Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears (4-2) flew back from London after their Week 6 win to enjoy their bye week. Recently, Williams started to find his rhythm and has gotten in sync with his offense during their current win streak.

After a rough start to his NFL career, Williams has turned things around. Heading into Week 8, he is beginning to look like the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Using players’ completion percentage and expected points added, Williams has been one of the top four most efficient quarterbacks since Week 3. So what is different about Williams’ passing that has made the Bears become one of the best teams to watch?

Bears’ use of motion is helping Williams

Williams has trouble recognizing defensive coverage, especially when it comes to going against the blitz. Making quick decisions and making the right read on the defense can lead to mistakes and miscommunicated throws. The use of motions helps Williams decipher the defensive assignment and creates better opportunities for success.

The Bears brought in wide receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze so they could create more options for the quarterback. These receivers can create a threat to all opposing teams’ defenses with the use of pre-snap motions. 

Half the battle for the quarterback is reading the defense. Utilizing motion can help Williams decipher the defense and see where players move. In their last game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bears used a pre-snap motion in 84.6% of the pass plays.

Before that, the Bears’ use of motion was close to nonexistent; they only used pre-snap motion 48.7% of the time. The Bears were ranked 27th out of 32 teams in using motion before Week 6.

Plays with pre-snap motion has helped Williams thrive in the NFL. The touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet in that game was possible due to the pre-snap motion. Williams made a good read and delivered a great throw to Kmet because of it. 

Williams is starving for more in the red zone

It is funny how the script flipped on itself. Just a month ago, we all were looking at Williams, wondering why he hadn’t scored a touchdown in his first two games. Since then, Williams has found the end zone consistently, especially in these past two games.

Granted, it was against the Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers, which are two of the worst teams in the NFL. But, Williams still has been able to use that to his advantage and accumulate six touchdowns these past two weeks. 

“Williams is the first rookie quarterback to have zero passing touchdowns in his first two games and then throw for eight or more in his next four at any point in the season since 1950,” per Carmen Vitali of Fox Sports. 

Williams has the most touchdown passes scored by a Bears rookie quarterback in a four-game span, with nine. His red zone improvement is a big reason for the teams three-game win streak.

Williams’ recent efficiency nears the top of the league

After his game against the Jaguars, Williams is ranked first amongst rookie quarterbacks in EPA on red zone throws and throwing against man defenses. EPA is short of expected points added, which helps evaluate team and player performance and compares them to their expectations. This is a great nerdy stat to keep an eye on as the season progresses. 

As mentioned before, Williams is exceeding those expected points, which has propelled him to show how well he has been playing since the first three weeks. Williams’ EPA per dropback in his first three games was all in the negative. It took until their matchup with the Indianapolis Colts that Williams began to find success in the second half. Since then, he has continued to grow and improve. 

His EPA in Week 4 against the was 0.04 with a quarterback rating (QBR) of 106.6. In Week 5, Williams had a 0.43 with a QBR of 126.2. Williams has been in the top five amongst QBs EPA and shows how much he has learned since the beginning of the season. 

Although it has been quiet, Williams is already on an amazing track in his rookie year. Also, Williams became the first Bears quarterback to record three straight 100+ QBR since Jay Cutler in 2009. 

Williams also becomes the second rookie quarterback in the league to record four touchdown passes on 75%+ passing completions and 50 rushing yards. Williams joins former quarterback Robert Griffin III all on this feat. 

The hot Washington Commanders are Williams’ next opponent. The Commanders just scored 40 points in their Week 7 win. There has been lots of national hype around the battle between Williams and his competition for Rookie of the Year, quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has been the front-runner for the award. However, Daniels is listed as week-to-week due to a rib injury. For now, this highly anticipated quarterback showdown may not occur just yet. 

The Bears’ rookie touchdown record is in reach, at 12 passing touchdowns. He goes into the game already scoring nine passing touchdowns within the first six games in his career and can potentially etch his name into the franchise’s record books very soon. 

@Jon_Mathew23

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