This was not how Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season was supposed to go for the Chicago Bears. Many fans were hoping to see something different out of Caleb Williams now that Ben Johnson was the head coach. The architect of the vaunted Detroit Lions offense, Johnson, was supposed to bring out the best in Williams. The hope was that the 2024 first-overall pick would look better in Year 2 with a better coach.
Unfortunately, Bears fans saw many of the same problems Williams had in his rookie season. The sophomore quarterback's accuracy was a huge question mark after last year, and it remains a problem this year. It felt like every other throw Williams made was a bad miss, whether the wide receiver was covered or not.
If you don't believe the eye test, perhaps stats will convince you of Williams' struggles. Over the last year or so, TruMedia tracked the passes of all quarterbacks in the NFL. The Bears quarterback was the league-leader last season in “overthrown” balls, and he bumped up that total to 52 after Week 1 with five overthrows this game. The next closest player during that same time period? Bo Nix, who had 37, 17 less than Williams.
Over the last year & 1 week, Caleb Williams leads NFL quarterbacks with 52 incompletions due to an overthrow (per TruMedia). 17 more than the next highest and added 5 more last night pic.twitter.com/whEBRcKDJb
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) September 9, 2025
That… is worrying. The one that likely still lingers on Bears fans' minds is the missed throw to DJ Moore. Moore found himself wide open on a fade route, with no defender near him. It should have been an easy completion and another touchdown for the surging offense. Instead, Williams missed Moore significantly, costing them precious time.
It wasn't just overthrows for Williams: the Bears quarterback just couldn't find his accuracy consistently against the Vikings. He would have some incredible passes, like a running strike to Rome Odunze early in the game that kept their opening drive alive. However, Williams would also miss some easy throws, which was infuriating for fans and for Ben Johnson.
Williams definitely has the chops to be a good quarterback in the NFL: he started the Vikings game a perfect 10-for-1o on his passes. However, the Bears quarterback needs to be able to consistently hit the mark to be great in the NFL
