NFL London season: Has Caleb Williams broken the Chicago Bears' 75-year quarterback curse?

Caleb Williams threw four touchdown passes as the Chicago Bears thrashed the Jacksonville Jaguars 16-35 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday - and the Chicago Bears may have finally found a solution to the question that has plagued them for decades. 

Remarkably, despite being one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, the Bears remain the only franchise to have never had a quarterback throw for 4,000 passing yards in a single season. Given the evolution of the quarterback position and the advances in passing, it is truly an astounding stat. 

Williams, who was touted as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck in 2012 ahead of the 2024 NFL draft, was widely backed as the one who would end the endless wait for a franchise signal-caller. However, through the first three games, history looked to be repeating itself. 

The former USC quarterback endured a torrid start to life in the NFL. He was inaccurate, the offensive line couldn’t keep him upright, he struggled to get in sync with his star-studded cast of weapons, and threw more interceptions than touchdowns. The Bears were left reeling at 1-2, and that one win came from a dominant defensive outing against the Titans, and some questionable decision-making from Titans quarterback Will Levis. 

To compound matters for the Bears, Williams’ predecessor Justin Fields was excelling as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback, leading to (kneejerk) questions as to whether the Bears had backed the wrong horse again - a theme that has rang true for decades. 

Since the year 2000, the Bears have had 29 starting quarterbacks, and have invested first-round picks in Mitchell Trubisky, Justin Fields and Rex Grossman this century. Grossman guided the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006-07, but flamed out soon after. In 2017, the Bears traded several draft picks to move up to draft Mitch Trubisky second overall, but he failed to find the solution to the quarterback problem, and has since bounced around Buffalo & Pittsburgh as a backup. To make things worse, Patrick Mahomes was taken eight picks later. 

In the middle of all that, several stop-gap quarterbacks came and went. Career backups such as Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer and Mike Glennon all lasted a year apiece, Kyle Orton had a solid but unspectacular season in 2008 before being traded to the Denver Broncos but eventually petered out. Then there was Jay Cutler. It’s hard to sum up whether his time in the Windy City was a success or a bust. Until Williams, Cutler was probably the most talented quarterback in franchise history, but he threw a lot of interceptions and his potential was arguably unfulfilled. 

The Bears were back in the hunt for a quarterback in 2021, and drafted Ohio State signal-caller Justin Fields. Throughout his time in Chicago, Fields showed several glimpses of what could have been, but he couldn’t put it together on a consistent basis and led to the Bears shipping him to Pittsburgh. 

After that shaky start, many wondered if Williams would be the next to suffer from the Chicago curse. 

However, those fears have been allayed. Since the defeat to the Colts in week three, Williams has found his rhythm and the growth has been evident for all to see. Against the Rams in week four, the quarterback completed 17 of his 23 passes for 157 yards, a touchdown and had a passer rating of over 100 - a solid but unspectacular outing. In the last two weeks against the Panthers and Jaguars, Williams has put on a show. He has thrown six touchdown passes, completed 43 of his 58 passes, thrown for 530 yards and had a passer rating in the 120s. 

The one blemish from Sunday’s performance? The interception that he threw to Andre Cisco whilst targeting DJ Moore in the first-half of Sunday’s game. Williams admitted in the postgame press conference that the pick left him “p***ed off”.

“DJ was wide open. And I didn't add enough juice behind it. I didn't put it where I put it in practice, which is the back pylon, and the safety had an easy interception, and you know, I need to be better because that would have got everything going instead of turning the ball over. You can't have turnovers. Something that I pride myself on. Obviously, it affects the whole team. It affects my momentum, especially when you have a wide open receiver like DJ streaking down the field. I've got to be better. Definitely frustrating. Definitely had a few words for myself after that. But you know, got the mindset back on track and ready to go for the next,” Williams said. 

Nevertheless, the Bears are 4-2 on the season, and with Williams showcasing his sky-high potential, the possibilities are endless for Matt Eberflus’ team.