Caleb Williams is closing in on Chicago Bears history and could make it Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
The rookie quarterback enters Week 18 with the franchise’s single-season passing record within reach and a chance to become the first Bears passer to top 4,000 yards.
Williams has thrown for 3,730 yards this season, just 109 shy of Erik Kramer’s team record of 3,838 set in 1995. He would need 270 yards to reach the 4,000-yard mark, a milestone no Bears quarterback has ever achieved.
“It'd be cool just in the sense of there's never been one here ,” Williams told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday. “I think I was brought here for those types of things and those types of moments, the things that haven't been done here, to try and be able to accomplish.”
Ben Johnson doesn’t care about 4k yards
Head coach Ben Johnson, however, dismissed the significance of the number itself, referring to 4,000 passing yards as an “arbitrary number.”
“If it were to happen that'd be great,” Johnson said. “But he would agree with me when I say that our No. 1 objective is to win this ballgame. Whatever that takes, that's our goal. We'll see where it’s at the end of the year. That's a tertiary goal, if you will.”
Arbitrary or not, eclipsing 4,000 yards would further cement Williams as the franchise quarterback Chicago has long searched for.
“I want to be the best quarterback not only for Chicago, but in the league,” Williams said. “And that starts with consistency, that starts with me preparing the right way. It's important to me. I don't get up to be mediocre.”
A win over Detroit would also carry playoff significance, as it would secure the Bears (11-5) the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC.