As the most high-profile Chicago-area native playing for the Bears, tight end Cole Kmet gets some form of the question often.
What should Bears fans be feeling now?
After Kmet caught two touchdown passes from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams on Sunday in London, he spent the end of the 35-16 blowout of the Jacksonville Jaguars waving his arms up and down to get the Bears-heavy crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to roar its approval.
And when he fielded a similar question about Williams during a postgame news conference, Kmet didn’t tamp down the expectations. He noted Williams might want his one interception back but also did some “amazing stuff” in his four-touchdown-pass performance, like escaping four Jaguars defenders to find Kmet for a 27-yard gain on the Bears’ fifth touchdown drive.
“People can be as excited as they want to be,” Kmet said. “What I can say about Caleb? He’s taken steps every game. That’s been evident. … He’s just super dynamic. He’s a pass-first guy but he has the ability to run as well, and he did a pretty good job of taking care of himself when he does become a runner.”
The Bears left London and headed into the bye week with a serious buzz building about Williams and the potential of the 4-2 team. It has been a rapid turnaround after a 1-2 start that had many questioning the direction of the offense and the support system around Williams.
Now, with a week off, players can rest their bodies and coaches can take a few days to evaluate where the team is through six weeks. Here’s a look at what the offense has done well, what has gone wrong and what’s ahead.
What’s working
A lot has gone right for the Bears offense during the three-game winning streak, including scoring five offensive touchdowns in back-to-back games in a single season for the first time since 1956.
Williams’ tangible weekly growth has resulted in three straight weeks of a 100-plus passer rating, a first for a Bears rookie since at least 1970. In Weeks 4-6, Williams completed 74.1% of his passes for 687 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception and rushed for 102 yards on 14 carries. He has spread the ball to multiple playmakers. And he and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron have found a spark at times going to a no-huddle offense.
Williams said after Sunday’s win he’s seeing and feeling the game well as he grows more comfortable operating at the NFL level. The Bears have spoken highly of Williams’ drive to improve and ability to learn.
“His attitude week in and week out, you can tell he wants to be great,” running back D’Andre Swift said. “So the progress he makes week to week is amazing to see and amazing to be a part of. … I feel like he’s getting more comfortable with being more vocal on the sidelines and in the huddle as weeks go on, and that’s kind of what you need and what you want to see.”
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It has helped that Swift and the running game also have found their groove.
After totaling just 218 rushing yards in the first three games, the Bears have had 128 or more in each of the last three. Swift has played better, rushing for 257 yards and three touchdowns and catching 13 passes for 147 yards in the last three games.
The Bears have gotten production on screen passes and finally found success in short-yardage, goal-line situations while using offensive lineman Doug Kramer as a fullback. They rank fourth in red-zone touchdown percentage at 70.6%.
“The run game has come alive,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said. “The first couple weeks it was struggling, but it has really come alive. We’ve got the screen game going. And D’Andre coming out of the backfield is second to none. As long as you have to account for everyone and Caleb’s out there running around, we’re kind of hard to play.”
The offensive line has settled in a bit after a rocky start. At previous areas of concern, the Bears have landed on center Coleman Shelton and right guard Matt Pryor, who took the place of benched guard Nate Davis. They could have more options in the weeks ahead if guard/center Ryan Bates and tackle Larry Borom return from injured reserve.
Coach Matt Eberflus has been pleased but noted the lineup typically changes throughout the season as injuries come and go.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “But I do like where it’s been the last few weeks. It’s been firm, it’s been good and the protection has been nice. The continuity has been good too. We’ll see where it is when guys come back and where guys are going forward.”
What’s not working
Slow starts have been a problem for the Bears in more ways than one.
The offense’s slow start to the season wasn’t necessarily surprising, given that it was debuting a rookie quarterback under a new offensive coordinator with a slew of new offensive weapons.
But it did take the offense into the fourth game to show major signs of progress — and provide more than 16 points in a game.
The running game behind Swift didn’t click until Week 4. Explosive plays didn’t really emerge until the last two weeks. Behind offensive line struggles, Williams took some bad early sacks and threw four interceptions in the Bears’ two losses, though he has cut down on both.
Waldron and offensive player leaders needed to iron out some communication issues three weeks in.
So there were plenty of bumps in the road to get to where the Bears were Sunday.
“From the starting point here, we wanted to have a good marriage of the run and the pass with that ability to attack defenses with the mix and match of tempos,” Waldron said. “Each week you’ve seen us continue to grow to try to get to that vision of what we all see it as.
“It’s going to be a week-to-week process where we can’t take any steps back. Or if stuff does get hard, (it’s) just keeping our eyes forward and looking at solution-driven conversations.”
Slow starts to games remain a problem for the Bears, who have scored just one touchdown and 10 points total in the first quarter this season. They have 174 passing yards and 108 rushing yards in the opening quarter, according to Pro Football Reference.
Waldron spoke earlier this month about the poor first-quarter performance and said the unit’s first initiative was eliminating presnap penalties and negative plays that have killed early drives. Williams took some of it on himself.
“We’ve got to be better,” he said. “We’ve got to start fast, especially when we get the ball first and teams defer.”
Reliable players
One interesting thing about this offense is how many skill players have had big games to help Williams settle in.
Against the Los Angeles Rams, Swift emerged with 93 rushing yards and 72 receiving yards.
Against the Carolina Panthers, wide receiver DJ Moore broke out with five catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
Against the Jaguars, it was Kmet and Allen with two touchdowns apiece. Allen was Williams’ rock in critical situations, with three of his five catches coming on third down, including a 9-yard touchdown, and one coming on fourth down.
“I’ve just always been good at it,” Allen said. “Third down, (there’s) a lot of opportunities out there just because they’re going to be playing man coverage. And then you’ve just got to find a way to get open. That’s what I do.”
Despite some early issues getting on the same page with Williams, Moore leads the team with 31 catches for 314 yards. Four other players — Kmet, Swift, rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze and Allen — have at least 15 catches. Kmet has at least three catches in every game but the first.
“I don’t think you need to look at one person, versus if you have like a Justin Jefferson,” Allen said of the Minnesota Vikings wide receiver. “No disrespect to those (other) guys, but you’ve got Justin Jefferson, you’ve got to get him the ball every damn play. We’ve got (different) guys you can get the ball to.”
Among the aforementioned players, the Bears undoubtedly hope Swift will become the reliable player week in and week out that they believed they signed to a three-year, $24 million contract in the offseason.
“I feel like we’re trending in the right direction,” Swift said.
Second-half question
Will Caleb Williams continue his growth against better teams?
The Bears’ four wins have come against teams that are a combined 4-18, with the last three coming against defenses that rank in the bottom five in both yards and points allowed per game.
That doesn’t invalidate Williams’ development. It simply means he has tougher tests ahead, particularly when the Bears get into divisional play in November.
The Vikings (5-0), Detroit Lions (4-1) and Green Bay Packers (4-2) represent a significant step up in competition. But passing game coordinator Thomas Brown said parts of Williams’ recent success translate to better opponents.
“The operation is way better regardless of who we’re playing,” Brown said. “When it comes to in and out of the huddle, the command and communication, that is better. The footwork, progression through reads is better, which obviously comes with reps and time anyway.
“Regardless of who we’re playing, it’s the National Football League, so every team is normally good. Obviously some are better than others. Some have different players, different matchup issues, but he’s definitely making progress.”
Williams’ first game after the bye will be a test for multiple reasons.
It’s not just that the Commanders defense — while prone to giving up big plays — is ranked higher than recent opponents and boasts a 9.83% sack rate, fifth in the NFL.
Williams also is returning to his hometown of Washington. And all the hype next week will be about Williams and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Nos. 1 and 2 draft picks this spring.
The Bears have tried to downplay comparisons of Williams with other quarterbacks, and they’ll certainly try to do that again next week.
“The human side of it is you want your guy to just take off and roll, but everyone’s journey is going to be different,” general manager Ryan Poles told reporters about comparisons with Daniels. “The important thing is for Caleb to understand that as well and run his own race, and he’s done that well in terms of just focusing on how can I get better, how can I put our team in a position to win games.”
The Bears offense has been doing that the last three weeks. Can it continue?
