Week 9 NFL MVP tracker: Can Caleb Williams join Joe Montana in making history? - NFL.com

Caleb Williams on Monday night did what no quarterback has done this season: bamboozle the Seattle Seahawks' defense.

Mike Macdonald’s group entered Monday's tilt allowing a league-low 144.4 passing yards per game, and the stingiest total yards per game (233.9). No QB had hit the 200-yard passing mark against Seattle this season. The Seahawks flustered Brock Purdy in Week 5 into his lowest output (189 yards). They flummoxed Patrick Mahomes (165) and stonewalled running back Kenneth Walker III (36) in Week 7.

Then, the Bears and Williams rolled over them like a Ford F-450 Super Duty blasting through a Pinto en route to a 34-17 win.

Williams completed 70.6% of his passes (24 for 34) for 247 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions -- his third game with at least one touchdown, zero interceptions, and a 70-or-higher completion percentage this season, tied for most in the NFL, per NFL Research.

Williams is the first QB with such a game against the Seahawks since Baker Mayfield in Week 5, 2025. Jordan Love and Jared Goff (both in 2024) are the only other QBs with such a game against Seattle since Macdonald became the coach in 2024.

Mastermind Ben Johnson deserves credit for a Chicago offense that keeps defenses off-kilter. The Bears' offensive line is as strong as any in the league. The running backs keep yards churning, and the wide receivers create space and gobble up yards after the catch. But it all funnels through Williams.

The QB was sublime on Monday night in the face of the NFL’s top defense in a hostile road environment at Lumen Field. There were a few hiccups, including some errant throws and three three-and-outs, but overall, Williams showed he is in complete command of Johnson's offense. That should scare the rest of the NFC.

I went over Williams' improvement in Year 2 under Johnson in last week's column. Again, the QB showed the ability to play within the offense and take the layups when they're there. Against the Seahawks, he also feasted off play-action, with a 40.0% downfield rate off play action and a 23.5% explosive play rate in Week 8 (his highest of the season), per Next Gen Stats.

What I didn’t get into last week was how a hamstring injury that wiped out three games could dash any shot Williams has at swiping this year's MVP award.

History says he’s a long shot simply because of those missed games.

In the post NFL-AFL merger era (since 1970) in non-strike-shortened seasons, only one player has missed three games and still won the NFL MVP award: Joe Montana in 1989. "Joe Cool" battled through various injuries that season, missing Weeks 6, 8, and 15, and portions of others.

Every single other MVP missed two or fewer tilts. Most missed zero.

Here is a complete list of games missed for MVPs since 1970 (not counting John Elway in 1987 and kicker Mark Moseley in 1982, both strike-shortened years):

- 1972 RB Larry Brown: Weeks 13 and 14

- 1989 QB Joe Montana: Weeks 6, 8, 15

- 1990 QB Joe Montana: Week 16

- 1991 RB Thurman Thomas: Week 17

- 1993 RB Emmitt Smith: Weeks 1 and 2

- 2000 RB Marshall Faulk: Weeks 9 and 10

- 2003 QB Steve McNair: Weeks 15 and 17

- 2011 QB Aaron Rodgers: Week 18

- 2019 QB Lamar Jackson: Week 18

- 2021 QB Aaron Rodgers: Week 9

- 2023 QB Lamar Jackson: Week 18

That’s 11 players out of 53 who missed even a single game during their MVP seasons. Many of those came at the end of the regular season, with players sitting out to prep for a postseason run. Aside from Rodgers’ positive COVID test in 2021, no QB has missed a game due to injury in their MVP season since Steve McNair in 2003.

Of the five MVPs who missed more than a single game, three were running backs, who racked up enough stats to run away with the award -- Emmitt Smith famously sat out the first two games in a contract standoff with the Cowboys in 1993. McNair split the award with Peyton Manning after missing a couple of late games with calf and ankle injuries; the Titans QB led the NFL in passer rating and yards per attempt that year.