Chicago Bears' Matt Eberflus on Caleb Williams' Injury in Loss to Arizona Cardinals

Former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears embarrassingly dropped their second consecutive game. The 29-9 defeat against the Arizona Cardinals produced in a historically bad pass-protection game that resulted in a late-game Williams injury.

Oct 27, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) celebrates after the Bears scored a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders at Commanders Field. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

After a career-best showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, former USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears were flying high and sitting at 4-2 heading into a bye week. Since then, the Bears are 0-2, including a heartbreak hail-mary loss to fellow rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Sunday's 29-9 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals, where the Bears were not just throttled, they were utterly embarrassed. 

“I want to be able to help this team win. I want to be able to help the Chicago Bears reach their goals at the end of the season,” said Caleb Williams after the game. 

Nov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) scrambles against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Williams remained in the game late in the fourth quarter, and he left the field with an apparent limp. However, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said the rookie quarterback's injury is nothing too serious.

"And I know questions will be about Caleb. I did see him, he limped off there a little bit. He came in, he looks to be fine. We will check him in the morning. You never know how those things go," said Eberflus when asked about Caleb’s health status in the post-game press conference. 

Caleb Williams appears to limp off the field as the Bears fall to the Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/YctjoP7UQb

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 4, 2024

Williams finished the game completing 22 of 41 passes for 217 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. The story is in the game plan, or lack thereof, from coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The Arizona Cardinals, who came into the game ranked No. 28 in yards per game allowed at 376.5 yards, were able to hold the Bears to 241 total yards. Even more notable is the pass-rush generation and how that affected Williams, who was sacked six times. 

In the first half alone, the Cardinals were able to generate quarterback pressure from twelve different defenders. According to Next Gen Stats, that’s the most in a half over the last two seasons. The Cardinals finished with a whopping 16 different players that generated pressure, which is the most in an NFL game since 2018. Coming into the game, the Cardinals were only producing a pressure rate of 26.6 percent but were able to raise that to 46 percent on Sunday.

The game of football is physical, and there’s never going to be anything, no matter how hard the rule changes, trey, that changes that. Regardless, having foresight and discernment are integral to a team’s decision-makers, especially regarding their prized first-overall pick rookie quarterback. So what was Caleb Williams still in the game taking unnecessary punishment down 29-9? Lack of leadership is the answer.

Twelve different Cardinals pass rushers generated a pressure in the first half against the Bears, the most by any team in the first half of a game over the last two seasons.

L.J. Collier & Xavier Thomas (2 each) were the only pass rushers with multiple.#CHIvsAZ | #BirdGang

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 3, 2024

“I'm sorry, this just does not make sense to me. This is your rookie quarterback...I don't think he should have been out there for the two minutes," said CBS analyst Charles Davis in the closing moments of the game as Williams continued to take punishment for no apparent reason.

Williams wasn’t without his faults today. The difference is the utter lack of adjustment from the staff. Where there were positives to take away from the Commanders game, like the fourth-quarter dominance that helped them take the lead with seconds remaining, there were none of those moments today. The only saving grace is that Williams made it out relatively healthy. When Williams was confusingly still in the un-winnable game late, he was hit low and injured his ankle.

Williams has habits to grow out of, undoubtedly. His deep-ball accuracy is lacking. Williams's elusiveness in the pocket probably saved four or five sacks today, but he also has to realize he can’t get away with the same things he did in college. 

It’s hard to find the fine line because the best plays today for the Bears’ offense were because of that improvisation, but that’s towards the bottom of the list when evaluating the Bears’ offense. Changes need to be made and fast. 

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