Strategic Shift: Bears’ Play-Caller Feeling Heat Amid…
The question persists, is it Caleb Williams or is it the Bears?
The problems Williams has experienced as a rookie passer appears a combination of factors, ranging from his own issues quickly going through his progressions and also his sloppy passing mechanics.
However, a struggling offensive line contributes greatly.
But Williams’ breakdown per quarter suggests something else could be at work.
Scoring Struggles to Start Each Half
The Bears have had scoring problems all year in the first quarter of games. Williams has a passer rating of 81.6 then. It’s not even his worst passer rating by quarter, not by a long shot.
The third quarter is when Williams really struggles. He has a 65.7 passer rating then, according to NFL.com. His 55.7% completion rate in third quarters is his worst by quarter, as well.
However, his fourth-quarter passer rating is now a respectable 90.5. This was a real problem for former Bears quarterback Justin Fields, as he ranked bottom five in passer rating for fourth quarters among starters throughout last season and was even worse than many backups.
Frequently a higher fourth-quarter passer rating can be the result of throwing passes underneath coverage in an attempt to play catch-up football while trailing double digits.
The Bears have only been in that situation once, and it was last week.
Strong Fourth-Quarter Efforts
NFL.com tracks fourth-quarter passer rating in games when teams are within seven points and Williams’ rating is 85 then–still not terrible considering the offense’s overall performance.
When a team comes out and struggles immediately in games and then struggles again after they’ve had halftime to make adjustments to their plan, it only points at one place for a problem.
