Bear Down, Nerd Up: Could Caleb Williams set the NFL sack record? It’s not a crazy suggestion

Seven losses in a row.

Chicago Bears fans must be tired of these losing streaks. To recap: The Bears lost four in a row in 2019, six in a row in 2020, five in a row in 2021 and 14 in a row between 2022 and 2023.

And now this. If the Bears don’t beat the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings on Monday, this streak will tie for the second-longest losing streak in franchise history.

The 14-game losing streak from the end of 2022 through the first four games of 2023 is the longest in team history. Five other times the Bears lost exactly eight games in a row. This current streak could match those unless the Bears surprise Monday in Minnesota.

Here’s what other stats, numbers and figures stood out with Caleb Williams and the Bears this week.

Good news for Williams

The rookie quarterback continued his remarkable streak without throwing an interception Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. Williams hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 6 against Jacksonville in London.

On Sunday, Williams went 17-for-23 passing for 134 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

He was credited with a sack and a fumble on a play where he tried to stop himself from throwing the football but lost the handle on the ball. That was his first turnover of any kind since Week 8 against Washington. Williams technically was credited with the fumble on the botched handoff with backup center Doug Kramer against the Commanders.

After 23 more pass attempts without an interception, Williams now has gone 255 pass attempts without throwing an interception.

That is an NFL rookie record and a Bears team record. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray went 211 pass attempts without an interception in 2019, which was the previous rookie record. Houston’s C.J. Stroud went 191 pass attempts without throwing a pick last season, which ranks third.

Williams also became the first rookie to go seven consecutive starts without throwing an interception, according to the Bears.

Williams' 255 pass attempts has beaten Kyle Orton’s 2008 Bears record when Orton went 205 pass attempts without throwing an interception.

Bad news for Williams

The good news is Williams isn’t throwing interceptions. The bad news is Williams is taking sacks.

After seven more sacks against the 49ers, Williams has taken 56 sacks this season. That is a single-season record for a Bears quarterback. Williams now has taken more sacks than Justin Fields did in 2022 when Fields set the previous record with 55.

Interestingly, three of the four highest sack seasons have come in the three seasons under Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. Fields also took 44 sacks last season.

Here are the top five sack seasons for Bears QBs:

1. Caleb Williams (56) in 2024
2. Justin Fields (55) in 2022
3. Jay Cutler (52) in 2010
4. Justin Fields (44) in 2023
5. Jim Harbaugh (43) in 1993

Williams has been sacked in every game this season and he has been sacked multiple times in all except one (against Carolina in Week 5). He was sacked at least seven times during three games.

The most sacks Williams took in college was 33 sacks last year in 12 games at USC. That was an average of 2.8 sacks a game. He’s averaging 4.3 sacks a game in the NFL.

Williams has been sacked 15 times more than the next closest quarterback in 2024. With 41 sacks, Stroud is second in the NFL.

Whose fault is this?

Sacks, of course, are not solely a quarterback stat. The offensive line has to take some of the blame.

Williams wasn’t holding on to the football particularly long Sunday. His 2.86 seconds to throw, per Next Gen Stats, matched his season average exactly. The median season-long average among qualified QBs is 2.8 seconds. There have been seven games this season when Williams had less time to throw.

The 49ers, however, made the most of their opportunities. They sacked Williams seven times despite creating only 12 QB pressures. That tied for the third-fewest pressures Williams faced all season.

Part of the reason is probably situational football. Williams took four sacks on third downs during the first half. Three of them came when facing a third-and-5 or longer.

The sacks came from everywhere. Both starting tackles were beat at times. Multiple came from the interior. The seventh, uncredited sack came on Williams' funky fumble.

Is the record in jeopardy?

If Williams continues to average more than four sacks a game over the final four games, it’s not crazy to think that he could flirt with the NFL record. He needs 20 more sacks to tie the record, which would be five a game.

Texans QB David Carr set the record with 76 sacks in 2002. Randall Cunningham’s 72 sacks in 1986 is the only other instance of a QB getting sacked 70 or more times in a season.

Williams is six sacks shy of cracking the top 10 most sacks ever. He’s 14 sacks shy of becoming the third QB to reach 70 sacks in a season. If he takes exactly four sacks a game over the final four contests, he will finish with 72 sacks.

20 TDs?

Williams has thrown 16 touchdown passes this season. That’s more than fellow rookie Jayden Daniels (15) and one fewer than Bo Nix (17). Williams has thrown fewer interceptions than either of his rookie peers.

Williams has an opportunity to reach 20 touchdown passes this season. In the 105-year history of the Bears, that has happened only 12 times.

The Bears' single-season touchdown passes record is 29 from Erik Kramer in 1995.

These are the quarterbacks who threw 20 or more touchdown passes for the Bears: Kramer (1995), Jay Cutler (2009, 2010, 2014, 2015), Sid Luckman (1943, 1947), Mitchell Trubisky (2018), Rex Grossman (2006), Johnny Lujack (1949), Billy Wade (1961) and Rudy Bukich (1965).

For comparison’s sake, Green Bay Packers quarterbacks have had 32 seasons with 20 passing touchdowns (only six that did not belong to Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers). The Vikings have had 23 such seasons. Even the Lions have had 16 (nine of which belong to Matthew Stafford).