By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday after completing 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers in the team’s 31-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the team announced.
Williams posted an 83.3 completion percentage in the game, the highest in Bears history by a quarterback with at least 30 attempts, according to the team’s website. He returned from a three-game absence caused by a hamstring injury and delivered a 111.2 passer rating.
The second-year quarterback engineered touchdown drives on the Bears’ first two possessions, completing 10 of 10 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown to stake the team to an early 14-0 lead it never relinquished, according to the team. He connected on his first 12 attempts overall, the longest streak of his career.
Williams completed 24 of 24 passes for 248 yards from a clean pocket, according to Next Gen Stats. That marked the most attempts without an incompletion from a clean pocket in a game by an NFL quarterback since at least 2018.
“That tells me shout out to the O-line,” Williams said, according to the team’s website. “That tells me shout out to the running backs for when they had to pick up blitzes, they picked up and picked up well. Then shout out to the wide receivers for running great routes and being decisive in their routes and allowing me to give them a good ball.”
With his 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland on the game’s opening drive, Williams became 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.
The award is the second NFC Player of the Week honor for Williams, who was also recognized in Week 3 of last season after passing for 298 yards and four touchdowns in a win over the Dallas Cowboys. His two awards tie Jay Cutler for the most by a Bears quarterback.
With running back D’Andre Swift having earned the honor in Week 1, this marks the first time two Bears players have been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in the first six weeks of a season.
Williams credited advice from Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who told him before the season opener that finding just three more completions per game is the difference between a 60 percent and 70 percent passer. Through three starts this season, Williams leads the NFL with a 72.5 completion percentage after finishing last season ranked 32nd at 58.1 percent.
“I said that I could do it, and we’re going to keep figuring out how to keep getting to that,” Williams said, according to the team’s website.
The Bears now prepare for a short-week matchup against the New England Patriots on Thursday night at Soldier Field. Right guard Jonah Jackson is expected to play after exiting the Falcons game with hip and quadriceps issues, the team announced Tuesday. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m.
Source: Chicago Bears News
