Skip to main content
Bear Digest

Caleb Williams Explains His Career-Worst 4 Picks and Remains Unfazed

The Bears quarterback says he'll just keep on firing passes like he did Sunday night, but the Bears have to hope they're completed to the right people next time.
Gene Chamberlain|
Vita Vea gets in Caleb Williams' face on a night when the Bears QB threw four interceptions but Chicago still won.
Vita Vea gets in Caleb Williams' face on a night when the Bears QB threw four interceptions but Chicago still won. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect


Caleb Williams couldn't really explain the nightmare he experienced in Sunday night's final three quarters.

His persistence had to be his strength in this one.

In the end, he came away relieved he had made up for a career-high four interceptions thrown by finding Colston Loveland for a 38-yard completion to set up the game-winning Cairo Santos 38-yard field goal in a 27-24 win over Tampa Bay.

"It's frustrating," Williams said of all the picks. "Two of them tried to be throwaways, one of them I made a dumb decision, and then the last one got tipped up in the air."

Despite those picks and a lost Bears fumble by Luther Burden when he sustained a concussion to set up Tampa Bay's tying points, Chicago prevailed. Williams had the answer as the "Iceman," even if it looked like he was melting away much of the final three quarters.

He said he'll remain undaunted by all of the picks.

"I'm going to throw until I can't throw anymore," Williams said.

On this night, not throwing anymore might have been a good idea except the Bears offense had nothing else going on with 22 rushes for 72 yards. Williams arm, or the threat of it, had to carry them and eventually did.

After his red-hot start with a 9-yard TD pass to Rome Odunze and 56-yarder to Luther Burden, Williams then descended into the muck and Tampa Bay was able to fight back from a 17-3 deficit to tie with Bucky Irving's 6-yard TD. But Williams simply went out and fired the 38-yard pass to wide-open Colston Loveland to set up the winning kick as time expired.

It was Williams' eighth career game-winning drive in the regular season but he didn't want to take too much credit for it after going 22 of 37 for 279 yards.

"I worked my tail off to be in this position," Williams said. "I'll never not throw the ball. I could throw 100 picks in one game. If it comes down to it I'm going to throw that pass that I threw to Colston or if it's a tighter window I'm going to rip it in there.
That's who I am.

"I don't get gun shy. That's not me. That's not my identity. And with that, I'm going to keep ripping it and keep ripping it."

Williams recalled two games in high school and one at Notre Dame when he threw three picks, so this night was an actual all-time career worst.

"I've been through it," he said. "I'm happy that I've been through it. I'm not going to get gunshy. I'm going to find ways to get better."

One positive he saw was how the defense held everything together despite his mistakes. Three first-half interceptions resulted in only three total points.

"Shout out to the special teams, shout out to the defense," Williams said. "Those boys played a hell of a game today. They made big plays when momentum plays happened. They (the defense) went 2 for 12 on third downs and they made two interceptions."

One was Jaylon Johnson's 67-yard pick-6 just when Tampa had closed its 17-3 deficit to 17-13. The Bears still managed to squander the subsequent 24-13 lead but then Williams delivered the game-winning drive. He had just two other completions on the drive, an 8-yarder to Kalif Raymond and 6-yarder to Colston Loveland.

"Any time we can get a win with five turnovers that's huge," Loveland said. "We probably shouldn't have won that but the resilience and everyone playing to the final end whistle, it means a lot for sure, and we came through when we really needed it.

"You can get something from that but we've got so much to clean up."

Ben Johnson said it was a case where the experience they gained last year with so many comebacks and late drives to wins came back to benefitthem.

"It's like I said, one, it's hard to win under those circumstances," he said. "We really haven't been in that situation where in the fourth quarter with little time left, needing to go for a field goal, touchdown, whatever that is, that just hasn't happened this year.

"I feel like our guys we are prepped for that and we're ready for it."

Now they won't need to be sharper for two more weeks as they head into the bye week. Williams will have that performance gnawing at him for 14 days.

That can't be a bad thing.

"We probably shouldn't have won that but the resilience and everyone playing to the final end whistle, it means a lot for sure and we came through when we really needed it," Loveland added.

Add us as a preferred source on Google
Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

Home/News