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The Chicago Bears are on an eight-game losing streak, which is tied for the second-longest streak within a season in franchise history. The Bears went from 4-2 at their Week 7 bye to 4-10, securing their fourth consecutive season with 10-plus losses. However, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took the good with the bad after Chicago's recent loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
“It's been frustrating and encouraging,” Williams said. “I would say the frustrating part is obviously we're on a — how many games now, eight? — yeah, eight-game losing streak. Like I've said before, it's new to me. I haven't experienced anything like this. That's the frustrating part. The encouraging part is how much we fight as a team.
“The encouraging part is us as a team … being able to go through all of what's happened this year. Me not playing well at the beginning of the season and feeling like I was seeing it well and then being able to find ways to keep growing, keep progressing through those times that I was frustrated. Coaches getting fired and all of this stuff going on, 4-10 right now. Being able to wake up, be consistent, and do that every day with how it's been going is encouraging for me. It's encouraging for this team, and we've got to keep going. It's been encouraging but also frustrating for myself.”
What Bears rookie Caleb Williams finds discouraging during the losing streak
Williams appeared visibly frustrated and in pain on the Bears' bench early in the fourth quarter. After taking a devastating hit from Minnesota linebacker Jihad Ward, cameras showed a visibly shaken Williams lying on his side. The Vikings hit Williams three times and sacked him twice, bringing his sack total for the year to 58, the most in the league.
However, hen asked about the accumulative toll of the hits he's taken through 14 games, Williams declined to point to any mental strain he may be feeling but noted how the physical impact is one he's battling through.
“Let's put it in this context,” Williams said. “Say you get in three car accidents in a month, you're going to feel it. That's what a hit is in football. … Getting hit, especially when you can't deliver a hit to somebody as in like run the ball, you take those over an amount of time and it builds up.”
Unfortunately, many of Williams' struggles occurred on third down. Against Minnesota, he was 2-of-7 for 34 yards with two sacks, two scrambles, and a fumble. Williams was also pressured on 8-of-11 third-down dropbacks, his highest pressure rate on third down in his career.
Similarly, the Bears posted one of their worst games on third down (1-of-12) in Minnesota. Their only third-down conversion came with 14:52 left in the fourth quarter. It was the Bears' second game this season in which they had just a single third-down conversion.
