Caleb Williams breaks Bears' single-season passing yards record

The Bears' single-season passing yards record, which had stood for 30 years, fell Sunday at Soldier Field when Caleb Williams threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jahdae Walker 44 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Williams needed 109 passing yards against the Lions to set the Bears’ single-season record and 270 to become the first Bears passer to reach 4,000.

Erik Kramer threw for 3,838 yards in 1995.

Williams' touchdown pass and enuing two-point conversion handoff gave the Bears their first points of the game and Soldier Field its first signs of life. The crowd roared when, during the timeout after the conversion, the Bears' public address announcer detailed the feat.

Every other franchise in the NFL but the Bears has had at least one member of the 4,000-yards club. The youngest team in the NFL, the Texans, began play in 2002. They have thrown for 4,000 or more yards six times — three by Matt Schaub.

Bears coach Ben Johnson argued during the week that he saw the feat as more of a round number than anything worthwhile, saying it had "tertiary" importance.

Williams, though, wasn't shy about wanting to become the first Bears player to throw for 4,000 yards.

“That's a goal of mine, is to be the top of them all,” he said Wednesday. “I want to be the best quarterback not only for Chicago but in the league. And that starts with consistency, that starts with me preparing the right way."