Caleb Williams: 'It'd be cool' to be first Bears QB to hit 4K passing yards

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2026-01-02

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Caleb Williams has the single-season franchise passing record in his sights and could become the first Chicago Bears quarterback to breach the 4,000-yard plateau Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Williams’ 3,730 passing yards entering Week 18 sits 109 shy of Erik Kramer (3,838) as the Bears’ all-time single-season passing yards leader. Williams needs 270 to hit the 4K figure. Chicago is the only club in the NFL to never have a 4,000-yard passer.

“It’d be cool just in the sense of there’s never been one here,” Williams said Wednesday of hitting 4,000, via the Chicago Tribune. “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.”

Williams’ coach, Ben Johnson, downplayed the 4K passing yards, calling it 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 at the end of the year. That’s a tertiary goal, if you will.”

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The Bears lost, 52-21, to Johnson’s old team in Week 2 to start the season 0-2. Since then, Chicago has turned things around, winning their first NFC North title since 2018, while the Lions have collapsed.

Williams has generated four games this season of 270-plus yards, including Week 17’s 330-yard output in a shootout loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Williams has had 200-plus passing yards, multiple passing touchdowns and no interceptions in each of his last three games, tied for the longest streak in Bears franchise history (Brian Hoyer and Erik Kramer).

Hitting 4K might be arbitrary, but it would signify that Williams is indeed the franchise QB the Bears have long awaited.

“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.”

With a win over Detroit, the Bears would lock in the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC. It would also allow Johnson to tie Matt Nagy’s (12) franchise record for the most wins by a Bears head coach in their first season with the team.