Bear Digest

Caleb Williams reveals secret weapon to avoiding turnovers

One special trait is helping Caleb Williams reach historically low interception numbers.
Pete Martuneac|
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

If the Chicago Bears' surprising run to clinching the 2025 NFC North championship can be explained by one statistic, it would be turnover differential. They're +22 in this category, which leads the NFL by a wide margin, with the vaunted Houston Texans' defense in second at +14.

This statistic, however, is a bit of a double-edged sword for the Bears. One component of their remarkable turnover differential, defensive takeaways, has been dubbed as unsustainable by analysts, and they have a fair point. It's no secret that the Bears have had one of the most improbable seasons of all time, and that includes exceptional turnover luck on defense. However, the other part of their turnover differential, giveaways on offense, is a feature rather than a bug.

The Bears have turned the ball over just ten times, including a league-low six interceptions thrown by quarterback Caleb Williams. He's been on a historic run of taking care of the football and has made NFL history by throwing the fewest interceptions (12) in a quarterback's first 1,000 pass attempts. Through 33 career games, Williams is already second behind only Aaron Rodgers in career touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Talent and teaching to thank for historic interception numbers

Stacey Dales, a reporter for NFL Network, spoke with Williams on Wednesday about how he's been able not to put the ball in harm's way, and Williams at first gave a pretty standard answer. Williams told Stacey, "It's been preached to me consistently and instilled in me throughout the entirety of my career."

However, Williams went on to give another reason why his interception numbers are so low, and what Williams said next should excite Bears fans. Williams referenced something that NFC rival Matt Stafford once said, which is, "Sometimes you throw it hard enough, typically the DB's can't catch it."

Williams knows his strengths and weaponizes them accordingly

Sheer arm strength has long been considered one of Caleb Williams' best traits in football, and it's completely unteachable. He can make throws that most other quarterbacks are physically incapable of even attempting. His crossbody throw to DJ Moore in the endzone against Cleveland is one example, and launching the ball 50 yards downfield to Luther Burden without even using his lower half last Sunday is another.

Now, it sounds like another benefit of the incredible velocity that Williams puts on the ball is that it's moving so fast, defensive backs, who typically don't have the surest hands to begin with, simply can't catch it.

With the playoffs just over a week away, Williams must continue taking care of the ball if the Bears are to advance beyond the Wild Card round. Those historic takeaways on the defensive side aren't likely to continue against the NFL's best teams, so they're going to need Williams and the offense not to waste a single drive.

Caleb William
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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