CHICAGO — It was always going to be tough for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to be the NFL MVP this season.
He missed three games with a hamstring injury while Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Brock Purdy have been dealing all season. But after Williams' followed his clinical performance against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday, Nov. 2 — 24 of 34 for 247 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions — with a blistering start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Nov. 8, it looked as if he could at least put himself in the conversation.
And then his slim hopes imploded with three picks in nine plays. That's right. Any chance, however slim, Williams had of challenging the current favorites for MVP was over by halftime.
The guy who'd had one
interception in his first five games this season suddenly had three in one quarter. To put a finer point on it, Williams had thrown one interception in his first 175 pass attempts this year. He had three in seven attempts during the second quarter, with the first two coming on back-to-back attempts.
Suboptimal milestone for Williams
And he wasn't done! Williams threw a fourth interception late in the third quarter.
It's the first four-interception game of his NFL career. Scratch that. It's the first four-interception game he's had in the NFL or college. He threw three picks in last year's NFC divisional-round loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and had three in a loss to Notre Dame during his last season at USC.
Williams had never thrown more than two picks in a regular-season NFL game. And the only multi-interception games he's had were way back in the first month of his rookie season, before Bears coach and quarterback whisperer Ben Johnson arrived.
So, no. Williams is not going to be crowned the NFL's best player this season. He might not even be the best player in his own division, what with the way Jordan Love has been playing of late.
The only redeeming factor of Williams' terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? The Bears still won, 27-24, because the Bucs were somehow even worse! Hard to believe, I know. Baker Mayfield had a pair of interceptions of his own and was sacked four times.
The most surprising thing of all this is Williams seemed poised to have a big day. A big, big, big day. Tampa Bay has been stifling against the run this season, coming into the game allowing just 80 yards rushing. And Williams came out firing, connecting on four of his first five attempts, including a 9-yard pass to Rome Odunze to give the Bears a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caleb Williams' suboptimal SNF performance might have doomed his MVP hopes
