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One huge improvement lets Bears offense and Caleb Williams advance
Caleb Williams gets a pass off under pressure in Sunday's loss at Baltimore. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

One huge improvement lets Bears offense and Caleb Williams advance

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Gene Chamberlain  |  Last updated Oct 29, 2025 11:21 PM ET

The 68 sacks Caleb Williams absorbed last year had the attention of GM Ryan Poles during the offseason when he brought in three new starting offensive linemen.

The sacks definitely had the attention of coach Ben Johnson and offensive line coach Dan Roushar.

It's apparent now they had Williams' attention because he admits he's trying to  do his part in cutting them down down and it's working on all counts as they have given up 12 in seven games, ranking them eighth for fewest sacks allowed only a year after setting a franchise record for most allowed. Williams' sack percentage has dropped from an embarrassing 10.8% to 5.1%. He's been sacked the 11th lowest percentage when last year it was 43rd most among QBs with at least three starts.

It could be the single most improved area of the Bears offense considering how they went four straight years with 50 or more sacks allowed, and it's a major reason the Bears offensive line is now ranked 11th by Pro Football Focus.

“It's extreme focus," Williams said. "I don't want to be one of  those guys in Year 6 where I'm one of the highest sacked ever in history.

"I’ve got a great group in front of me, running backs and tight ends and all of that. They obviously help out in different situations to block the ends, block linebackers, block blitzes and things like that. Then I think it's just us all being on the same page. I think that's part of it."

One way Williams can really cut back more is by getting rid of the ball faster. He's at  3.16 seconds before throwing this year according to NFL Next Gen Stats and that's the slowest time in the league.

Because of the amount of play-action passing the Bears use, they can  be expected to have a longer time to throw to some extent. In fact, Jared Goff was 18th fastest last year in Johnson's offense and 21st fastest this year in a similar offense.

Fewer sacks can come with time from Williams' end as he knows the offense better.

"The other part is, from my side, just being more comfortable and confident within the offense, being more comfortable with being able to deliver a good ball and snapping the eyes around, knowing where the guy's going to be," Williams said. "I think that's something that's going to keep growing throughout my career.

"Just finding ways to not have sacks especially on, first and second down is really important in the NFL to keep drives alive. That's something that I went back and looked at some things."

The Bears will get occasional blitzes and Williams has been effective picking them up and adjusting with a screen pass.

Also, Williams needs to get better at throwing away the football. He had two intentional grounding penalties last week and one was huge in taking away points.

"It's been on my conscious mind after taking 60-something sacks last year," Williams said. "I think we’ve got to keep going. I think we’ve got to find ways, when they do send these blitzes to exploit these teams.

"I think we've done a good job keeping me off the ground.”

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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