Bears QB Williams acknowledges his frustration and the impact that losing is having on him

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Caleb Williams acknowledged the frustration he is experiencing and the impact all this losing is having on him.

It's not the way the prized quarterback or the Chicago Bears envisioned this season going.

“You talk to yourself,” Williams said Wednesday. “You motivate yourself, you encourage yourself. You have positive affirmations that you say to yourself. With that, it makes the days better, it makes when you’re going through a tough patch, it makes those days a little bit easier rather than pulling yourself down, telling yourself you’re this and that.”

The Bears (4-10) came into the season thinking they were poised to contend for a playoff spot after a busy offseason. They drafted Williams with the No. 1 overall pick, banking on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner to become their franchise quarterback and solidify a position that has haunted them throughout their history. They also acquired six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and drafted Rome Odunze with the No. 9 overall pick, giving them a deep set of wide receivers to go with star DJ Moore.

But instead of climbing in the NFC North, they're buried at the bottom of the division with eight straight losses. Williams has looked particularly shaky the past few games, and if that wasn't bad enough, Detroit (12-2) comes to Soldier Field on Sunday.

Though the Lions have been hit hard by injuries and are coming off a loss to Buffalo that stopped a franchise-record 11-game winning streak, they still are tied for the top seed in the NFC. They haven't lost two straight in more than two years, either.

Williams, meanwhile, looked beaten both physically and mentally in Chicago's 30-12 loss at Minnesota on Monday night. He had just 191 yards after throwing for 134 the previous week at San Francisco and was sacked two more times, bringing his league-leading and franchise-record total to 58.

Williams has seen the Bears fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and then let a coach go in season for the first time in franchise history when they booted Matt Eberflus the day after Thanksgiving following a string of bad late-game decisions. He already has as many losses as a pro as he did in one season at Oklahoma and two at Southern California.

Given all that, it's easy to see why he's turned to positive affirmations. Not that it's been all negative for Williams.

He has put together some promising stretches and done a good job protecting the ball. He has gone eight straight games and an NFL rookie-record 286 passes without an interception — the longest streak by any Bears quarterback.

But in a city where high draft picks Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields flamed out, the beating Williams is taking is setting off more alarms. He rushed through his progressions and was out of sync against Minnesota, just as he was the previous week.

“Every player’s different, so I’m not sure exactly who you’re referring to in the past — you don’t have to tell me,” interim coach Thomas Brown said. “I do believe him when he says that he doesn’t see ghosts.”

One thing Williams does acknowledge? He's frustrated.

“Losing is one of those things that really affects me," he said. "It’s tough. But I do have the understanding of where I’m at in my career and where I’ll be at. Having that understandment is important for me.”

NOTES: RB Roschon Johnson (concussion), who missed the past two games, would have been a full participant Wednesday had the team practiced rather than conduct a walkthrough.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs from Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jay-Z’s lawyers asked a judge Wednesday to speedily extract the rapper from a lawsuit in which a woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs when she was 13.

The unidentified woman recently added Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, to her lawsuit against Combs in Manhattan federal court, alleging that she was attacked by the singers in 2000 after Combs’ limo driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party.

In their court filing Wednesday, Jay-Z's lawyers cited a recent television interview in which the woman acknowledged inconsistencies in her story.

The filing came before Combs appeared for a pretrial hearing in his criminal case. After lawyers discussed evidentiary deadlines, prosecutors told Judge Arun Subramanian that any new charges against the hip-hop mogul before a May trial would require minimal new evidence to be shared among lawyers.

In the criminal case, Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that the Bad Boy Records founder coerced and abused women for years with help from associates and employees. Combs, who has been jailed without bail for three months, hugged his lawyers and touched his heart as he acknowledged his children among spectators.

In the civil case, one of several filed against him, the woman originally asserted that she was raped by Combs at the after-party but did not mention Jay-Z.

Last Friday, NBC aired an interview in which she said she spoke with musicians Benji Madden and his brother at the party, and her father picked her up after the alleged assault. NBC also reported that a representative of the Maddens said they were touring the Midwest during the VMAs, and her father said he does not recall what would have been a drive home of more than five hours.

Jay-Z has said the article proves that Tony Buzbee, a personal injury lawyer in Houston, filed a false complaint against him for money and fame. Attorney Teny R. Geragos, representing Combs, has said the TV interview was a part of the “beginning of the end of this shameful money grab.”

In the newly filed court papers, Jay-Z's lawyers wrote that the allegations “have caused incalculable harm to Mr. Carter, his family, his businesses, his employees, and his legacy.”

Buzzbee told The Associated Press via email that the plaintiffs' lawyers planned to respond in court to the latest filing.

“They continue to file meritless motions that are contrary to the rules and which have absolutely no merit,” Buzzbee said.

Buzbee announced in October that he represents some 120 people, men and women, with allegations of sexual misconduct against Combs.

Jay-Z and Combs gained fame in the 2000s, emerging as wide-ranging entrepreneurs and two of the world’s wealthiest rappers. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Jay-Z’s net worth to be $2.5 billion.

The artists have collaborated over the years, with Jay-Z featured on Combs’ debut album, “No Way Out” and Combs appearing on Jay-Z’s sophomore album, “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.”

FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS Radford Studio Center, May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Jay-Z smiles ahead of the Champions League final soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at Wembley stadium in London, June 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

FILE - Rap moguls Sean "Diddy" Combs, left, and Jay-Z attend the NBA All-Star basketball game, Feb. 15, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)