Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams presided over the team’s eighth consecutive loss on Monday Night Football when the high-flying Minnesota Vikings (12-2) beat the Bears (4-10) 30-12. Against the Vikings, Williams went 18/31 for 191 yards and a touchdown.
During the broadcast for the game, former NFL star Troy Aikman weighed in on the quarterback’s struggles this season but made a telling assertion.
Shannon Sharpe Delivers Caleb Williams Verdict
“I was 0-11 as a starter and he’s had a much better rookie season than I had,” Aikman said. “We were watching him on the sidelines. He was grimacing and in an enormous amount of pain. When you watch him, you can tell that he’s a defeated guy.”
Troy Aikman on a rough night and season for Caleb Williams.
"I was 0-11 as a starter and he's had a much better rookie season than I had."
"He was grimacing and in an enormous amount of pain. When you watch him, you can tell that he's a defeated guy." pic.twitter.com/Vv91cKVm9F
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 17, 2024
During a segment of his “Nightcap” show, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe delivered his verdict on what is ailing Williams.
“[The Bears are] bad,” Sharpe said. “Their offensive line is not the greatest, but I do think Caleb Williams holds on to the ball entirely too long. Clearly he’s not comfortable making the right decision than letting the football go on cue and on rhythm.
“I just think it’s pre-snap. He’s just got to get a better job of pre-snap. He’s got to do a better job of processing and letting the football go. Like I said, there were situations that he had receivers open, and for whatever reason, his eyes went elsewhere.”
Williams has been sacked 58 times in the league this season, by the far most in the NFL, and Sharpe insisted that while playing off the cuff was a useful tool, it was not how the best quarterbacks played at the elite level.
“He’s (Williams) very good at playing off script, but that’s not how you want to try to make a living,” Sharpe said. “Now, it’s nice to have that in your back pocket. You see guys like a Lamar Jackson. You see guys like a Patrick Mahomes. You see guys like Josh Allen be able to make plays off-script, but that’s not how you want to live.
“You want to be able to go through, process information very rapidly, one, two, three, check it down, throw it away. That’s how you have to do it. That’s the only way to be successful. You’re not going to make a living in this league continuously making plays off-script. It’s just too difficult for you to do.”
Caleb Williams was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he appears to be struggling the most in the QB class while his colleagues, Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) and Bo Nix (Denver Broncos) are thriving in the NFL.