After the win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was asked about the sack he took in the end zone, which he fumbled away for a Steelers touchdown, and whether he should
have just taken a dive and given up a safety instead.
“Yeah… what I’m supposed to do is just throw the ball away,” Williams said while shaking his head, seemingly frustrated with himself. “You know, in that situation, just throw the ball away. Live to fight for another day, and yeah, that’s it.”
Head coach Ben Johnson was asked for the feedback he gave to Caleb on the play.
“Just hold on to the ball,” he said with a slight laugh before getting serious. “We know how important these turnovers are. We can’t have them. They’re not okay. So, we’re well aware of that. “
Williams has been good at protecting the football all season, which made the strip sack so uncharacteristic of his play.
He knows better, and he’ll be more mindful the next time he looks to escape the pocket.
And for the record, this was the only time the Steelers touched Williams on the day. Also, Pro Football Focus only had the Steelers down for eight total pressures. The prior week in Minnesota, he was pressured on two-thirds of his dropbacks.
Sack 17 – 2nd Quarter 14:54 – T.J. Watt
On the previous play, a first and 20 after a Darnell Wright holding penalty, Williams felt a little pressure, and he stepped up and threw the ball out of bounds with no one open. Maybe surrendering on that play was in the back of his mind, and he didn’t want to do that again, so he tried to make something happen on this one.
The design of this play was sound, and tight end Colston Loveland was open in the left flat. Loveland chipped on outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who was Pittsburgh’s leading sacker before this play, and then released. Williams looked his way, but on a second and twenty, maybe he didn’t want the short option.
Herbig hustled into the play and jumped on the loose ball after T.J. Watt ragdolled Caleb.
Bad decision in turning down the easy throw. Bad decision in thinking he could evade Watt. Bad decision in not tucking the ball when danger was imminent. This was probably Caleb’s worst decision of the season, and this sack is on him.
Here’s the Sackwatch tally after ten games.
Caleb Williams – 6
Sacks Happen – 3.5
Braxton Jones – 2
Drew Dalman – 2
Theo Benedet – 1.5
Darnell Wright – 1
Jonah Jackson – 1
As I’ve often said, the breakdowns are based on my best guesses about each play. Only the Bears know the specifics and where the blame truly lies for each sack allowed.
Historical Sackwatch after twelve weeks:
2010 – 45 Martz
2011 – 34 Martz
2012 – 36 Tice
2013 – 21 Trestman
2014 – 30 Trestman
2015 – 20 Gase
2016 – 23 – Loggains
2017 – 29 – Loggains
2018 – 28 Nagy
2019 – 33 Nagy
2020 – 30 Nagy
2021 – 40 Nagy
2022 – 42 Getsy
2023 – 35 Getsy
2024 – 44 Total (Waldron 38 – Brown 6)
2025 – 17 Johnson
Thanks to all of you guys who check out Sackwatch each week!
Let’s not end on a downer, so here’s some data for all those casuals who tell you Williams can’t play in structure or work from the pocket.
