When the Chicago Bears selected Caleb Williams with the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the expectation was that he would become the first quarterback in team history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Maybe not as a rookie, but... soon.
That 'soon' could be this season.
Williams is having a fantastic Year 2 in the NFL, thanks to his Year 1 under head coach Ben Johnson.
The 2024 most-sacked QB in the league has cut down his sack rate, he's protecting the football, and when the going gets tough in crunch time, it's Williams who is rising to the top.
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Caleb Williams has the Bears sitting at 7-3 and in first place in the NFC North. Obviously, that's all that really matters to Bears Nation. But if we're being honest, it would be really cool if he could throw for 4,000 yards in what feels like a season that could end with Chicago earning a trip to the playoffs.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) reacts
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Williams enters Week 12 with the following passing stat line:
Passing yards: 2,329
Passing touchdowns: 13
Interceptions: 4
Here's how that stat line extends over a 17-game season:
Passing yards: 3,959
Passing touchdowns: 22
Interceptions: 7
Would that end-of-year box score be a disappointment for Chicago Bears fans? Probably not.
Sure, at his current pace, Caleb Williams will fall just shy of 4,000 passing yards, but he would topple Erik Kramer's single-season passing yards record of 3,838 yards set in 1995. Kramer would hold onto his touchdown pass record (29), also set in 1995.
To throw for 4,000 yards in a 17-game schedule, a quarterback must top 235 passing yards per game. Williams is right there, literally. He's currently throwing for 232 yards per game.
This razor-thin margin can be made up with one 300-yard game, which could come as soon as Week 12's matchup against the Steelers, who boast the NFL's worst pass defense.
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