Caleb Williams remains the Bears' starter; now they need to get him back on track

Quarterback Caleb Williams was asked during the NFL Scouting Combine whether he was intimidated by the Bears’ historic lack of dominant quarterbacks.

‘‘I don’t compare myself to the other guys that are there or have been there,’’ Williams said in March. ‘‘I think I’m my own player. I tend to like to create history and rewrite history.’’

In the last three games, Williams has trended more toward the dustbin of Bears draft picks than any history-maker. The Bears must do everything they can to reverse that momentum.

On Sunday, coach Matt Eberflus said all options to right the Bears’ offense were on the table. On Monday, he removed one by reiterating that Williams would remain their starting quarterback.

‘‘Caleb is our starter,’’ Eberflus said.

That the question even had to be asked about a No. 1 overall pick at the midpoint of the season shows just how broken Williams and the Bears’ offense have looked in the last three weeks.

Now that he seems to realize his job is on the line, Eberflus is considering firing or demoting coordinator Shane Waldron to give the Bears an offensive spark.

The Bears’ long-term view, however, must remain focused on Williams’ development as a rookie, not on simply trying to jump-start an offense before a rivalry game Sunday against the Packers. The Bears must empower coaches who can get Williams back on the track he was on when they scored 95 points in three games (albeit against bad teams) earlier in the season.

With up to 4.5 years of team control left, Williams figures to outlast Eberflus — and maybe even general manager Ryan Poles — and remains the most important person inside Halas Hall. There’s no goal more essential to the long-term health of the franchise than putting Williams back on the path to be the franchise quarterback the Bears hope he can be.

He’s not on it now. The Bears have averaged nine points — and only 3.7 yards per play — since their bye. They haven’t scored a touchdown in the last two full games. In their loss Sunday to the Patriots, the Bears had one play that went for longer than 12 yards.

Williams has been a major part of the problem, posting a combined passer rating of 64.7 in the last three games. Uncharacteristically, his accuracy — a strength of his when he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 at USC — has been off. There’s a real concern that other flaws will show themselves if the Bears’ offense continues to stumble down the road it’s on. That is, if Williams makes it that far.

The lasting image of the loss Sunday showed Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings knocking Williams down as he threw in the fourth quarter, then helping him up and patting him on the head like a little brother.

Williams has been sacked 18 times in the last three games. Before Sunday, only 13 quarterbacks had been sacked more than 18 times all season.

Williams played behind only one Week 1 starter on the offensive line after guard Teven Jenkins left with an ankle injury. Eberflus said Monday he hopes to get some linemen back healthy this week. Starting tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are working their way back from knee injuries.

Eberflus predictably failed to read the room when he was asked whether the offensive struggles make it difficult for him to evaluate Williams.

‘‘I know it was a few weeks ago, but we have to build off the good,’’ he said. ‘‘And there’s a lot of good in there.’’

That good hasn’t been seen in a month, and even the flashes of it are becoming more infrequent. Williams’ good fourth quarter against the Commanders led to few ‘‘wow’’ plays against the Cardinals and none against the Patriots.

That has to change. Something has to change.

‘‘It’s about getting us on the right track,’’ Eberflus said.