Bear Digest

Road Heat Quickly Becomes Worst Kind for Caleb Williams to Face

Blitzes have been particularly effective against Caleb Williams in road games, and by defenses who know how to use them, but it's questionable if Arizona can do this effectively.

Gene Chamberlain

Jalyn Holmes sacks Caleb Williams in Sunday's 18-15 Bears loss to the Commanders.
Jalyn Holmes sacks Caleb Williams in Sunday's 18-15 Bears loss to the Commanders. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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Caleb Williams can expect to be blitzed Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

It's not so much the fact he's being blitzed that should concern the Bears, but the fact they're on the road and being blitzed that is important.

The Cardinals defense Williams faces is anything but your standard approach.

"Their defense has done a good job of really mixing things up and creating some confusion for a lot of offenses," coach Matt Eberflus said. "That's a very unique defensive style, but we're going to focus on those guys."

It can't be too effective because Arizona ranks 27th on defense and 26th against both the pass and run, but their disguising tactics and unusual alignments can cause problems. They'll frequently have players on defense moving around extensively at the snap or just before it. The Bears have referred to it as a "blurry" look.

"Well, starting with (safety) Budda Baker and then the ability to move around (LB Zaven) Collins or their different pieces with (OLB Mack) Wilson in not normal alignments," offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said. "They might be a defensive line alignments. They might be a linebacker alignments, so they can mix and match.

"I think coach (Nick) Rallis has a unique scheme, so it's something we honed in on starting to work on it Monday and then all the way we through. It will be a good challenge to attack."

The blitz is not something the Cardinals normally do. They're nearly last, 30th in blitz percentage. However, they're probably going to make an exception for Williams.

It's rather obvious Williams is at his worst throwing on the road against the blitz but especially under pressure in a road game.

When he's blitzed in road games, he's 15 of 34 for 169 yards with an interception, a touchdown and a 57.11 passer rating according to Pro Football Focus game statistics. He's especially ineffective simply being pressured in road games regardless of the blitz, and with the Bears offensive line health situation this is particularly important. He is 17 of 28 for 135 yards with a touchdown pass and three interception when pressured for a 45.09 rating.

Williams is a completely different passer against both pressure and the blitz at home.

His passer rating against the blitz in games when he has been at home is 112.92 (22 of 35, 251 yard, three TDs, 0 interceptions). When he's pressured at home regardless of blitz, he has a 95.19 passer rating but is less accurate at 11 of 26 for 121 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.

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The real key behind all of this is the quality of defense he faced.

None of the four home opponents—including the Jaguars in a game when the Bears were designated the home team at a neutral site—had a defense anyone would label intimidating. The Titans are No. 1 in the league but that was the first game Williams ever played and how good are the Titans on defense, really, when they've given up 106 points the last three weeks?

The Texans and Commanders are in the top half of the league in overall defense and scoring defense and the Colts in scoring defense. They applied pressure to Williams in home games and got positive results.

The confusion caused by the mixed coverages and alignments the Cardinals use can cause a QB to hold the ball but knowing they have such an edge when Williams has such trouble on the road facing pressure will lead to more blitzing.

The bottom line is the Bears need to find a way to keep Williams clean in this game even with a potentially revamped offensive line or they could be looking at yet another poor offensive start.

The finish might not be as dramatic as last week but their 0-3 record in road games and 3-17 record on the road under Eberflus says they don't necessarily need drama away from home to come away disappointed.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.