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Here come the accolades for Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. Included in the fawning-over mix was Colin Cowherd. But here are two overreactions to Williams’ stellar game in the 38-0 preseason blowout of the Bills.
Williams turned in a fine performance, hitting on six of 10 passes for 107 yards with a touchdown. Any positive signs early are good for Williams, who didn’t quite live up to expectations in 2024. But perhaps those expectations were a little too high for a rookie.
Still, new head coach Ben Johnson likes what he’s seen in 2025, according to chicagobears.com.
“He's really been locked in,” Johnson said.
Overreaction No. 1
Bears QB Caleb Williams has it all figured out
Let’s be blunt. The Bills didn’t approach this game the same way the Bears did. These are two different organizations in terms of what they need to accomplish in the preseason.
So there can’t be too much stock put into Williams having a good effort in a meaningless game.
Johnson said he knows there will be ups and downs for Williams.
“Anytime you're a young player, there's usually a couple steps forward and one step back,” Johnson said. “And that's really been the story of his training camp. He and I have been really open and honest about that as we've gone through.
“He's had some really good practices, and he's had a couple where it's like, ‘That isn't good enough, bud.' I thought really the three days of practice we had this week and this game were the most he's stacked up good days in a row right now. The challenge is going to be to keep pushing in that direction.”
Johnson said he liked how Williams handled a challenging start.
“We didn't have the best field position to get started there,” said Johnson. “So I thought those guys did a really nice job of marching it down the field. Caleb made a couple big-time throws to keep that drive going and some explosive plays there.
“It sets the tone for us as a team. (And) it sets a tone for how we expect ourselves to play and go out and perform. It was extremely important.”
As for Williams, he said he feels the progress.
“I think I had a couple of those (poor) practices throughout camp,” Williams said. “I felt like I took two steps forward, small things that I felt like I got over. Then I took a step back, probably. It's just being able to keep that mindset, the growth mindset, keep growing, keep getting after it.”
Overreaction No. 2
HC Ben Johnson will automatically make Williams better
Yes, Johnson should help Williams. But it’s not a done deal early on.
Williams said Johnson isn’t holding back, according to ESPN via bleacherreport.com.
“He's been tough on me,” Williams said. “He's been hard on me, and it's been great. Getting coached like that and being pushed, the whole team seeing me being pushed like that. He set the standard. It's our job to level out and be at that standard.”
One of the things Johnson needs to figure out is how the Bears will protect Williams, who took a boatload of sacks in his rookie campaign. The Bears are still trying to settle on a starting left tackle, according to abc7chicago.com.
“We'll go as long as we need to go to find the right guy,” Johnson said. “But we'd like to see someone go ahead and make it clear to us that he is that guy, and we just haven't seen that yet as a staff. There's been too much up and down.
“We'd love to go ahead and solidify that spot and move forward from there. And it might be one of those things where, when we make that decision, it's not final for the season. It could be we have to reassess after a couple of weeks of the season, or by the bye week, we might have to reassess. It might be something that goes on. Wouldn't be ideal, but that's the thing with the league.”
But Johnson wants to lock it down and have it settled before Week 1 arrives for the Bears.
“This is not going to be a revolving door,” Johnson said. “That's not what we want. We want one guy to clearly come out and say this is his job.”
It seems like Williams is on the right track to making big strides in his second season. And Johnson surely seems like the right guy to get him where the Bears organization wants him to be. But there are two unproven factors. Williams hasn't proven himself to be an upper-level NFL quarterback. And Johnson hasn't proven himself as a head coach.
