Week 15 of the NFL season concluded with a Monday Night Football doubleheader. The first slate featured an NFC North clash between The Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. And with stars such as Justin Jefferson and Caleb Williams set to take the field, fans were excited for this matchup.
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Troy Aikman Expresses Concern Over Caleb Williams
But Monday night's game wasn't an easy watch for Bears fans as their starting quarterback Caleb Williams continued to struggle. He threw for just 191 yards and one touchdown in their 12-30 loss to Minnesota.
But it wasn't just Williams' numbers that were alarming. His body language on the bench was also concerning as you could see he was clearly frustrated. Monday Night Football analyst and NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said that Williams could develop a confidence issue if things continue to trend this way.
"When you mentioned we were watching him on the sidelines, he was grimacing and in an enormous amount of pain. And as I watch him, you can tell that he's a defeated guy," Aikman said.
"I mentioned that he hasn't been through anything like this at any point in his career. What you worry about is a rookie quarterback losing confidence."
Former Bears OC Gets Candid on Caleb Williams
When the Bears drafted Caleb Williams out of USC with the number one pick, many considered it a move that would forever change their recent string of bad luck. But so far that wish has not come to fruition.
Williams has struggled this season. Coming into Monday Night's game against the Vikings he had not thrown a touchdown pass in his last two games. Before Chicago cut ties with him in Week 10, former Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said he thought that Williams' offensive struggles have largely been due to a lack of variety in their system.
"Having good variety, having a good mix of what we're asking him to do in different known passing situations right there," Waldron said when asked what he needed to do to help Williams.
"Obviously, having the run game come to life in some of those scenarios as well and really being able to mix and match and play with some variety."
However, despite Williams' struggles, Waldron still has optimism about their number-one pick.
"I think all of that will (be) what are the breather plays throughout the plan, what are the chances for the ball-out plays, which I think he did a really good job this past week," Waldron added.
"You know, in all of the underneath completions, finding completions, playing clean, and then when the big-play opportunities happen, as we talked about earlier, then they come naturally throughout the course of the game."
