Caleb Williams must catch Sid Luckman before he chases Tom Brady

It’s dangerous to count one’s chickens before they hatch. Still, many Chicago Bears fans and NFL analysts believe that first-overall pick Caleb Williams is primed for a good season and is the heavy favorite to be named the Offensive Rookie of the Year. The hope is that a solid rookie debut will ease Williams onto a track that leads him to becoming Chicago’s first franchise quarterback.

But if you know your Chicago Bears history, you know Chicago has, indeed, already had a franchise quarterback.

It was long enough ago to have fallen out of memory. However, that quarterback was great enough that he should still hold his place in Chicago Bears lore as the first elite quarterback in franchise history, no matter how Caleb Williams’ career goes.

That quarterback was Sid Luckman.

Changing the game

Despite being drafted second overall in the 1939 NFL Draft, Luckman actually needed some convincing to play football. George Halas had to travel to his home and personally hand him a check for $5,500 if he’d play for the Bears. The rest is history.

Luckman spearheaded a revolution in the game, taking it from a sport that closely resembled rugby into a product more readily recognizable today. Halas and his coaches introduced a new T-formation and, with Luckman’s play on the field, saw immediate success. One year later, in 1940, the Bears dominated the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship game, 73-0. This epic shellacking still stands as the most lopsided victory in NFL history.

The Bears won three more championships with Luckman as their quarterback that decade. He retired in 1950, a four-time NFL Champion and one-time MVP.

Breaking records

Despite the passing of time, Luckman still holds some passing records. His career touchdown percentage of 7.9% is still unmatched and likely never will be. If Tom Brady had that same record, he would have thrown 952 career touchdown passes instead of 649. Luckman also holds the single-season touchdown percentage, an absurd 13.9%. If Peyton Manning had done the same in his record-breaking 55-touchdown season in 2013, his total number of touchdowns would have been an unthinkable 92.

Luckman also has the single-season records for yards-per-attempt at 10.9 yards and yards-per-completion at 19.9 yards.

Chasing legends

Caleb Williams has already made it clear that he’s chasing Tom Brady. He even has a goal of winning eight Super Bowls, one more than Brady, on his phone’s lock screen. That’s commendable, and Bears fans should be excited about a quarterback who has his sights set on becoming the greatest of all time.

But before he can overtake Brady for that title, there’s one other legend standing in his way, one that wore the same jersey as Williams. Luckman is still the greatest quarterback in franchise history in terms of records and accolades, and Williams will have to win a lot of hardware to change that. We’re a long way from finding out if that’s even remotely possible, but if any quarterback can do it, I believe it would be No. 18.

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