Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears quarterback, showcased a blend of remarkable talent and ongoing challenges during the latest game against the Green Bay Packers. He created a firestorm of criticism with a 70-yard pass. That pass had an extremely low 16.9% completion probability, which makes it his most unlikely completion through two NFL seasons. Williams is brilliant at times, but consistency is still a big concern. This would prove to be an issue that haunted the team all season long.
Williams’ new quarterback coach, Ben Johnson, couldn’t hide his own awe after seeing the level of talent come from his protégé. “There’s that mix of ‘Oh my gosh, that’s one of the most incredible plays I’ve ever seen in my life’ type deal with him,” Johnson remarked, highlighting the duality of Williams’ performance—his ability to execute extraordinary plays while struggling with fundamental aspects of quarterbacking.
In just the fourth quarter, Williams has tallied 12 touchdowns. This mighty milestone moves him into a tie for the seventh most ever in NFL history! This stat highlights his ability to deliver in the clutch. Yes, I know he’s got a great track record of completing game-winning drives. This season, he’s had five such performances in the fourth quarter or overtime, ranking him second in the league.
Hidden behind these big numbers are serious issues with his truthfulness. It’s not just the constant pressure though—Williams threw on the run a career-high 42.9% of the time in the game. He missed the target on 42% of those shots. What he was going through wasn’t obvious right away. Most notably, he missed an open DJ Moore on a potential game-winning third-down pass, sailing the deep ball just beyond the receiver’s reach. Another very similar pass to tight end Cole Kmet resulted in a pick-6. This play showcased the inconsistency that has plagued his performance.
Johnson saw in Williams the ability to make any throw look like an ordinary throw. There’s plenty of room for him to get better with his timing and accuracy. “There’s certainly some throws that you can talk about each week where you feel like guys are open and we can certainly give them a ball on time and give them a chance to run after catch and all that,” Johnson stated.
Part of that is the Bears’ offensive approach, one that’s very much play-action dependent. Williams has used this newfound tactic on a career-high 61.5% of his dropbacks. In the second half of the game, he relied on play-action to accumulate 134 of his 144 passing yards. This change in philosophy perfectly illustrates how he evolved as the game changed. Williams is not learning to be patient and his completion percentage is 57.8%. This alarming statistic leaves him ranked 33rd out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks, a gaping hole of necessity for improvement.
Williams has the most off-target throws this season so far with 90. It leads the league and puts him 14 attempts ahead of the next closest player. His percentage of off-target passes is 22%, which is the worst in the NFL.
Despite these challenges, Williams is still hopeful about his development. “I think it just comes down to small details from me,” he said, emphasizing the importance of refining his technique and decision-making. Specifically, he recognized that footwork and creating rhythm are major focuses he’s looking to improve on going forward.
Johnson is still optimistic that bringing together the two facets of accuracy and improvisational skill will eventually lead to big play success for Williams. “And that’s something we’re striving to do is combine both of those worlds to where we think we’re going to have a really good quarterback in this league,” Johnson said. He stated his belief that focus and hard work would result in progress. Given time, there’s no doubt that both Williams and the Bears could develop into a winning combination.
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