to chicagobears.com.
Williams downplayed the significance of the game in comments made Tuesday.
“I’ve had some pretty cool games in my career,” Williams said. “It was cool getting back. But I think it was just kind of another game for me.”
The Bears improved to 4-2 with the win in Atlanta and hosted the New England Patriots on Thursday night at Soldier Field. Williams led the team to a 5-2 record with a victory over the Patriots, according to the Bears’ game recap.
The award capped a standout return for Williams, who had not played since injuring his hamstring in a Week 2 game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 20. The Bears went 2-1 in his absence behind quarterbacks Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent.
Williams’ performance against Atlanta reinforced his standing as a franchise cornerstone in his second NFL season.
Source: Chicago Bears News
