Caleb Williams was surprised to have thrown the ball 52 times in a Week 3 loss to the Colts. It’s fair for him to have missed that fact.

Everything happened so fast.

Trey Sermon’s touchdown with 21 second left in the third quarter put the Bears down multiple scores. At that point, it was go time.

The Bears picked up their pace, pushed the run game to the side and started slinging it.

RELATED CONTENT:

• Overreactions: Bears running game, Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen and not hitting the panic button
• Analysis: Why Bears lack of offensive identity is proving costly
• Vibe Check: Bears frustration mounts over negative plays, lack of complementary football
• Instant Analysis: Breaking down Bears performance in loss to Colts

Williams completed 15-of-19 passes for 133 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions from that point, albeit against a Colts defense willing to bend but not give up explosive touchdowns. There was also a fateful strip sack in that sequence, which gave the Colts an easy 16-yard touchdown drive, so not everything went as well as the previous stat line suggests.

Here’s Williams’ complete passing chart, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats:

Williams was in a good flow, especially working the ball to Cole Kmet and Rome Odunze down the field. The Bears were productive and aggressive over that span, a positive when looking through and extremely narrow scope.

“Those plays build confidence, and they give us a spark when they’re made,” Odunze said after the 21-16 loss at Lucas Oil Stadium. “They allow us to be on the attack. It’s not about what a defense gives us and figuring that out. It’s about attacking what they’re trying to get done and exploiting them on those things. It’s a step in the right direction.”

The Bears will take any step forward after offensive struggles that have had a direct impact on their overall record. That frenetic end was about as good an offensive stretch as the Bears have had this early season.

One thing that shouldn’t be done: Take Williams late passing performance as a sign the Bears should be throwing it a ton.

The Bears beat Atlanta in 2020 with 53 attempts as a team, but that’s an aberration. Per Sport Radar – with a giant assist from our digital content developer and admitted stat nerd Kyle Millinowisch – Chicago is 5-15 when throwing 50-plus times as a team.

The Bears have lost eight straight games when their starting quarterback throws 50-plus times in a game. So, in other words, throwing a ton is not a sustainable way to win.

Like it was on Sunday, exceeding the 50-attempt threshold is generally a sign that you’re operating a negative game script. Even dipping into the high 40s doesn’t sound like a great way to go for a rookie quarterback looking to lean on those around him.

The Bears ran 84 offensive plays, including three of 12 or more that gained at least 68 yards. Sustained drives were difficult in the past that the Bears improved upon, but they still averaged just 4.7 yards per play despite having several explosives. How? The run game isn’t there yet from an efficiency standpoint – it averaged just 2.3 yards per carry – and the Bears had seven plays for negative yardage.

The Bears were 9-for-21 on third down but 4-for-5 on fourth down, which extended drives and set up a high play count.

Williams said after the game he’ll do whatever it takes to win, whether that’s throwing 10 times or 50. That’s noble, but it’s not a way to win sustainably over the long term. Protection gets harder and exposure to big hits only goes up, as does the risk for turnovers and rookie mistakes. That’s why balance should still be the ultimate goal as the Bears continue to figure their offense out.