In just his second NFL season, quarterback Caleb Williams solidified his spot in the Bears' record books.
Throwing for 212 yards in Sunday's 19-16 loss against the Lions, Williams now holds the franchise single-season passing record, finishing the 2025 regular season with 3,942 yards, eclipsing Erik Kramer's mark of 3,838 yards set in 1995.
The record-breaking moment occurred less than a minute into the fourth quarter on second-and-2 from the Detroit 25. Williams dropped back and fired a strike to rookie receiver Jahdae Walker in the end zone to give the Bears their first points of the game and cut the deficit to 16-8 following a successful two-point conversion courtesy of Kyle Monangai.
While Williams was frustrated about the loss when asked about the record after the game, right guard Jonah Jackson acknowledged Williams' success this season, as well as the success of running back D'Andre Swift, who set a new career high in rushing yards with 1,047.
"It's an honor to be a part of," Jackson said. "We feel that we're obliged to do it. Those are our guys, so any way we can give them accolades that they deserve, we'll do that."
Despite the offense's slow start against Detroit, Williams once again sparked the unit in the fourth quarter, leading two touchdown drives within 10 minutes of each other to tie the game at 16-16 with 5:28 to play.
"He's a competitor," Jackson said of Williams. "He doesn't like to lose. And in moments like that, you need a guy who's able to thrive in crunch time. We've got to be better for him early on. We weren't really able to get a drive going for him at the start of the game, but when it's crunch time, we can rely on him big time."
On the first touchdown drive, Williams completed passes of 10 yards and 13 yards to rookie receiver Luther Burden III before capping the 7-play, 65-yard possession with the touchdown pass to Walker.
"That's normal Caleb," Burden said. "He went out there, made plays, made the right throws."
The ensuing TD drive consisted of 12 plays, seven of which were completions by Williams. In the middle of the drive, the former No. 1 overall pick completed four straight passes of 19 yards, 12 yards, eight yards and 27 yards. On first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Williams connected with tight end Colston Loveland in the end zone for the score before firing a pass on the run to tight end Cole Kmet for the two-point conversion.
"He's just doing what he needs to do on time, making stuff happen with his legs," Loveland said of Williams' late-game playmaking ability. "He's been doing it all year."
With the Eagles' loss to the Commanders Sunday, the Bears locked up the No. 2 seed and will turn the page quickly as they prepare to host the Packers Saturday night in the wild card round.
Williams expects the Bears to use their frustration from the last two games of the regular season to fuel them in their week of preparation and find ways to "level up."
"We're going into a new season," Williams said. "You can't dwell on the past, but you have to find ways to correct what you did in the past and through the losses."
Following the regular-season finale, Jackson expressed that he remains "confident as ever" in Williams and the offense's ability to make necessary improvements to make a run in the playoffs.
"We've got a great quarterback, great weapons, great play-calling, great O-line," Jackson said. "It's just a matter of executing, getting the job done. I think we'll do that."
