There is no doubt Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is playing at an elite level, and he has the numbers to back that up.
Williams put together his latest impressive performance in Week 7, when he led the Bears to a 30-24 victory over the New England Patriots on the strength of 22-of-33 passing for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Over his first four starts this season, Williams has been operating at a different level, especially with a clean pocket.
According to ESPN (H/T Clay Harbor), Williams' completion rate when not under pressure is a robust 88%, which is the highest completion rate for any quarterback through four starts since 2009.
The two guys behind him are Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes, who tallied 87% in 2021, and Hall of Famer Tom Brady, who posted 86% in 2016 with the Patriots.
Adding to that, Williams has an active streak of 35 straight games with at least 20 attempts and one or fewer picks, and that is tied with Aaron Rodgers for the longest streak in NFL history, according to Pro Football Reference (H/T Larry Mayer).
Caleb Williams makes Bears franchise history
When it comes to Bears franchise history, Jim Miller topped out at 13 games with 20 attempts and one or fewer interceptions from 2001-02, which was the previous longest streak for the team.
Williams is also the first Bears signal-caller since 2018 to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games (H/T Clay Harbor).
With Mahomes, Brady and Rodgers being three of the greatest at their position in NFL history, Williams is in some pretty good company.
Caleb Williams ascending to elite status
Prior to the start of the season, general manager Ryan Poles said he wanted Williams to give the team the "green light" to sign him to an extension by showing he has taken a step forward.
"It's good to almost feel like you've got it," Poles said. "If you go with a traffic light, it went red as a rookie to yello. You can creep foward a little bit and start having some of these conversations to anticipate (a contract extension). But we need him to give us the green light. I think we'll find out this year about his progress."
Williams has no doubt done that thus far, with the Bears quarterback showing clear improvement.
Two points of emphasis the Bears had for Williams during the offseason was improving his accuracy and decision-making, especially when it comes to when to hang in the pocket.
We have seen significant improvement in both areas. Williams has been laser accurate, even when on the run, and he isn't taking off as much and is instead keeping his eyes downfield in order to locate open receivers and make plays with his arm.
Now that he's putting it all together, Williams is starting to look like the elite quarterback the Bears thought they were getting with the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 and that makes Chicago a true Super Bowl contender in 2026.
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