Windy City Gridiron
On the heels of a tough matchup in Green Bay, the Bears welcomed the Cleveland Browns to Soldier Field this past week. Despite a slow start, the Bears’ offense was able to get the ball moving in the second half against the Packers’ defense, so many were looking forward to seeing how Caleb Williams and company would handle another top-level defensive group. The focus obviously shifted from Micah Parsons to the record setting-bound Myles Garrett, as Ben Johnson’s group planned their course of action against the team that surprised the Packers with a last-minute victory earlier this season. What some viewed as a potential “trap” game, turned out to be anything but, though, and Williams was able to find success through the air (despite the late-scratch of Rome Odunze) to complement the continued running success of D’Andre Swift. Here’s where things are now standing for our season-long benchmark comparisons:
Despite their overall record, it would be hard to blame the Cleveland defense for the team’s struggles this season. As mentioned, Garrett is on the verge of setting a new NFL single-season record for sacks, and he is a big reason that the Browns’ defense has managed to be so strong this season. It was predictable that the Bears would continue to lean on the ground game, but Ben Johnson was also unafraid to dial up some plays through the air for Caleb Williams. Williams delivered a very solid outing, including a stellar touchdown pass to DJ Moore that led to the quarterback dropping the very confident quote “I can make any throw” in the post-game presser. With three games left, Caleb is projected to be right on the cusp of 4,000 passing yards for the year, but I continue to fascinated by how similar his statistics align to our Jared Goff comp. If Williams were able to connect on a few more missed opportunities, his completion percentage and yardage would see an uptick that would put him at almost the exact level of play that Goff performed at in his first season with Ben Johnson in 2022.
Caleb Williams
Comp: 2022 Jared Goff
Benchmark Statistics:
For the ground game, this was another solid outing. Kyle Monangai had a quieter game overall, averaging only 3.0 yards per carry, but D’Andre Swift showed out. Swift ended up just shy of a 100-yard rushing game (98 rushing yards) while averaging 5.4 yards per carry and finding the endzone for two scores on the day. Both backs continue to have a fantastic season, with Swift in-line for a potential pro bowl appearance and Monangai solidifying himself as a strong chess piece for this team’s future.
D’Andre Swift
Comp: 2022 D’Andre Swift
Benchmark Statistics:
Kyle Monangai, DJ Moore, Roschon Johnson, etc.
Comp: 2024 David Montgomery
Benchmark Statistics:
The tight ends got into the YAC game this week, giving Williams a couple of dependable targets to look for throughout the game. Loveland, in particular, played...
