Chicago Bears’ Matt Eberflus on Caleb Williams’ injury after loss to Arizona Cardinals

After one career-best showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago bears were flying high and sat at 4-2 heading into a bye week. Since then, the Bears are 0-2, including an affectionate loss to a fellow rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Sunday’s 29-9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, where the Bears were not only throttled, but completely embarrassed.

“I want to be able to help this teamN. I want to be able to help the Chicago Bears achieve their goals at the end of the season,” Caleb Williams said after the game.

Williams remained in the game late in the fourth quarter and he left the field with an apparent limp. However, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said the starting quarterback’s injury is nothing serious.

“And I know there will be questions about Caleb. I saw him, he kind of staggered out of there. He came in, he seems fine. We’ll check him in the morning. You never know how these things are going to go,” Eberflus said when asked about Caleb’s health status during the post-game press conference.

Williams finished the game completing 22 of 41 passes for 217 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. The story is in the game plan, or lack thereof, of coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Arizona Cardinals, who came into the game ranked No. 28 in yards per play allowed at 376.5 yards, were able to hold the Bears to 241 yards. Even more notable is the pass-rush generation and its consequences for Williams, who was sacked six times.

In the first half alone, the Cardinals were able to generate quarterback pressure from twelve different defenders. According to Next Gen Stats, that is the most in half of the past two seasons. The Cardinals finished with a whopping 16 different players generating pressure, which is the most in an NFL game since 2018. Going into the game, the Cardinals were only producing a 26.6 percent pressure rate, but were able to increase that up to 46 percent. Sunday.

The game of football is physical, and nothing will ever be there no matter how much the rule changes, Trey, that changes that. Either way, foresight and discernment are essential for a team’s decision-makers, especially when it comes to their prized starting quarterback selected first overall. So what was Caleb Williams still in the match taking unnecessary penalties at 29-9? Lack of leadership is the answer.

“I’m sorry, this just doesn’t make sense to me. This is your starting quarterback…I don’t think he should have stayed there for those two minutes,” CBS analyst Charles Davis said in the closing moments of the game, as Williams continued to take punishment for no apparent reason.

Williams was not without mistakes today. The difference is the total lack of adjustment of the staff. While there were positives to take away from the Commanders game, such as the fourth quarter dominance that helped them take the lead with seconds left, there were none of those moments today. The only saving grace is that Williams emerged relatively healthy. While Williams was confusingly still going late in the unwinnable match, he was hit low and injured his ankle.

Williams undoubtedly has habits he needs to grow out of. His deep ball accuracy is lacking. Williams’ elusiveness in the pocket probably saved four or five sacks today, but he also needs to realize he can’t get away with the same things he did in college.

It’s hard to find the fine line because today’s best plays for the Bears’ offense came from that improvisation, but that’s at the bottom of the list when evaluating the Bears’ offense. Changes need to happen, and quickly.