CHICAGO (WGN) — After a recent report surfaced that some veteran players on the Chicago Bears wanted a change at quarterback, Matt Eberflus, Caleb Williams and DJ Moore rebuked that sentiment Wednesday, cementing the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft as the team’s unquestioned starter at QB.
At least for now.
Eberflus confirmed Williams will be Chicago’s starting quarterback when they welcome the Green Bay Packers to Soldier Field on Sunday, but was non-committal to the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner remaining the starter for the rest of the season.
“I would say that we’re looking at everything week-to-week. You always do that — what’s best for the football team. We made a big decision last week and I think you always have to evaluate that — the things you did well, the things you need to improve on, where’s your football team at and where you need to go the very next week. So, I think that’s important.”
Williams’s rookie season with the Bears has been a peak sandwiched in between two valleys through ten weeks — Weeks 4, 5 and 6 exemplified the promise of his talents, while Weeks 1-3 and 7-10 have left Chicagoans scratching their heads as the deficiencies of the Bears offense reared their ugly heads.
The former USC Trojan completed 70 of 118 passes for 630 yards, 2 TD passes, 4 interceptions and a fumble lost through his first three games, where he was also sacked 13 times and Chicago started 1-2.
From Weeks 4 through 6, Williams completed 60 of 81 passes for 687 yards, 7 TD passes and 1 interception while being sacked only seven times in three straight wins.
Then came their last three games, where Williams completed 48 of 95 passes for 468 yards and a fumble lost across three straight losses, prompting the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and Thomas Brown’s elevation from passing game coordinator to interim offensive coordinator.
Amid the sudden turnover on the coaching staff and frustrations starting to mount on offense, ESPN Chicago’s Marc Silverman of “Waddle and Silvy” tweeted, “There have also been a few veteran players requesting [Tyson] Bagent starts.”
Both Williams and Moore were asked about Silverman’s claims Wednesday, and both walked away from the microphone expressing Williams had “full support” from the players on the team’s offense.
“I think I got full support from them. I’ve gotten texts or calls or people coming up to me with this situation that just happened, saying, ‘We got your back. We’re with you,'” Williams said. “Things like that … That kind of mindset and attitude has been what it’s been this past couple days and that’s kind of what it’s only been.”
Minutes later when Moore took to the podium, he followed suit on what Williams said the atmosphere has been like around him.
“You got to have support for him no matter what he’s going through out there, busting his butt, trying to learn everything at once, and the defense is throwing a lot at him so, you can’t really be mad at him,” Moore said. “Just got to still back him. Whatever he’s doing, he’s going to get better at and we’re with him.”
After Tuesday’s events, the job of getting Williams right and the Bears offense back on track will fall in the most part on Brown’s shoulders.
Going into Week 11 against the Packers, Chicago’s offense has digressed from a year ago, despite a noticeable uptick in talent added at the skill positions this past offseason.
Brown is no stranger to calling plays. In 2023, he served as the Carolina Panther’s offensive coordinator and coincidentally enough, one of his best games running the Panthers’ offense came against Green Bay.
Carolina put up 30 points in a losing effort against the Packers on Christmas Eve, 2023, where then-rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young completed 23 of 36 passes for 312 yards and 2 TD passes.
Brown is hoping to have similar success guiding the Bears offense against the Packers on Sunday.
“Here’s what I said about fixing the problem,” Brown said. “It starts every day when we walk in the building, but what I said to the team today and to our offensive staff and players is, [there’s] two things you control when you walk in the building. It’s your effort and your attitude.
“So, it starts there first — how we approach the meetings, being detailed, being locked in and then transferring that to the actual practice field, being just as excited for the walkthrough, but also making practice as hard as humanly possible so the game can somewhat become easier.”
“To me, that’s going to be our focus,” Brown said.
The Chicago Bears take on the Green Bay Packers Sunday at Soldier Field, with kickoff set for noon CT.