Caleb Williams threw four interceptions Sunday night, the most of his career, and the Chicago Bears quarterback still left Soldier Field with a win. His team is 7-2 and has won four straight.
The previous high was two. Williams finished 279 yards and two touchdowns against Tampa Bay, and the Bears never trailed until the Buccaneers tied it at 24-24 with 2:51 to play. Williams then took Chicago from its own 31-yard line, connected with Colston Loveland for 38 yards, and set up Cairo Santos for a 38-yard field goal as time expired. Final score: 27-24.
Williams did not dodge the night’s worst. “It’s frustrating,” he said afterward, as Andscape reported. “Two of them, [I] tried to throw away. One of them, [I] made a dumb decision. And then the last one, it got tipped up in the air.” His answer to what comes next: “I’m going to throw until I can’t throw anymore…I keep ripping it, keep ripping it.”
That is the part worth a Black reader’s attention. For decades, Black quarterbacks were judged on their worst quarter and told to prove they belonged at the position. Williams got the chance to throw four interceptions and then try to win anyway. The Bears let him. A team that hands its quarterback the ball with the game tied and 2:51 left, after four giveaways, is not waiting for an excuse.
The timing matters around the league, too. Andscape notes that two of the NFL’s best-known Black quarterbacks are dealing with setbacks: Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson faces thumb surgery and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts has a blood clot. Williams has stepped into the space they left,.
Nobody should pretend Sunday was clean. Four turnovers lose most games, and Tampa Bay (3-6) was a team Chicago should beat comfortably. The Bears will need fewer gifts for the other team when the schedule turns hard. But a quarterback who can take that kind of night and still end it with the ball in a kicker’s hands is the kind teams build around.
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