3 most encouraging stats from Caleb Williams in Week 5

The Chicago Bears finally saw the breakout that they needed to see from Caleb Williams. Not the ifs, not the almosts, not the blaming others, but actual production in a blowout win. While the win and the stat line is good enough, there are serious encouraging signs that Williams is rounding out his game as a player. 

3. Caleb Williams took less sacks under pressure

Williams is not responsible for all of the pressure that he faces, but he is responsible for how he has to act under that pressure. Through four games, he had been taking too many sacks under pressure. According to PFF, he had a pressure-to-sack rate of over 30% through four games. His career high was 35% and his career low was 22.2%. Against the Carolina Panthers, he had a pressure-to-sack rate of just 16.7%. Williams was sacked just one time, which is his career low to date. 

He was able to drop his overall rate this season to 28.8%. That is still 31st out of 35 qualified quarterbacks, but needless to say, dropping it down a bit is going to be a big help in his favor. Now, we need to see Williams consistently avoid sacks when he faces pressure. 

2. Caleb Williams is finally connecting on the deep ball 

One of the biggest issues with Williams through four games was his lack of connection on the deep ball. This was rather surprising because Williams had been dynamic passing down the field at USC, but it had been a major issue in Chicago. 

Coming into his week five game Williams had completed three passes on 22 attempts when throwing deep. That included a hail mary that was deflected by the defense, and it included three interceptions. 

In week five Williams was 3-4 throwing the deep ball. He had 89 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Yes, he completed more deep passes in the week five win than he did in the entire first month of the season. Some would say that is progression. The best news is seeing that it came by getting on the same page as D.J. Moore. Moore is the most talented receiver, but Williams was 1-5 when throwing deep to him in the first four games. He was 2-2 for 64 yards and two touchdowns this week. If this connection stays, the Bears will be a force very soon.

1. Caleb Williams finally has a respectable adjusted net yards per attempt

It was not a major concern considering it had just been two games, but it was noteworthy that the list of successful NFL quarterbacks who started their careers with two games as bad as Caleb Williams was mighty low. 

Based on adjusted net yards per attempt, the most recent comparable quarterbacks through two games were Will Grier, Matt Barkley, Rusty Smith, Keith Null, Matthew Stafford, Tyler Thigpen, John Navarre, Dave Ragone, and Kyle Boller. There was Matthew Stafford and no other notable player to start this poorly and turn out alright. 

However, through five games, his adjusted net yards per attempt now sits at 4.7. The most recent comparable quarterbacks in this group are now Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones, Joe Burrow, Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Teddy Bridgewater, Jared Goff, Thaddeus Lewis, and Mike Glennon. 

It is not a perfect list, and as we can see with this small sample, a big game or two can change where he stands rather drastically. Still, if you had to choose whether to be lumped in with the first group, or the second group, you would certainly rather be compared to the second one. That is where Williams has ascended his game.